Thank you, Father Devron. On behalf of my family and The Thomas & Dorothy Leavey Foundation, I am happy to share a few thoughts about our support of Fordham Prep and its 175th Anniversary Campaign.
My wife Cathy and I are pretty well steeped in the Jesuit educational tradition. I graduated from Loyola High School in Los Angeles; and we both received undergraduate degrees from Georgetown.
Cathy’s uncle graduated from the Prep and her parents earned degrees from Fordham U. Recently we learned that Cathy’s great-great uncle—Michael Corbett, S.J.—is buried in the Jesuit cemetery on campus.
The Jesuits were a huge influence on my grandfather, Thomas Leavey. His parents met on the boat from Ireland and were married at the Church of the Immaculate Conception on 14th Street. As it happens, Fordham’s founder Archbishop Hughes founded Immaculate Conception in 1855; and its second pastor, who took over within the first year, was a Jesuit.
My great-grandparents immediately headed West—to a dairy farm near Eureka in Northern California. Tom Leavey was born there in 1898. Sadly, his mother died during childbirth and his father relied on nuns and neighbors to help raise his three sons. The family could only afford to send one of them to college, and my grandfather was chosen.
After completing his undergraduate studies at Santa Clara University, the Jesuits urged him to attend Georgetown Law School. And so, in 1923, armed with his law degree, my grandfather Tom Leavey settled in Los Angeles and built his business, Farmers Insurance. The charitable foundation he and my grandmother established in 1952 continues to be a benefactor of Jesuit institutions.
Given this history, it was an easy decision for us to send our two sons—Tommy, a senior, and Matthew, a sophomore—to Fordham Prep. I should add: it was their first choice as well. But the decision wasn’t driven by history or tradition alone. We were all drawn by the same qualities that have inspired everyone gathered here today.
Fordham Prep’s combination of academic excellence, faith and service…plus great sports and extracurriculars…is tremendous. Throw in the fact it’s located on a college campus in the Bronx and you have a rare—perhaps ideal—set of circumstances.
Fordham introduces kids to the diversity and multiplicity of the real world. It fosters self-reliance and independence… along with a strong sense of community. That’s not easy to do.
To my mind, the singular value of a Fordham education is the high probability it will produce a well-rounded individual—a “man for others” with many intellectual, spiritual and character-based gifts …and the wisdom to deploy them in an effective and ethical way.
This is traceable to the Jesuit philosophy of educating the whole person, which is part and parcel of the Ignation idea of finding God in all things.
Prep students learn to see the truth and beauty in small things, in the details…without losing sight of the big picture. They can appreciate subtlety and nuance, which gives them an edge when it comes to setting the world on fire.
A contribution to the 175th Anniversary Campaign will count as an investment in your own sons, and in their fellow students. If you’re an alum, it will signal your gratitude for how Fordham Prep shaped your life. Your support will also bolster the wider community. It will be an investment in the Church, in New York, and in the cause of Jesuit education as a whole.
The timing is key. Not only are we celebrating a milestone in the school’s history, we are at a crucial juncture for secondary education in general. It’s tough out there. If Fordham Prep is to remain competitive by all external measures—and continue to do what it does so wonderfully from a Jesuit and Catholic standpoint—it must grow, adapt and evolve.
Those who want the Prep to thrive should support it in any way they can. Cathy and I encourage everyone to be as generous as possible during this campaign. Now’s the time! Dig deep! And please urge others to do so as well.
Thank you…and Go Rams!