Reflections On What Really Matters

Ah, the hallowed ivy covered walls, the shaded pathways, the oak paneled lecture rooms, the verdant playing fields of yore. It’s easy to wax poetic and sentimental about one’s alma mater. But I am deeply in love with a different sort of educational experience. The object of my affection is a tough boot camp, a harried Christian community under the guidance of the Vincentian Fathers in a gritty metropolis with hard-scrapple young people, eager for knowledge.

My alma mater is St. John’s University.

My father graduated from St. John’s College of Business Administration when it was located on Schermerhorn Street in Brooklyn. One of his classrooms was a Quonset hut. His study hall was a subway car.

He became a successful accountant and enjoyed a distinguished career.

I got my professional training at St. John’s School of Law. My entering class did not have the highest college grade point average and we didn’t have the highest scores on the LSAT. But when we finished our studies at St. John’s, we had the highest pass rate of any law school on the New York bar exam. What does that tell you about the education that we received?

In the last year of her life, my mother told me, "Never forget St. John’s. Everything that we have accumulated is thanks to the education that you and your father received from St. John’s."

I just celebrated my 60th birthday. I am a farmer, essayist, poet, rallye-driver and lawyer. But I am proudest to be a member of The McCallen Society. Just as St. John’s has played a pivotal role in my life, my University has a central place in my estate plan.

If you're interested in telling your St. John’s story, please contact Kathleen Mannion, Assistant Director of Gift Planning at 718-990-5312 or [email protected].