Two New Awards Announced at 3rd Annual iSTEAM Expo
Two New Awards Announced at 3rd Annual iSTEAM Expo
Now in its third year, the iSTEAM Expo allows students to showcase their passion for topics in science, technology, engineering, art, and math.
On April 30, the 3rd annual iSTEAM Expo was held in Moglia Commons. Over a dozen Fordham Prep iSTEAM activities, academic classes, and co-curricular clubs were represented at the event, including Robotics, 3D Printing, Game Development, Oyster Farming, Cybersecurity, Hydroponics, and Aviation.
The Robotics exhibit at the 3rd Annual iSTEAM Expo.
“The purpose of this evening is to showcase the incredible creative contributions that students have made in science, technology, engineering, graphic arts, and math,” said iSTEAM Coordinator Raymond Gonzalez, EdD to the crowd. He then asked each group to stand when their club name was called to receive a round of applause.
Jack ‘24 read the iSTEAM Science Prayer before President Anthony Day took to the podium.
“Although St. Ignatius would not have imagined the advent of technology when he opened his first school in Messina in 1548, he did recognize the need for Jesuit schools to remain adaptive, always meeting the needs of the students that are currently enrolled in our schools,” Day began, noting that this is what keeps Jesuit education relevant and sustainable. “Our Fordham Prep iSTEAM faculty and staff have taken this charge of St. Ignatius seriously and have committed themselves to growing these departments in ways that inspire and inform our Rams,” he continued.
President Anthony Day addresses attendees at the 3rd Annual iSTEAM Expo.
Before giving the floor to Archivist Louis DiGiorno ‘88 P’26, Day joked that the best computer drive is Random Access Memory (RAM).
DiGiorno gave a brief history of technology at the Prep, touching on Fr. Thomas Freeman, SJ, who built his own Western Electric machine in the basement of Thebaud Hall at Rose Hill, making Fordham the first electrified institution in the Bronx. He also mentioned actor Walter Kinsella ‘1917 and his after-school job helping to launch the motion picture industry at Edison Studios with none other than Thomas Edison.
“Before there was Hollywood there was the Bronx, and Fordham Prep was part of it,” DiGiorno stated.
He also noted that Fordham Prep was a spectacle even in the 1980s when the Ministry of Education in Japan came to visit Rose Hill to see what the future could hold.
“And since 1841, we have been here doing our own thing. And that's the way it should be. It's been that way for three centuries. Let's take it to the 22nd,” he continued.
Director of Technical Operations Jeff Butkowski ‘99 then took to the podium to introduce the inaugural Freeman iSTEAM Innovation Award and its first winner, Paul Creegan ‘24.
“Though he's a literal Eagle Scout, don't be fooled. Paul is a troublemaker,” Butkowski said as the crowd laughed. He explained that Creegan is a “different kind of troublemaker who entrenches himself into every aspect of iSTEAM and Fordham Prep, like troublemaker Fr. Freeman. This, Butkowski noted, Creegan does while looking for an opportunity to learn and grow not just as a student, but as a person.
In Creegan’s speech, outlined what it means to be an “iSTEAM kid.” It involves spending 19 hours in a basement 3D printing Macbeth characters for a diorama, doing lighting for the school play, and staring at text on a black screen, “finding it way more interesting than it really should be,” Creegan explained. He plans to major in computer science with a minor in cybersecurity at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
Dr. Gonzalez poses with Paul Creegan ‘24, recipient of the inaugural Freeman iSTEAM Innovation Award.
Later in the evening, science teacher Peter McNamara P‘11 ‘12 ‘17 managed to find an Apple IIe computer and had it brought downstairs for a bit of a show-and-tell moment.
“I still have this in my closet, I saved it all these years. I really appreciate you guys referencing it tonight,” he said, adding, “You all have such a great future in science and it’s a great way to serve and use your Jesuit training.”
McNamara showing the audience an Apple IIe computer used at the Prep in the 1980s.
Dr. Gonzalez thanked McNamara for his 39 years of service to Fordham Prep as he begins his retirement this summer. The crowd gave a standing ovation.
Principal Joe Petriello PhD, ‘98, and Assistant Principal for Academics, Andrea McDermott, then presented the second inaugural award of the evening, the Leadership in Technology (LIT) Certificate, which is presented to seniors who have made contributions to the natural and applied sciences during their four years at Fordham Prep. A dozen members of the Class of 2024 LIT certificates.
Dr. Gonzalez concluded the evening with a note of encouragement to the students and a thank you to the parents.
Members of the Sports Analytics Club pose with Dr. David Rosenthal, Chair of Mathematics and Computer Science at St. John’s University (left) and Dr. Gonzalez (right).
“Shoot for the mountaintops, because you never know where you are going to land. It has been an honor. It has been a privilege. And at this point, it is my duty to support you all in your journeys. Parents, thank you for your support. This does not happen without you,” he said.