School of Education Alumnus and Longtime Employee Receives Medal of Honor

At St. John’s University’s annual Alumni Convocation ceremony on Saturday, October 19, Joseph Sciame ’71Ed received the Medal of Honor, which is the highest honor the University can bestow upon an alumnus. 

Congratulations! You retired earlier this year after serving the St. John’s community for 61 years. What does this award mean to you personally?

Receiving the St. John’s University Medal of Honor has meant a good deal to me in terms of my lifetime achievements at the University. It is the highest medal for an alumnus, and having been so closely associated with St. John’s since my first entrance as a student and then becoming an employee, well, how can I not exude with pride? It means a reaffirmation of all that I have done for the University and its Vincentian tradition. As I have often said, I try to live the motto on the administration building Newman Hall that clearly states: “Ministrare non Ministrari!”

Can you share a memorable moment from your journey that led to this achievement?

I firmly believe that what led to whatever decision to confer upon me the Medal of Honor has been my commitment to alma mater, and my spiritual, educational, and financial support over the years. People within and outside the University have said I made a difference—and I did it without realizing it. 

What is the “why” that keeps you going after retirement?

We are blessed with gifts. When I was a child, my maternal grandmother told my mother and I that I had “gifts”—and life has been an exploration of those gifts of listening, hearing, and walking with so many in distress. We have so much to do to make it a better world.

I feel now, for example, that in serving at the Dean’s invitation on The School of Education Alumni Advisory Board I can provide some insight and experience that I learned in the founding of the Bedford Stuyvesant New Beginnings Charter School back in 2008. I served as its chair for 10 years. My leadership skills have developed over the years and the challenge then is—why retire?

Who or what has been your biggest inspiration throughout your career?

Here at St. John’s University, there were many who believed in me. Many have now passed. Henry F. Rossi, Dean of Admission and Registrar, allowed me to run University registration without technology, even as a student worker in 1961 and then officially in 1962. So many others, such as Blaise J. Opulente, Ph.D.; Carl Robusto, Ph.D.; Sr. Margaret John Kelly, D.C. ’64G, ’67Ph.D.; and Barbara L. Morris, Ed.D., and the Very Rev. Joseph T. Cahill, C.M. and Rev. Donald J. Harrington, C.M., former University Presidents who appointed me to two vice-presidencies, all made it possible for me.

Can you share an impactful experience while at St. John’s that will inspire others?

I prefer to call them impactful experiences; since my retirement was announced earlier this year, I continue to receive emails and Facebook and LinkedIn messages from hundreds of people. They are not just congratulating me; many say that I made a difference in their lives.

Thinking about it, I was involved with the community at times concerning the baseball field, dorms, parking garages, and more, but we sat, listened, and compromised—and never faltered on behalf of the University.

If you could do this journey again, what would you change or not change?

The only thing I might change is to have allowed more time to achieve additional academic degrees. I sacrificed a good deal in expending time, leadership, and talent to become the state, regional, and national President/Chair of all three levels of the financial aid profession. 

As well, I have allowed myself full involvement in the Italian American community and achieved status as a local, state, and national President of the Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America. Yes, perhaps I should have focused a bit more time on me, but that has not worked; I care too much about the travails of our society and world.

As a proud alumnus, now serving passionately as Chair of The School of Education Alumni Advisory Board, what is next?

In this role, I want to bring The School of Education and its Advisory Board to higher levels of involvement by our alumni. They need to know what we are accomplishing each day, how we are responding to technology and artificial intelligence, and what we are doing in the classrooms to better educate our students so that they can be the next generation of teachers. I hope that our alumni become more involved as we continue to keep our mission at the forefront of what we do—i.e., to provide an excellent education to all who seek it.