For family, friends, and alumni of Cistercian Preparatory School

March 2004

The

Tom Pruit amongst the artwork displayed

at BraveArt 2004

Tom Pruit amongst the artwork displayed

at BraveArt 2004

2 The CONTINUUM

Letter from the Headmaster

Dear Cistercian Families, Friends, and Alumni,

One consistent theme running throughout this issue of The Continuum is growth. Though the School has noplans of increasing enrollment, in both Abbey and School we have seen many efforts come to fruition, and so,

a form of growth. In the Abbey we are enjoying the physical growth, or ratherrenovation, of the buildings in which we live. After Christmas, eight members ofour community moved into the newly renovated west wing of the monastery,freeing up the south wing. Soon afterwards, Andres Construction began work onthe south wing. In addition to new bedrooms for the monks, the south wing willprovide two overnight guestrooms and a new refectory, or dining room. Andrespromises completion of this second phase before the end of May. The threenovices — Br. Athanasius, Br. Abraham, and Br. Joseph — continue their stud-ies in the monastery, and are slowly becoming active in the Prep School. Theyare assisting with retreats, helping out with Middle School track, and even teach-ing a few units in the theology classes.

In the Prep School, growth is just as evident. The lead feature of this issue tracesthe growth of BraveArt from its inception in 1996 to today. In another sense, thesame article demonstrates the growth of one of Dr. Tom Pruit’s English students.

Jeremy Gregg ’97 took several of Dr. Pruit’s creative writing classes, worked with Dr. Pruit as the emcee forthe first two BraveArt’s, and now displays his skills as a writer for all of us to enjoy. In his story on theHartnetts, David Stewart ’74 not only highlights this year’s recipient of the Moroney Award, but also tracesthe growth of one young student into a highly respected professional who has adopted his father’s commitmentto giving back to Cistercian. Juan Muldoon ’05 won this year’s Catholic Foundation Scholar’s Award, but hehas also grown over the last two years into a formidable leader, as his English teacher explains in her piece.

As you will read on page 4, Alumni giving grew significantly during this year's Phonathon, which raises moneyfor scholarships. The Class of 1983, under the firm hand of class agent Brent Bulger ’83, reached 100 percentparticipation (a first for any class in any Phonathon). This great effort led the way as total participation hit 37percent, the highest in Phonathon history. Thanks to our alumni, more boys in financial need will be enkindledand enlightened at Cistercian.

The overall impression is clear: Cistercian has grown not just this year but over decades. Thanks are owed tocountless Cistercian families, students, and monks who have worked so hard and offered up so many prayers.Let us continue to work for the growth of each boy at Cistercian.

Fr. Peter Verhalen ’73Headmaster

Photo by Jim Reisch

March 2004

CISTERCIANPREPARATORY

SCHOOL

ADMINISTRATION

Rev. Peter Verhalen ’73Headmaster

Rev. Bernard MartonAssistant Headmaster

College Counselor

Greg Novinski ’82Dean of Students

Robert J. HaaserDirector of Admissions

Jennifer RotterDirector of Development

and Alumni Relations

Dan LeeDirector of Athletics

Steve Rasch ’80President, CistercianAlumni Association

EDITORIAL STAFFDavid Stewart ’74

Editor & Art Director

Tom B. PruitCopy Editor

Sally L. CookAssistant Copy Editor

Jim ReischPhotography Editor

TheCONTINUUM is published byCistercian Preparatory School.

P.O. Box 140699 Irving, TX 75014-0699

469-499-5400

www.cistercian.org

3

Cistercian Preparatory School was founded with the aim of preparing talented boys for the colleges of their choiceby challenging their minds with excellent academic programs, molding their character through the values of Catholiceducation, and offering them guidance with both understanding and discipline. Cistercian Preparatory School doesnot discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin in the administration of its educational practices,admissions, scholarship programs, and athletic and other school administered programs.

Volume 31, Number 2 In this issue

D E P A R T M E N T SLetter from the Headmaster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2School News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Sports News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15Class Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16On Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Cover photography: Jim Reisch

Prepared for therole of his lifeDespitenumerousmedical hard-ships as achild, JuanMuldoon ’05has grasped every opportunity that hascome his way and appearsready for center stage.

A brave new art 6Dr. Tom Pruit’s vision for arelaxed and inspiring coffeehouse has grown into a three-day arts extravaganza featur-ing museum visits, work-shops, movies, student videos,art shows, and performances.All in the name of BraveArt.

13

11Cistercian’s dream teamThe Hartnett clan providesCistercian with top-notch legalcounsel. It’s their way of thank-ing the priests for graduating fivebrothers between 1974 and 1987.

F E A T U R E S

A L U M N I & B O O S T E R S

Time to sign upfor annual golftournament

If you haven’t already, it’stime to sign up for the FourthAnnual Cistercian HawksBooster Club and AlumniAssociation Golf Tournament.

Due to popular demand,the tournament is being heldagain at the posh CowboysGolf Club in Grapevine andwill take place on MondayApril 12, the day after Easter.

“The folks at Cowboysreally treated us well,” saidBob Crews, tournament chair-man. “Everyone enjoyed thegreat food for lunch and din-ner in the clubhouse. And thecourse ranks among the mostscenic in the Metroplex.Everyone has a great time.”

The tournament is notmeant just for the old boys’network and alumni either.

“Last year we had an all-mother’s team, an all-stu-dent’s team, and severalfather-son teams,” saidCrews. That makes it a lot offun.”

“We’d like to encouragemore moms, more studentsand more father-son combi-nations to join us this year.”

April 12, by the way, is aCistercian holiday so stu-dents don’t have any excuses.

Last year’s event raised$3,000 – $4,000 for theBooster Club.

“It’s really just a fun dayfor the Cistercian communityto come together and enjoyeach other’s company,”Crews said. “If everyone hasa good time, then I consider ita success.”

Sponsorship opportunitiesabound and include contest,beverage, coach, and holesponsorships in addition tothree major programs(Tournament, Hawk andBlack & White).

Those interested in spon-

sorships should call BobCrews at 214-816-2500.

A L U M N I G I V I N G

Phonathon setsrecords for gifts& participation

The 2003-2004 AlumniPhonathon set all kinds ofrecords this year.

First, it raised $102,144 ingifts and pledges. That’s over$10,000 more than thePhonathon’s previous record.

Second, 37 percent of allCistercian alumni participat-ed. This compares with theprevious high of 29 percent.

Approximately $40,000of the total will fund eightscholarships and the remain-ing $62,000 will be appliedto the Alumni EndowedScholarship fund.

The interest from theAlumni Endowed Scholar-ship fund, valued at $110,000

prior to this year’s Phona-thon, will provide one addi-tional scholarship for a totalof nine.

“With this year’s contribu-tion of almost $62,000 to theendowed fund,” said StephenRasch ’80, president of theAlumni Association, “weexpect that additional interestwill be sufficient for twoendowed scholarships nextyear.”

Class agents played a keyrole. Take Brent Bulger ’83,whose efforts spurred notonly 100 percent participa-tion from his class of 16, butalso produced a total of$10,925.

Rasch cited the efforts ofthe five-year captains, SteveJohnston ’71, Oscar Arras’78, Andrew Roberts ’82,Mark Roppolo ’88, BillChurchill ’91 and JeremyGregg ’97.

“It is with the help ofthese volunteers that givinghas jumped 70 percent inthree short years,” he said.

School News

Humble Jim Hartnettaccepts barbs along with Moroney Award

With lots of family on hand, JimHartnett, Jr. ’75 accepted the Jim andLynn Moroney Award on Friday, January30 at the Tower Club in downtownDallas.

The Moroney Award isgiven annually to an alumnus“whose spiritual commit-ment to Cistercian is verymuch aflame and whose ded-icated work on behalf of theCistercian family enkindlesour hope for the future.”

The award was presentedby Hartnett’s classmateWade Andres ’75, who jokedabout Hartnett’s courtroomantics, well-known confi-dence, and sometimes rockyjourney through Cistercian.

In his remarks, Hartnett

emphasized the help he receives from hisfather and his three brothers at theHartnett Law Firm.

Photos by Jim Reisch

FUN NIGHT (Top right, left to right)Jessica Lovett, Austin Nevitt ’99, KellyBloodgood, and Jackie Greenfield.(Bottom right) Wade Andres ’75; (Below)Emily and James Hartnett surround sonand honoree Jim Hartnett Jr.

The CONTINUUM

S T U D E N T I N I T I A T I V E

Hawk debaters surprise rivalsat tournament

Debate team? Yes,Cistercian is now fielding a

debate team. It all started whenPrasanth Pattisapu ’05approached Peter Heyne ’97this fall about sponsoring adebate team.

“I have no experience withdebate,” explained Heyne.Pattisapu wasn’t dissuaded soHeyne agreed to help despitethe fact that he was teachingclass during Activities Periodwhen the nascent debate squadwas scheduled to meet.

“These guys are very self-motivated,” Heyne pointed out,referring to Pattisapu, RobbieEarle ’05, and Grant Illes ’06.

The three have competed atthe novice level in several tour-naments and are improvingrapidly.

Most recently, the three stu-dents entered the UD/SMU“Symposium Classic” debate/speech tournament heldJanuary 23-24.

Earle narrowly missed win-ning first place in the novice-level Lincoln-Douglas debate— a terrific showing out of afield of 45 competitors. Thecompetitors hail from 33

schools such as Hockaday,Greenhill, Jesuit, and St.Mark’s, as well as large publicschools such as Plano West andWilliams.

Pattisapu progressed to the

second round along with 15other competitors and walkedaway with a Third PlaceSpeaker Award. Illes also per-formed well.

Earle owed a piece of hissecond place trophy toPattisapu, who wrote Earle’swinning negative case.

After the final round, one ofthe judges told Earle, “Yournegative case is one of the mostpowerful cases I have heard ineither varsity or novice on thistopic.”

“For the rest of this year,”Pattisapu emphasized, “we aregoing to work to generate inter-est in debate among the lowerforms. We would like to seedebate become like MathCounts.”

“It doesn’t make much dif-ference if we win a few tourna-ments if the debate team does-n’t survive after we graduatenext year. So that has to be ourmain goal,” he said.

Congratulations to PrasanthPattisapu and his colleagues ontheir initiative, drive, and suc-cess. At Cistercian, one stu-dent’s drive truly can make adifference.

5

Al Hernandez ’05 won the speech contest spon-sored by the Park Cities Rotary Club. PrasanthPattisapu ’05, Tony Listi ’05, and Vincent Zimmern’06 also participated.

Connor Heard ’08 prevailed in the CistercianSpelling Bee. Will Schleier ’09 placed second.

Mathletes: In the first ever St. Mark’s High SchoolMath Contest, Cistercian defeated teams from aroundthe state to claim first prize in the Sweepstakes (BestSchool). See Dr. Newcomb’s Web site for more details.

Quiz Bowl: Cistercian won both first and second inthe JV division of the Spartan Showdown tournamentsponsored by St. Stephen’s Episcopal School in Austin.

Jeffrey Tinker ’97 was awarded the Edyth MaySliffe Award for Excellence in Teaching. Tinker teachesmath in Forms II and III. The Edyth May Sliffe Awardsfor Distinguished High School Mathematics Teachingrecognize the excellence of teachers responsible for thesuccess of teams earning the highest scores on theAHSME (AMC 12) test.

School Newsw

N O T E W O R T H Y

HIGH HOPES Debate Clubfounder Prasanth Pattisapu’05, shown here with team-mate Robbie Earle ’05, hopesto spur interest in the debateclub in lower forms.

Chris Bock’s legacy of languageChris Bock, a beloved former member of the Cistercian faculty, passed away in

January after a battle with cancer. The former English teacher and advisor toReflections was also a Cistercian parent (Tim Bock ’85 and Tom Bock ’87). She andhusband Wally left Texas for Tucson in the fall of 1996.

“Chris had an influence on each of our spirits,” remembered Tom Pruit, “spreadingher ebullient good cheer everywhere she went, with that irrepressible smile and thatsignature burst of laughter that so defined this lovely, elegant lady.”

“Language – not simply a tool, but an art – was her gift to her students,” saidChristine Medaille.

Her passion for grammatical precision and clarity led her to reorganize the middleschool English Lab curriculum into a more logical and efficient sequence of lessons.She then proceeded to teach the new curriculum to the entire Middle School for sev-eral years. All at Cistercian who knew her wish her husband Wally, Tim, and Tom wellas they suffer this great loss.

Jack Miller: a life of retailing and community serviceJack Miller (father of Craig Miller ’75 and Bryan Miller ’81) passed away from

complications of a stroke and cancer in Dallas on January 20, 2004. Mr. Miller was arevered retailing executive (serving as CEO of Sanger Harris and Lazarus DepartmentStores), a remarkable community leader, and a faithful supporter of Cistercian.Everyone at Cistercian who knows the Millers is praying for this wonderful family.

Photo by Jim Reisch

March 2004

The CONTINUUM

Editor’s note: Jeremy Gregg ’97 helped organize the first BraveArtCoffee House in 1996 and served as emcee in 1996 and ’97.

HE WAS DRIVEN BY A MADNESS, THEY SAY. Hauntedby visions and dreams, cry others. “Ghosts ledhim on!” whisper the shadows. But truth, everstranger than fiction, surpasses all these. “I real-ly wanted the students to be in charge of as

much as possible,” said Dr. Tom Pruit, lord and overseer ofBraveArt, the Cistercian arts festival.

Leaning back in his chair in the teacher’s lounge, Pruitspeaks about the first years of the event with the surety and prideof a man who has come through a great darkness and into thelight. He admits, though, that the journey was not an easy one.

“That first year was an interesting experience,” he confesseswith a knowing smile.

In 1996, throwing caution to the wind, Pruit empowered ahandful of upperclassmen to plan the first-ever student arts festi-val. Together they puzzled over a name, finding none satisfactoryuntil Jonathan Leach (then on the faculty) suggested BraveArt,extrapolated from the 1996 hit movie BraveHeart. Like WilliamWallace, the Scottish leader of the film’s rebel forces, Pruit pre-pared his group for a difficult campaign. (Fortunately Pruit didn’thave to wear a skirt to get their attention.)

“Dr. Pruit was a great leader,” said Brent Hogan ’00, whoattended the first event as a freshman and was one of the emceesby his senior year. “Every year, he made BraveArt run betterthan the previous year.”

“A lot of people didn’t like the tie-in to the movie, but it was-n’t really about that,” laughed Pruit. It was more about taking upthe challenge of getting this event off the ground, and turning itinto something that students looked forward to all year. “It is achallenge,” Andrew Milner ’03 states, “that Cistercian is meet-ing very well: BraveArt has the best [student talent show] of anysmall private school in the area.”

That first year, Pruit wanted to create a relaxed coffee house

atmosphere, with students reading and performing their ownworks as well as those of renowned authors. Whereas the annu-al Spring Recital had a very serious, dignified air about it,Pruit’s group wanted to create an edginess to the event thatwould inspire other students to participate.

“[Student leadership] is a standing principle at Cistercian,and always has been,” said Fr. Peter Verhalen ’73. “The chal-lenge is putting on something as large as Homecoming with thestudents being in charge. For the faculty, it’s a constant chal-lenge to give students the opportunity to be in charge whileguiding them and seeing that things are done on time.

Yet Pruit has managed to do all of this while creating anevent that provides both an outlet for artists as well as an edu-cational experience for the audience.

“I think it meets several needs: it provides a break from theusual academic pressures of Cistercian, it provides an opportu-nity for the students to visit local museums and learn about art,and it connects current students with alumni who are working asartists,” he said. And, perhaps most importantly, BraveArt“bears witness to the importance of art in a person’s life.”

From the very beginning, BraveArt was a blend of the visualand the performing arts. Led by Roberto Munguia, head of the artdepartment, the event featured an art competition for studentworks. The competition, whose winners are chosen by outsidejudges, awards prizes of up to $300 to students for their work.

“The cash prizes are always nice for the legitimacy that theylend to the competition,” added Fr. Peter. In addition to the cashprizes, however, the ability to show their art to their peers,teachers and parents drives many of the student artists to focustheir work towards this competition. This year-round focushelps students “get into art not just as a class period or an assign-ment that must be completed, but as a form of relaxation orexpression,” said Kyle C. Resh ’99.

“The BraveArt exhibition and competition sprang from theneed to reaffirm the students’ positive attitude toward their art-work,” said Munguia. “I could see their talent and would praise

6 The CONTINUUM

A bravenew

artDr. Tom Pruit’s vision for a relaxed and inspiring coffee house has grown into a three-day arts extravaganza featuring museum visits, workshops, movies, student videos,art shows, and performances. All in the name of BraveArt.

Phot

o by

Jim

Rei

sch

SHOWTIME Masters ofCeremonies John Davies ’04and Coleman Easley ’04 startthe show at Café BraveArtSaturday night.

By Jeremy Gregg

March 2004

their efforts to achieve greater skills andexpressive content, but getting anotherprofessional from the vital Dallas artscommunity to come in and respond totheir work really convinced them thatthey had attained a certain level of profi-ciency. It also stimulated a healthy spiritof competition, which served to encour-age growth and progress.”

“And, of course, it’s always nice toread your name in the school paper,”admits Hogan, who won an award at thecompetition in 2000.

“This recognition is perhaps the most valuable part of win-ning the award,” said Billy Hassell ’74, one of Cistercian’s firstgraduates to build a career as a professional artist.

“I think that the money is great, but it’s more symbolic of thefact that what you’ve done is of value and merits the awarditself. Personally, the awards that I have won were hugelyencouraging to me. They really helped launch my career,“Hassell said. “At the high school level, when you get an awardlike that, it’s an immediate recognition, approval, and valida-tion. It goes on your record, and those forms of recognition addup over time. Those little bits of encouragement keep you push-ing, and let you believe in yourself and your art.”

Back in 1996, however, the main focus was on the CoffeeHouse, which was to be held on the gym stage (the stage doorswere closed, so the audience would share an intimate space withthe acts). The line-up primarily included student authors, butalso had musicians, actors, and some space for “impromptureadings.” This last element appeared only in the first CoffeeHouse, and for good reason.

“I remember someone reading Poe’s The Raven, whichseemed to go on forever,” laughed Fr. Peter.

Around 7 pm, the stage was finally set. Above the door wereTolkien’s words, “Speak, Friend, and Enter.” No need to gathera crowd; as soon as the doors opened, the space began to fill.

The First Coffee House

FROM NEAR AND FAR, THEY CAME. Poets and musicians,artists and actors, priests and teachers . . . dozens of peo-ple arrived early for the few available seats. Soon, the

stage was full, but people kept coming. Seats were removed andit became standing room only.

By 7:30, the stage, if you could call it that, had dwindled tolittle more than the space necessary for a stool, astand and a microphone. But by that point, it did-n’t matter. Weeks of nervous anticipation coa-lesced into a sudden and furious needto shout the words of none otherthan the Bard himself:

“O, for a muse of fire!” Iexclaimed to commence theproceedings. Over the next twohours, the girdle of those wallsdid not exactly hold the “vastyfields of France,” nor did wecram within that “wooden Othe very casques that didaffright the air at Agincourt” .. . yet somehow, despite therecklessness of our ways andthe sudden efficiency of our

quarters, we survived the night. Indeed,it felt as if we had triumphed over theevening, and launched a brave new tradi-tion for Cistercian: an annual celebrationof the timeless power of art, and a time torevel in the vast talent lying within theschool’s heart.

“I distinctly remember the firstCoffee House . . . and being in sheer aweof the talent,” said Dr. Pruit. With thislast word, his fists clench and his eyesfocus on something unseen in the airbetween us. I imagine his mind strolling

the small town of Emily Dickinson’s ruby-lit heaven, and cansee how sincerely he hopes to lead his students there.

“Looking back, the gym stage may not have been the bestplace for that,” laughed Pruit. One of his favorite moments, headmits, was seeing Robert Schoenvogel ’96 being crammed intoa tiny space to play “It Had to Be You” on a miniscule, squeakykeyboard that had been found in the Science Building.Unfortunately, Robert – the starting tight end on the football teamand the center on the basketball team – was no small fellow.Although a masterful pianist and performer, he couldn’t help butlaugh after he got past the first verse. By the end, everyone wascheering for him as much as they were singing with him.

“I remember the keyboard didn’t sound right at all, and thewhole thing coming off as a disaster,” admits Schoenvogel.“The comedy might have been unintentional, but the fact thatDr. Pruit got a kick out of it makes me a happy man.”

In many ways, Robert’s performance created a perfectmetaphor for what had led up to the first BraveArt. AtCistercian, a huge amount of talent was being crammed into atiny space in the school calendar. That talent burst forth at theCoffee House, and the following Monday, the students werealready talking about what to do next year. Perhaps ...

Braver-Art?

The academic load is so intense that we can’t push the artstoo much,” explained Pruit. “But I truly believe that stu-dents really blossom when they are exposed to the arts in

this way.”By 1997, the event had already expanded significantly.

BraveArt became, as it were, “braver about its art” (buh-doom,ching!). The Coffee House was moved to the theatre. The stu-dent workshops were expanded, became more involved, andwere better attended. In fact, thanks to the involvement of Jim

Reisch, photography teacher at Cistercian, a whole new artform was added.

With the advent of his very popular film elective — inwhich Reisch supervises the students as they write, shoot,

and edit their own films — studentvideos have become a core part ofCafé BraveArt.

“One year, we let it rest,”Reisch said. “and we just exhibit-ed photography. I will never forgetthe outcry. The Informer even had aheadline, ‘What Happened to theVideos?’ We’ve had them in theCoffee House ever since.”

BraveArt also plays a key role forthe film students.

“Feedback is such an important

7

Somehow, despite the recklessness of our ways ... we had launched a brave new tradition forCistercian: an annual

celebration of the timeless power of art.

Photo by Petrine M. Abrahams

PAINTING IN THE HALLSJohn Foose ’07 in the Pastels workshop.

part of filmmaking,” Reisch explained. “BraveArt is like ourSundance Film Festival. It allows the boys to fine tune theirwork before taking it to a wider audience at ISAS (the art com-petition for the region’s top private schools).”

The introduction of film into BraveArt opened up a wholenew world of possibility. Several graduates have gone on to pur-sue their interests in film, including Jason Mitura ’03 who isattending the very selective USC School of Cinema - Television.

The second year also included another significant addition tothe Coffee House: faculty performers. Over the coming years,teachers would sing, dance (tap-dance, to be precise), and playevery instrument from the harmonica to the violin to the humanhand. Yes, that’s right; at BraveArt, even if you can do nothingmore than snap, there’s a stage for you.

“The students benefit from seeing the faculty in a new light,”said Fr. Peter. “Dr. Arndt’s snapping song, Mr. Reidy’s bluesharmonica, Fr. Julius’ poetry: Students and faculty overcomethe barriers separating teacher and student, and together enjoy aperformance.”

“It became a wonderful mixture,” said Pruit. “The studentshave invited faculty every year since.”

“Pruit, of course, is one of the students’ favorite performers,”said Jackie Greenfield, head of the English department.“Students are always happy to listen to him – the room is hushedas he moves toward the audience and, without any fanfare,draws them into the world of his musings. He doesn’t disap-point an audience when he finally makes public the rhythms ofhis dance with the poetic forms.”

The third year the event grew even more, and was eventual-ly expanded into a three-day affair, with half-day workshop ses-

sions on the Thursday and Friday before the Coffee House. Themornings, at this point, were still reserved for academics, but theafternoons were all BraveArt.

“Fr. Peter has been very supportive the entire time,” saidPruit. “The workshops provide a hands-on experience of art thatreinforces what the students learn in the classroom.”

The workshops were so successful, in fact, that in only itsfourth year the faculty decided to expand the festival even more.Now encompassing three full days, including a day of museumvisits and another day for artistic workshops, the event truly hasbecome a full festival for artistic appreciation and expression.Simply stated by Josh Campbell ’02: “BraveArt is the most fun,creative event that Cistercian puts on. No other school has any-thing like it.”

Why BraveArt?

THE CREATIVE SPIRIT HAS ALWAYS BEEN a very strong part ofCistercian’s history. In fact, Cistercian’s first headmasterwas also one of its greatest artists — Fr. Damian. “There

was evidence of his creativity everywhere,” said Hassell. Additionally, for the school’s first students, they were

immersed in a living art project — “creating a school out of thinair,” said Tim Sullivan ’70.

“The art training program during the first seven years of theschool was extremely modest compared to what is currently inplace,” Sullivan suggested. “But there was a ton of creativeenergy. And that is the heart of any artistic training.”

Many Cistercian students have gone on to become artists,including Hassell, Geoff Marslett ’92, Asher Wood ’94, andMike Miga ’95. For many, the lessons and the education that

The CONTINUUM

Planning for this year’s event onFebruary 19-21 began back in Septemberwhen Dr. Tom Pruit and RobertoMunguia first started coordinatingBraveArt with parent volunteers NancyKlinke and Patty Tomaso. The fun beganThursday morning and didn’t concludeuntil late Saturday night.Thursday at the museums

Students visited the Nasher SculptureCenter, The Dallas Museum of Art andthe Crow Collection. Previous museumvisits have been to the Modern in Ft.Worth, the Kimball and the MeadowsMuseum at SMU.

“The museum visits provide concretelearning experiences that get everyone‘all juiced up’ for the BraveArt week-end,” said Chris Gruber ’01.

“It’s very important that they both seeand participate in art,” said Pruit. “Thetwo reinforce each other and also supportwhat the boys are learning in school.”

Thursday afternoon, the boys alsoheard a local performance poet, WillRichey. Described as a “ferventChristian” by Pruit, Richey’s spoken

word simultaneously echoed the teach-ings of the school while supporting themission of BraveArt “The kids really gota kick out of it,” said Pruit. Friday workshops and presentations

On Friday, the boys participated inmorning and afternoon workshop ses-sions. “Our presenters are frequently inawe of how serious and dedicated theboys can be, and how much they can getdone in one workshop,” said Pruit.

“The workshops gave me the chanceto learn about something that wouldnever have come up on the usual aca-demic track,” said James Connor ’02.“And I think that’s what intellectual pur-suit is about – investigating a subject outof interest in the subject itself, not for anyexternal purposes.”

Provided by the school, Friday’s BBQlunch included a jazz/blues performanceby Dave Tanner (father of Erik Tanner’07). Offering a workshop in the morningsession, Tanner performed songs that hecreated with the students that day (e.g.,The ‘I’ve Got a Zit and It’s Prom Night’Blues, etc.).

At 2:15 p.m., all of the students wentto a presentation by “Featured Alumni.”This year, Tim Sullivan ’70 and GradyMcGahon ’00 presented a video on Tim’shouse, which is a work of art itself (seewww.geocities.com/flyingconcrete), anddiscussed the process of sculpting withlightweight concrete. Previous presen-ters included: Rob Greenfield ’92, whoperformed and lectured on the history ofjazz in 1999; David Patrick ’86, whoperformed a one-man play in 2000; MikeMiga ’95, who gave a presentation on hispaintings in 2001; Geoff Marslett ’92,who showed some of his film work in2002; and last year, architect GaryCunningham ’72 gave the students awalking tour of the school and discussedthe architecture that he helped to create. Friday’s Movie Night

Even after a long day like this, one ofthe most popular parts of BraveArtbrought many students back to school onFriday night for “Movie Night with Mr.Leach.”

“Jonathan Leach is just an amazingteacher,” said Pruit. The former English

the delights of BraveArt of 2004

8

they received at Cistercian shaped them both as individuals andas artists. The school’s solid academic and spiritual groundingwas a firm launching pad for many of their careers.

“Once I got into college and around other artists, I realizedthat I didn’t have a lot of formal training,” said Hassell. “But Ihad a creative spirit and a strong educational background. Thesegave me a leg up when it came to the conceptual side of art.”

“Cistercian’s focus is always going to be on academics,” saidPruit. “But when, in a program as rigorous as Cistercian’s, youadd exposure to the arts, something very dramatic and almostmagical happens. All that discipline and focus is given a creativeoutlet which leads to some pretty astounding results.”

“It was a need that was recognized by the students from thevery beginning”, Fr. Roch said. “The predecessor to BraveArt,a Spring Talent Show, was started by Fr. Peter’s Class of ’73, inparticular by Tom Lewis ’73 and Joe Martin ’73.”

“We had very few traditions in Cistercian’s early history, andthere were many other schools that had talent shows,” remem-bered Lewis, then the president of the Student Government.“We knew we had a lot of talent at Cistercian, so we decided tohost one ourselves.” It was this same spirit that also helped stu-dents of this era establish The Informer, which in turn spawnedthe school’s first literary magazine.

“If there was something out there we wanted to do,Cistercian helped us do it,” said Hassell, whose poetry and artcontributed greatly to both the newspaper and literary magazine.

Sustaining the tradition of the talent shows proved difficult,however, with faculty involvement. It was not until the facultybecame involved that the event was formalized and transformedinto a Spring Recital for students who played classical instru-

ments, such as the piano and the violin.“The Spring Recital gave us a great taste of what was out

there,” said Pruit. But that taste, he knew, did not quench thethirst of the student body. There needed to be more faculty-sup-ported avenues of expression for the other students who weremaking art and writing their own music.

“The talent shows were great, too. They just needed moreshape and stability,” explained Pruit. “That led the faculty tocreate a great deal of the artistic electives, such as poetry writ-ing, creative fiction and theatre.” Starting in the early 1990s,these additional classes began to provide more students with theability to develop and express their talents. Yet the need contin-ued to grow.

As it was, students who were serious about their passion forart had to resort to the various summer programs, night classesand electives that the school provided. Pruit knew that thesebudding artists needed a focal point for their work. He alsobelieved that the arts needed to be integrated more fully into theacademic curriculum. But beyond this, Pruit had a far moreimportant reason for wanting these programs: “We need the artsto help confront the profundities of life.”

On its most basic level, art is an outward expression of ourmost innate abilities and personal experiences. A sculptor’shand, a painter’s eye, and a singer’s voice all are moved by thesame feeling — the need to understand life, and the desire toexpress that understanding to others.

“The artist, the really good artist or poet or writer, communi-cates a message that cannot be conveyed by anything else, suchas concepts or mathematical formulas,” said Fr. Roch. “Good artmirrors God’s creation, although vaguely and distantly. It

and Drama teacher returns to Cistercianeach year at BraveArt to show and dis-cuss films with the students, teachers,and alumni.

“The first year, we met on a sunnySunday afternoon in a classroom atNorthwest Bible Church,” said Mr.Leach. “We watched the movie, talked alot, and had a good time. Dr. Pruit liked

the popcorn. He said, ‘Let’s do thisagain!’” And so they did, continuing tomeet every year to discuss such films asSearching for Bobby Fischer, Chariots ofFire, and The Man Who Would Be King.

This year’s Movie Night includedselections from the first two Lord of theRings movies.

“Cistercian students appreciate com-plexity,” said Mr.Leach. “I hope [MovieNight] teaches themthat it’s okay to active-ly ‘engage with’ amovie as a work ofart.” Saturday’s Coffee House

Saturday, of course,was the main feature ofthe festival, runningfrom 7:30 until 11:30pm, the Coffee House,dubbed Café BraveArt,was held in the school’scafeteria this year.

“It simply wouldhave been too mucheffort to turn the gyminto an intimate space,”

said Pruit. Returning to the gym stagewas not an option either, especially sincethe organizers were expecting theirlargest crowd ever.

“Quite impressive,” said WilliamPeirson ’01, “for a little school in thewoods of Irving.”

“More energy is put into BraveArtthan I’ve seen put into entire theatricalproductions here at my college, andthat’s really something to be proudabout,” Peirson said.

All in all, the whole production costabout $6,000, the majority of whichwent to the presenters and to the stu-dents through awards.

“I want as much of it to go to theartists as possible,” said Pruit.

Costs are kept low thanks to themany alumni, parents and teachers whovolunteer their time to help with theevent. Even teachers from unrelatedfields volunteered. Dr. CambriaReinsborough (science, Forms II andIV), for example, led a tie-dye work-shop for the students.

“I can’t think of a single faculty mem-ber, from the coaches to the math depart-ment to the abbey, that doesn’t look for-ward to it,” said Pruit.

9

Artistic explorations

Here’s a sampling of the workshops offered as a partof this year’s BraveArt.

Printmakingdijeradu making Greek dance dramatic improv Argentinean tangoculinary arts harps stained glass computer/digital arts ancient board gamessilversmithing

Photo by Petrine M. Abrahams

DIJERADU Hayden Godat ’04heats up his dijeradu under theguidance of Fr. Gregory.

March 2004

The CONTINUUM

expresses spiritual content — and someof one’s own spirit — in material ways.”

“We are surrounded by art here,” saidDr. Pruit while motioning to the walls ofthe room. The school’s architecture con-tains work of the great O’Neil Ford, AlSalem and Cistercian’s own GaryCunningham ’72. Pointing a fingertowards the Abbey, Pruit continued, “And,of course, we have the amazing works ofFr. Damian all around us.”

Pruit believes that seeing students’ artprovides “an appreciation for the whole student. You might oth-erwise just know them as a 4.0 student, or as a quarterback, orwhatever, but to see them as poets or artists really shows youwho they are as people.”

“There’s usually a great respect for the performers onstage,whether they are embarrassing themselves or not,” said Milner.

“Not only does this change the way that the students relate toeach other,” Pruit claimed, “but it changes the faculty’s percep-tion of the students.”

“Every year I ‘discover’ a new talent in a boy I had neversuspected,” said Fr. Peter. “It’s joyful, exciting, like discoveringa special gem in a favorite chest you thought you already knew.”

For many of the students, this creates an opportunity for amuch more powerful relationship with their teachers. Although itcan have an immediate effect on students, the true impact of thissupport may not be felt for many years . . . as is the case for ChrisGruber ’01, who will never forget an unexpected compliment.

“I was passing Coach Hillary in the hall, and he stopped mejust to tell me how he had enjoyed my musical performance atBraveArt,” said Gruber. “I didn’t even know he had beenthere. And for him, Coach Hillary, to enjoy the music that wewere playing was very touching.”

Building on a strong tradition of supporting individualartists, BraveArt expands the reach of Cistercian’s arts programto touch the life of every high school student. Having workedtowards his dream for many years, Dr. Pruit is finally able tolook back with some relief at how far the school has come. Yet,when asked to describe BraveArt’s success, he smiles anddodges the opportunity to brag (a patently Pruit maneuver).However, his former students are hardly as reserved whendescribing the event’s success. AsMilner simply put it, “My senioryear, there were more cars in theparking lot for BraveArt than forHomecoming.”

The Future of BraveArt

ìILIKE THE SYSTEM that wehave now, but it’s just astart,” said Pruit. Never one

to gloat, he took me off guard as hesuddenly leaned back in a raremoment of pride and proudly assert-ed: “As we get closer to BraveArt,everyone begins to . . . relax. Andthat’s something that is desperatelyneeded here.”

Pruit considers his words care-fully when asked about his goalsfor the event. It’s obvious that he’sgiven the subject a lot of thought,

and although he’s pleased with wherethe event has gone, he wants it to con-tinue growing.

“We want to keep it fresh, to keep thevariety. They can’t do the same thingsevery year. But we have to keep the com-bination of seeing great art and dealingwith it hands-on,” Puit said. “That’s whatit’s all about.

“The faculty have talked about hav-ing student performances during lunch,more spontaneous stuff; the kids current-

ly have a (jam session) in the music room during the finalActivities period on Friday, which is a great outlet.”

Pruit also wants to continue seeing BraveArt’s influence onthe classroom environment. The faculty does “more creativethings in the classroom now; as long as it remains grounded inacademic preparation, the students will blossom.”

Fr. Peter agrees. “We have changed the curriculum to incor-porate history of art and history of music into the Form V andVI history curriculum.” Although this was partly a response tothe national push to broaden high school curriculum, Fr. Peteradmits that “BraveArt has enabled us to expose the boys tomore art education without having to drop some class period orother. I think that several teachers — Mr. Saliga, Fr. Gregory,Mrs. Greenfield, Mrs. Medaille — are making real efforts toincorporate more ‘artistic’ elements into their classes.” Theseadditional elements have included in-class performances, cre-ative writing assignments, drawing, painting, and more.

“I’m excited about two things this year,” said Kelly Shea,music teacher for Forms I and II. “One, the formation of theMusic Club, which meets during Activities Period. Musiciansare welcome to come to the Music Room and practice by them-selves or with their ensemble — or band! It’s been a wonderfulopportunity for the many boys who live far away from eachother to come together during the school day and work on theirrepertoire.”

“Secondly, we’re bringing back the more formal SpringRecital. Classical musicians in Forms III - VIII are invited toperform; this year it’ll be on April 4th.”

The revival of the Spring Recital is eagerly welcomed by Dr.Pruit, as well. “To see all of the talent with guys that push them-

selves so hard in academics and ath-letics, and then to find out that theyhave all of this artistic talent, itamazes me.”

Onward and Upward

IN 1996, I OPENED the first-everCoffee House with the prologuefrom Shakespeare’s Henry V.

Over the years, it has been my greatjoy to see that monologue’s requestfulfilled again and again: inspiredby one of the great teachers of mylife, BraveArt surely has “ascendedthe brightest heaven of Invention.”

Thank you, Cistercian, for allthat you have given to me and to themany other students who havepassed through your halls; may thefire of your Muse ever serve toenlighten and to enkindle us all!

10

“BraveArt is the mostfun, creative event that

Cistercian puts on. No other school has anything like it.”

— Josh Campbell ’02

PERFORMANCE POETWill Richey on Friday

afternoon of BraveArt

Photo by Jim Reisch

March 2004 11

UPON TAKING HIS SEAT IN THE LOBBYof the law offices 49 floors abovePacific Avenue late one January

evening, the courier expected a short,quiet wait. But soon he overheard anexchange of insults down the hallway,then another and another, each louder thanits predecessor. After nearly 30 minutes ofoverhearing the intensifying verbalassaults, the courier wondered if the joust-ing might spill out into the lobby andendanger him.

By the time one of the lawyers pokedhis head into the lobby around 11 pm tosay, “It shouldn’t be much longer,” thecourier’s eyes were wide with fear.

“What’s going on back there,” thecourier asked. “Sounds like someone isgoing to get killed.”

“Oh,” the lawyer laughed, “No, there’snot a problem. We’re all brothers. It’s likethis sometimes when we’re on a tightdeadline.”

The Hartnett Law Firm, a boutiquepractice that specializes in complex estatelitigation, boasts seven lawyers, sixHartnetts, five Cistercian alumni, and fourbrothers who enjoy arguing. Led by thevenerable James Hartnett Sr., the firmincludes Will Hartnett ’74, Jim HartnettJr. ’75, Jay Hartnett ’83, Fred Hartnett’87, and Melinda Hartnett (Hockaday’89). Kevin Spencer ’85 — whose moth-er, Donna Spencer, began working for Mr.Hartnett in 1966 — rounds out the team.

Only Ellen Hartnett Crim (Ursuline’77) rejected the tradition, choosing tobecome a CPA, then a stay-at-home mom.

The young Hartnetts were drawn to the

law and to the family firm by admirationfor their dad.

“My dad is an amazing person,” saidMelinda Hartnett, the youngest and latestHartnett to join the firm. “He always hasloved his work. He works hard but hedoesn’t over do it. We all admired him forthat. The boys especially wanted to followin his footsteps.”

Then there’s the breakfast table wherethe boys, usually sparked by the incendi-ary Jim Jr., argued about anything andeverything.

“All that talking and arguing paid off Isuppose,” reflected Emily Hartnett, matri-arch of the clan who has graced many aCistercian concert with her fine musician-ship. “I am surprised that they can getalong together.”

Paid off indeed. The Hartnetts haveestablished an impressive practice byhelping some of the state’s most promi-nent families settle their estates (and fam-ily disputes). The Hartnetts also represent-ed one of the parties in the high profileAnna Nicole Smith case.

Part of the firm’s secret lies in theshowmanship of Jim Jr. (this year’s recip-ient of the Jim and Lynn MoroneyAward). He was selected by Texas Lawyeras the “Go-To” attorney for trust andestate matters.

“He’s a fantastic trial lawyer,” saidRay LaDriere, who recently tried a caseagainst the Hartnetts. “Everyone talksabout Jim’s courtroom persona, butwhat’s more important to me, is that he’sa real ethical gentleman. He tries a casethe way it should be tried.”

“When Jim Hartnett cross-examinesyour witness,” LaDriere insisted, “youknow it and you feel it.”

“I think he’s the best courtroom lawyerin Texas,” said brother Will. “I don’t thinkthat I’m biased on that either. RustyHardin, the famous prosecutor, is the onlyone who compares with him.”

“Hartnett,” complained attorney LeeWare during one trial, “is prancing aroundand preening like the Queen of the May.”

“Your honor,” Hartnett objected, “Imay prance but I never preen.”

Jim’s flamboyant courtroom behaviorwouldn’t surprise many who knew him atCistercian.

Unlike his older brother Will, Jim wasnever one to waste much time studying.Jim was nevertheless immersed in a vari-ety of affairs at Cistercian.

In Form III, Hartnett did a brisk busi-ness selling magazines, candy, and minia-ture radios until he was caught and pun-ished by Fr. Denis. The young headmasterthen called on Jim’s dad who came out toschool and personally demonstrated hisdispleasure as well.

“Everybody got a piece of me thatday,” Hartnett recalled recently.

Through most of Upper School, Jimcontinued to push “the edge of the enve-lope,” remembered Fr. Melchior Chladek,his form master.

The Hartnett clan provides Cistercian with top-notch legal counsel. It’s their way of thankingthe priests for graduating five brothers between 1974 and 1987 • By David Stewart ’74

THE FIRM (standing from left) Jim HartnettJr. ’75, Donna Spencer, Jay Hartnett ’83,James Hartnett Sr., and Will Hartnett ’74;(seated from left) Kevin Spencer ’85,Melinda Hartnett, and Fred Hartnett ’87.

Photo by Jim Reisch

The CONTINUUM1212

“We had many talks,” Fr. Melchiorsaid, “and finally we came to a truce hissenior year.”

Jim agreed to tone down the troublemaking, but he refused to alter his long-standing academic strategy.

“He knew what he was doing,” Fr.Melchior remarked. “He was very confi-dent that B’s and C’s were good enoughuntil law school. Jim never made over a2.65 in Upper School. Periodically, hewould remind me of his plan, and heargued his case very well. He was clear-ly bright and he was determined to fol-low through on his plan.”

EMILY HARTNETT AWOKE with a start.She and her husband James hadretired that evening in the spring of

1965 convinced that the boys shouldremain at St. Bernard’s rather than attendthe three-year old Cistercian Prep Schoolin Irving, which was located so far fromtheir home in far East Dallas.

“And the tuition of $75 a month wascompletely out of the question,” Mrs.Hartnett remembered thinking. “We coulddo so much for our family with thatmoney.”

But now, startled by a vision in themiddle of the night, Mrs. Hartnett had hada change of heart and woke her husband.

“Jim, I know what we’re supposed todo,” she explained. “If Cistercian willagree to take both Will and Jim Jr., thenwe should send our boys out there. We’lltake part of our tithe to the church and usethat to pay the tuition.”

The next fall, Will entered Pre-Form.Right from the start, he left no doubt whowould become the valedictorian of theClass of 1974.

“Will was meticulous in his scholarli-ness,” said Abbot Denis, who served asWill’s form master during his nine years.“He scrupulously demanded top perform-ances from himself.”

“I was in a hurry to grow up,” Will saidrecently, “and become part of the estab-lishment.”

In a class full of top students, Will wasprepared to outwork them all to prove hebelonged at the top.

Mistakes by Will were so unfath-omable that when he answered a questionincorrectly once, his classmates andteacher gasped. Class clown AlanThomasson ’74 finally broke the silencewith a reassuring explanation.

“Malfunction,” Thomasson intoned inhis best computer-sounding voice.

It was no surprise to anyone in hisclass when Will was accepted to Harvard,

joined the Young Republicans, graduatedsumma cum laude, and eventually took aseat in the state legislature.

While Will was establishing the Hartnettname at Cistercian, dad James Hartnett wasexcelling in probate law at Turner Hitchinswhere he became a partner.

“My uncle Tom used to say that dadcould meet with a group of lawyers fortwo hours,” said Fred Hartnett. “At theend, my dad would know where all theothers stood on the issues and no onewould know where he stood.”

When Fr. Denis returned for his sec-ond tour as headmaster in the summer of1975 (just after Jim Jr.’s graduation), heasked James Hartnett to join the schoolboard as its legal counsel.

“He is a very wise person,” AbbotDenis said. “He speaks little, but on theimportant issues he always makes a sig-nificant point.”

“At first I got in touch with him strict-ly on legal matters,” said Fr. BernardMarton, headmaster from 1981-96. “Butlater, I began to trust Mr. Hartnett’s judg-ment and before I made any decision I‘ran it by’ him.”

Mr. Hartnett “is always calm, alwayslistening, always reassuring, always opti-mistic in the outlook, always ready withthe answer,” insisted Fr. Bernard. “Andfinally, when things look bleak, he says:‘And if they bring it to court, we will bethere, too.’”

“My personal motto is, we oweCistercian,” said Mr. Hartnett, whose 30thyear as the school’s legal counsel isapproaching. “What Cistercian gave tomy boys helped us in so many ways.There will never be a time when I won’tserve Cistercian.”

BETWEEN THE PATHS OF WILL andJim, the remaining three Hartnettbrothers found much room to frol-

ic at Cistercian. Bobby Hartnett ’79 (whopassed away in 1991 while in law school),Jay, and Fred enjoyed Cistercian and per-formed well in sports.

“Bobby was a lot like me,” remem-bered Jim Jr. “We may have been the mostsimilar although he was a much better stu-dent than me. He was a good all-aroundathlete. He had an intensity about things.”

Jay stood out as an explosive hitterfrom his strong safety position in football.“He was the only one of my sons whowanted to be the first one in on a tackle,”Mrs. Hartnett recalled.

Fred had little trouble coming up witha cogent description of Jay. “Apoor man’sFred Hartnett,” he suggested definitively.

All agreed that Fred dated the prettiestgirls, but the argument rages on over whocan claim the title of best athlete.

Only two families can claim to havegraduated five boys from Cistercian: theHartnetts (1974-87) and the Smiths(1970-78). The Heynes and Campbellsappear likely, however, to match the featin the next few years.

“It’s something I always have beenproud of,” admitted Fred Hartnett. “I wasaware of our legacy even before I beganattending school at Cistercian. I remem-ber going to Bobby’s sporting events andpeople would say, ‘You must be anotherHartnett.’ I knew there was something alittle different about our family.”

All of the Hartnetts continue to supportthe school enthusiastically. But it is Jim Jr.who spends the most time on its affairs,outside of his dad.

When the school’s eastern borderappeared vulnerable to unwanted devel-opment, Hartnett served as Abbot Denis’bidder in negotiations with officials at theUniversity of Dallas.

Hartnett also helped the school sell apiece of land in Coppell at the height ofthe market. At the Moroney Award dinnerin January, Wade Andres ’75 suggestedthat the sale prompted “some of the prieststo forgive Jim for some of his schoolantics.”

He runs interference for the schoolwhen it comes to DART’s plans for a railline along state Highway 114. Hartnettalso is watching out for Cistercian’s inter-ests as the highway department considersplans to expand 114 and to close theCistercian Road exit.

But Jim Jr. doesn’t see himself replac-ing his father’s role at Cistercian.

“I can never replace him because ofthe manner in which he deals with theCistercians’ problems,” Jim insisted, “Heis unique in the way he listens. I am muchmore opinionated. I am more apt to pushthem the way I think it should be donerather than let them make the decision.My opinion doesn’t seem to carry muchweight, mind you.”

With two boys now at Cistercian(Jimmy ’10 and Mikey ’11), Hartnett maysoon have to face what his mom and dadfaced over 30 years ago.

So, Jim, what if one of the young mendecides he really doesn’t need to study.How will you react?

“My answer is, times have changed.All colleges are way more competitivethan 25 years ago. You have to study.”

“Fortunately,” Hartnett suggested, “mykids are not nearly as stubborn as me.”

March 2004 13

ON FEBRUARY 4, 2004, AT THE WESTIN GALLERIA Hotel,over 700 people gathered for The Catholic FoundationAwards Dinner. They had assembled primarily to honor

the Rose Mary and J.M. Haggar Sr. family, distinguished recipi-ents of the McGill Award. That evening they would also honorthe winner of the 2004 Catholic Foundation Scholar’s Award,Cistercian student Juan Muldoon ’05, recognized for his “out-standing scholarship and service to the Catholic community.”

Despite feeling a bit under the weather on his big day, anddespite the large and distinguished crowd at the black-tie affair,Juan was poised and smiling as he approached the podium toaccept the award. He humbly pointed out that others should bestanding there with him: “Fr. Roch, my theology teacher, oncetold our class that an individual award always reflects anachievement by the whole group. I’m not standing up here alone,and I’d like you to feel that as much as I do. Fr. Paul, I hope thatwhen you look up here you can see the whole class because thisaward reflects the achievements of all the guys in the Form,achievements in which you take a great share.”

Weeks before the dinner, Fr. Peter assembled the nominationpacket for the Scholars Award. Included in the packet, along witha description of Juan’s commitment to diverse service projectsand his outstanding academic credentials, was Juan’s essay onwhat his Catholic education has meant to him. In part, Juanwrote, “I have found in my books and in my community atCistercian that the best definition of faith (imparted to me by oneof the monks) is ‘Fides Quaerens Intellectum’ — ‘Faith SeekingUnderstanding.’ Until I understand that He asks me to serve andforgive, I cannot take up His cross and follow Him. Until myunderstanding has been perfected, I will continue to be irritatedand challenged by long homework assignments, harried family

members, and my inability to pray. Fortunately, I attendCistercian, where walls are not erected simply for the purpose ofacademic achievement. The monks’ life of community is a livingwitness of the Catholic value of communal love—to do, as St.Bernard says, ‘Tout pour Jesus’ — ‘All for Christ.’”

At the dinner, Juan told his many listeners, “Writing aboutwhat Cistercian has brought me is an honor. To be able to writeabout the people I love only adds to the honor I feel. My schoolis my second home, not because I spend most of my time in aclassroom, but because I carry it and what it has taught me in myheart wherever I go. My teachers and friends have become myfamily because I am able to grow in wisdom and in maturity whenI walk beside them. It’s not a coincidence that Fr. Paul and Fr.Peter are sitting with my family at a table — they’re part of us!

“No matter how much I love my school, however, I need tothank, first of all, my parents for bringing me here and for put-ting up with me. Thank you for all the doors you’ve opened forme on this journey. Thanks for letting me see and know God inall the loving things you do for all of us.”

ONE OF THE “JOURNEYS” OF JUAN AND ELENA Muldoon andtheir children, Juan, Maria, and Pablo ’09, was to criss-cross the continents from Mexico to Chile to Cistercian

Road, USA. The circuitous journey was not without adversity foryoung Juan, who endured a number of childhood surgeries tocorrect his palate and lip. Elena Muldoon says her son, in spiteof serious hardship, “always managed to keep an excellent spir-it about life in general and about his prospects.” This writerrecalls how elated Juan’s parents were minutes after the standingovation he received for his first theatrical performance, the leadin the Cistercian production of Mad Woman of Chaillot. The son,

Prepared for the role of his life

Despite numerous medical hardships as a child, Juan Muldoon has grasped every opportunity that’s come his way and appears ready for center stage.

By Jackie GreenfieldEnglish Department

The CONTINUUM14

who in his early years had facedpotential lifelong limitations,spoke so clearly and with suchstrength and confidence thatone never would have suspect-ed his childhood battle. Perhapsclassmate Justin Ramirez ’05captures best what many of usfelt that night: “Juan has theability to command a scene onthe stage with an unexpectedpower in his voice or simply bythe way he moves and makesuse of the space. Not only hisvoice but also his physicallysmall stage presence resoundpowerfully beyond what any-one would expect.”

Although Juan makes stageacting appear relatively easy, hehas had to work hard to achievehis goals in math class. GregNovinski ’82, Juan’s mathteacher in Forms V and VII,recalls that when he enteredCistercian as a freshman, Juanwrestled a bit with the school’sacademic rigor, especially ingeometry. Making uncharacteristic first-quarter grades of B andC, Juan struggled to improve “in a valiant way—asking questionsand doing all his homework. By working steadily, he earned an Aby the end of May. This year, in pre-calculus, with self-deprecat-ing humor he speaks of gloom and doom about his prospects, yethe shows great heart and works through the difficulties.”

Friends are very important to Juan and making time for themis such an important goal that Andres Ruzo ’05 claims the onlyway to describe it is “‘Dog over a bowl of food.’ Juan is unwill-ing to let anyone go, and he’s always on the lookout to get morefriends and keep them happy in ‘his bowl.’” Juan’s friends knowhim well. “Though many things come naturally to him, I knowhe has struggled and he works hard to achieve the goals he setsfor himself,” says Ramirez. Another classmate, Al Hernandez’05, says that “despite his successes, academically and otherwise,Juan never comes off as a person that knows too much to helpothers; on the other hand, he shares his struggles with us.”Ramirez adds that Juan remains humble and is always willing tolearn and listen whenever someone has an opinion. These traitsalso have been observed by this writer, his English teacher. Eventhough he feels keenly about issues with moral implications,with maturity and self-discipline he is able to catch himselfbefore he interrupts someone. It’s as if he knows that truth is soheavily weighted that he doesn’t have to add the immediateweight of his own words lest the truth float away.

“JUAN’S JOYFUL HOPE CHALLENGES him and those aroundhim, always to do more to perceive and serve the needsof others,” says Fr. Paul. “It is common for Juan to

approach me with concerns about particular classmates, to standalone on cold, wet bleachers, cheering enthusiastically for hispeers at a soccer game, and to round up and organize classmatesto join him in so many meaningful community service activities.It remains for me a telling moment when one Christmas the Formbrought gifts into the home of a poor family we had adopted. With

many of his peers feeling a bitshy and inhibited, Juan quicklysensed the unease, donned hiselfin cap, and stepped confident-ly into the void, taking one of thesmall children into his arms andimmediately melting the ice.”

The “Adopt a Family” expe-rience has been one of Juan’sfavorites. “The whole classgoes,” he says excitedly, “bring-ing gifts, bed sheets, clothes—bringing forty-two pairs ofhands, bringing hugs, and asmile that says so much.” Hiseyes sparkling as he describesthe visit along with his forty-oneclassmates and the ever-involved form master, Juan con-vinces us that forty-two heartsknocked on the door that day.

Juan’s heart goes out toanother group of people—immi-grants from his home country,Mexico. Fr. Paul relates that“this past summer, with many ofhis peers looking for jobs thateither paid well or would look

good on a resume, Juan amazed me by expressing his curiousintention to be a vendor at a hot dog stand. When asked why, heresponded, ‘I just want to know what it feels like doing that kindof job.’”

Juan simply says he had the desire to live the way so many ofhis countrymen live and do the same things they have to do everyday. “I never knew it would be so hard! Under the sun and stand-ing next to the grill, temperatures were horrible. Honestly, Inever thought there would be so much manual labor involved inselling one hot dog! I’ve learned everything I’ve ever needed toknow about eating on the street—and not eating on the street. Ihave a newfound appreciation for the man trying to sell a drinkand chips to go with the cheap hot dog a customer orders, andwith a new view of tips I never have change in my pocket any-more. I had my regulars who would come in and sit down withme and talk while they were having lunch. I met some reallyinteresting people, and I can say that I learned many things intwo weeks of hot dog vending that I couldn’t have learned in twoyears of studying—even at Cistercian.”

No doubt Juan, student of math and vendor of hot dogs, willpersist in challenging himself to grow in knowledge and under-standing. Wherever he is, we suspect he will not forsake theopportunities to “unclutter” the minds of harried friends, teach-ers, and family with his cheerful humming and singing, the patson the back, and even his chicken impersonation. His rhythmand antics dispel the tension, yet his smile and attentivenesswork even greater magic. As good friend Ramirez notes, “Juanas a person simply shines from the moment anyone starts talk-ing to him.”

On February 4, that shine added a little more light to the 2004Catholic Foundation Awards Dinner, as Juan urged guests toimagine all of his classmates on the platform with him. And itwas in a mother’s tears that one could see the greatest effect ofthe shine as he leaned into the microphone to conclude with thewords, “Happy birthday, Mom.”

“I have found... the bestdefinition offaith is ‘FidesQuaerensIntellectum.’”

Juan Muldoon ’05, winnerof the 2004 CatholicFoundation Scholar’sAward, was recognized forhis “outstanding scholar-ship and service to theCatholic community.”

Photo by Jim Reisch

15

“Team chemistry,” said basketballCoach Dan Lee, “was the key to our suc-cess this year. All 12 players worked hardin practice every day and that helped ushave the kind of season we did.”

Jumping off to a 9-0 start — includinga win over Liberty Christian in the

Cistercian Tip-Off Classic final — set thetone for the Hawks’ best season in years(21 wins, 10 losses).

“That win against Liberty Christiandefinitely set us on our way,” Lee said. “Ithelped the boys believe in themselves.From that point forward, we seemed to bein every game, even against the league’smost talented teams. As a coach, youcan’t ask for anything more than that.”

The depth of the 12-man squad gaveLee the ability to rotate nine players intomost games and the flexibility to use a dif-ferent nine depending on who was hot andthe match-ups that were presented.

“The depth of our team was obviousin practices,” Lee added. “The five guysoff the bench would scrimmage thestarters from the night before andoutscore them. It was really a luxury tohave so many talented players.”

The team scored grudge match winsover Greenhill (with Jack Dorn ’05 hittinga three-pointer in the final minute in athree-point win) and FW Country Day.

Post Eric Ojeda ’05 led the way in thetough games, like the heartbreaking 65-63 overtime loss to Trinity Valley. The6’ 3” Ojeda shot an outstanding 62 per-cent from the field, earning All-SPC

honors and a place in the Hall of Fame“Eric takes high quality shots and is

more than willing to pass the ball,” Leesaid. “He is good with both hands and hasan array of inside moves. While he most-ly shoots from inside the paint, he alsomade five of 10 three pointers.”

Chandon Vangala ’04 provided valu-able senior leadership and athleticismfrom the shooting guard position and ablyfilled in at point guard when needed.Vangala won MVP honors during theCistercian Tip-Off Classic.

Point guard Bobby Crews ’06 showedhe was up to the challenge of runningteam, becoming one of only a handful ofCistercian sophomores ever to win post-season honors (All-SPC North Zone).

“Bobby kept getting better as the sea-son went on,” Lee said. “He cut down onturnovers and provided strong, consistentplay from the point guard position.”

In the Division I tournament, the Hawkssquared off against an excellent Oakridgeteam. While the Hawks led at various pointsin the third quarter, they were unable tohang on, succumbing 50-43.

“It was one of the most successful sea-sons we’ve had,” Lee commented. “Andall 12 guys contributed. Without each oneof them, we wouldn’t have been able tomeet our three team goals: win our owntournament, win 21 games, and qualifyfor the SPC Division I tournament.”

Sports News.d

Post Eric Ojeda ’05 puts up a shot in theHawks’ heartbreaking overtime loss to TrinityValley in January.

Photo by Vincent Zimm

ern ’06

We’ll never know what might havebeen. Having defeated St. Mary’s 4-0 onFriday of the SPC Division II tourna-ment at Greenhill, Cistercian’s varsitysoccer team was poised to make a run.

Then the snow came on Saturday,denying the Hawks a chance to face offwith TMI. Had they scored a victory inthat one, it would have been on to thechampionship game against eitherCasady or St. Mark’s.

“We had just lost a tight game toCasady in Oklahoma and we would haveliked another shot at them,” Coach RobKowalski said.

The Hawks had already played St.Mark’s twice, having come out with a 2-1 win and a tie.

Nevertheless, the Hawks had a “verypositive, competitive” 7-9-1 season.

While the Hawks won a close oneagainst St. Mark’s, they eventually lost toFW Country Day on the eighth round ofpenalty kicks. Defender Steve Kinard’04 scored off a corner and Nick Queralt’04 scored in OT off a rebound from aJordan Campbell ’04 shot.

After losing last year’s talented groupof seniors, the team relied on two of theremaining starters from that squad,Frank Abene ’04 and Sam Bowler ’06.

Kowalski moved Abene from defend-er to center mid, pairing him withBowler to create a strong nucleus.

“Frank and Sam served as our fieldgenerals,” Kowalski said.

Other important contributions weremade by Matt Chee-Awai ’05, AustinNevitt ’04 who stepped in at keeper, andnewcomer Matthew Abola ’07, who

brought his powerful leg and sprinter’sspeed to sweeper.

Snow ends Cistercian’s chances for Division II crown

Photo by Juan Muldoon ’05

SENDING IT Adrian Bower ’04 prepares toknock the ball upfield.

Hawk b-ballers win 21, make SPC Division I tourney

March 2004

CALENDARMarch

7 Book Fair15-19 Spring break

April8-12 Easter break

28 Abbot’s Circle dinner

May15 Commencement28 Closing ceremonies

June4-6 Reunions Weekend

with Hawk’s Hoops

Non-ProfitOrganizationU.S. Postage

PAIDPermit No 1922Dallas, Texas

ISTERCIAN

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

20

PREPARATORY SCHOOL3660 CISTERCIAN ROADIRVING, TX 75039-4599

On Prayerdd

“Everything is possible toone who has faith” Mk 9:23

We are tempted to construe these words of Jesus to mean thatif we have faith in him, we will be cured of all illness and avoidall misfortune. Consequently, I should believe that if I remain illor bad luck keeps me down, it happens because I have no realfaith. Yet, Jesus’ own life and death give the lie to such an inter-pretation. Jesus fails to win over his people and does not avoidthe torture of the crucifixion. The meaning must lie elsewhere.

We need to read the whole storyof the epileptic boy’s cure (9:14-29)in order to come closer to whatJesus really means. At the disciples’question, “Why could we not driveout [the unclean spirit]? Jesusresponds: “This kind can come outonly through prayer.” These wordsimply that Jesus prayed before theexorcism and he healed the boy inobedience to the Father’s will. Jesusis constantly listening to the Father.He always depends on the Fatherand carries out the Father’s will:“The Son cannot do anything on hisown but only what he sees hisFather doing” (Jn 5: 19; cf. 5: 30).Yet, even in his earthly life and inhis human nature Jesus carries outthese works of obedience with thealmighty power of his Father.Nothing can stop him from fulfill-ing the Father’s plan.

The believers share in thealmighty power of the obedientSon. To the extent that they carryout God’s plan in their lives, every-

thing becomes possible to them. There is no obstacle that couldderail them, no barrier to hold them back. The fisherman fromGalilee conquers the capital of the Roman Empire, a frail nun inAfrica (a missionary of St. Mary of Namur from Fort Worth)single-handedly turns back an armed mob intent on destroyinga rival village; a poor peasant boy from the Italian countryside(St. John Bosco) gathers together hundreds of thousands ofabandoned children into loving Christian communities all overthe world; and so we could continue the list indefinitely.Everything is possible to one who has faith because, in carryingout God’s will, God himself will assist him with his own power.Like St. Paul, he will also boast of his weakness so that Christ’s

power may dwell in him (2 Cor12:9). He will share in the cross ofhis Lord (failures, rejections, anxi-eties, ailments and the like), but hewill also share at the same time inthe power of His resurrection.

This full obedience to God’s willand the resulting experience of God’spower in our weakness are notreserved only for great saints andextraordinary apostles. EveryChristian man and woman who wantsto live a Christian life in our societyneeds God’s almighty power thatcomes through faith so that they maynot be trapped by Satan’s wiles butfulfill God’s plan for themselves andfor their families. Thus, if you pray forhealing but are not healed, it does notnecessarily mean that your faith wasnot strong enough. God’s almightypower may triumph in you in a differ-ent way. By embracing the cross ofChrist, your illness may turn into ablessing, a source of deeper and rich-er life for you and for many others.

— Fr. Roch Kereszty

IN MEMORIAMEddie Haller, M.D. ’91 passed away

on January 23 in El Dorado, Arkansas,after a brief illness. An Eagle Scout,scholar, and a volunteer in the Amigosde las Americas program in Ecuador,Haller played football and baseball atCistercian and at Trinity University inSan Antonio. He was named the line-backer of the ’90’s at Cistercian. Heattended Trinity University as aPresident’s Scholar, earning a B.A. ineconomics in June 1995. He receivedhis M.D. from the University of TexasSouthwestern Medical School in Dallasin June 2002. At the time of his death,he was a resident in Family Practice inthe University of Arkansas program inEl Dorado, AR. He is survived by hissister, Amy Haller; parents, Nina Hallerand Ronald G. Haller.