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"The people I learned from every day and went to school with at Academy formed me into who I am today," says Jack Stappenbeck ('19). Now entering his senior year at Boston College, Jack took some time this past week to reflect on his time at AoOL. "The care and passion the teachers had for our school community and the curriculum rubbed off on me and helped form my learning habits for high school, college and hopefully my career," he says.
Upon graduating AoOL, the Ridgewood native took a four-year journey of demanding academics and community involvement at Regis High School in New York City. There he participated in a wide array of activities, including Varsity Track and Field and Campus Ministry, to name just a few. Jack's time at Regis was capped off with his receipt of the Jesuit Schools Network Award at graduation. This award recognizes a well-rounded graduate who models the ideals of Jesuit education by being intellectually competent, open to growth, religious, loving, and committed to doing justice in generous service to the people of God. Jack recognizes that all of those qualities weren't developed in a vacuum. "These are all things I learned at the Academy," he says.
Now in Chestnut Hill, he wraps up his senior year as a Finance & Accounting major and has accepted a permanent position at Citi, where he worked this past summer as an Investment Banking analyst.
We asked Jack what he took from his grammar school experience that helped him along the way in high school and college. "The school encouraged me to pursue a wide range of activities, from the sports teams to the school play -- that helped me get involved with a multitude of activities at Regis," he says. The trend continued in college. "Now at BC, my primary involvements focus on mentoring younger classmates, and I believe Academy helped shape this interest in wanting to be integrated with the school community and give back to others," he says.
Jack recalls great memories, especially CYO basketball with coaches Mike Branagh and Lloyd Williams. "My friends and I still look back fondly on those '11-man' late night drills, hot tub pizza parties, and 'run for your lives', which was the coaches' coined term for an all-out sprint 10 lengths of the basketball court," he laughs.
Jack stays in close touch with AoOL friends like Teddy McCarthy, Patrick Moore, Spencer Shea, Steele Matthews, Kenny Kramer, Patrick Springer and Aidan O'Malley. The group's fantasy football league is still going strong.
Above, Jack (left) with brother James ('21) at James' graduation from Regis High School.
Congratulations, Jack!
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