Johnny Carson once said that people consider anyone fifteen years older than themselves to be part of a different generation.
If that’s the case, then over one thousand students at Brebeuf College must have thought they were looking at a real pioneer today. And in a way, they were.
I was asked to speak at Brebeuf this morning to help kick off the school’s fiftieth anniversary celebrations. I qualify as a pioneer since I was one of about 220 students who were there when the school first opened its doors on September 3, 1963.
My association with Brebeuf College includes four years as a student and almost thirty eight years as a teacher.
The organizing committee suggested that I not make my speech a history lesson but rather my reflections on the changes in the school over the past fifty years.
Somehow, that sounded like a history lesson too so I decided to go a different route.
Here’s part of my speech from today.
I come today with three stories for you.
My first story is about a Brebeuf student named Ken whom I taught almost thirty years ago. Ken was an easy going friendly student who always seemed to be hanging around after the school til at least four o’clock. One day I asked him about it and he said that he lived with his aunt who worked an afternoon shift so there really wasn’t much for him to go home to.
“My real family is in the Philippines,” he explained.
I asked if he missed them.
“Of course,” he answered. “But, every night back home, my mother sets a place for me at the dinner table. They remember me and that makes all the difference.”
That same feeling of family, that feeling of connectedness is at the core of being a Brebeufian. Everyone in this gymnasium this morning is part of something much bigger than themselves, something that you can be proud of, something that will equip you for your journey ahead.
I’m constantly meeting former Brebeuf students whether it be at a Blue Jay game or coming out of church, when I’m at a doctor’s office or waiting in line at Home Depot. They are all proud and grateful for their association with Brebeuf and I’m never surprised when they tell me that some of their very best friends are from their high school days.
Know that you are part of a family that not only reaches across Toronto, it reaches around the globe. And, it’s a family that can make all the difference in your life if you let it.
Being a Brebeuf student means being connected, being connected with something that is life giving as well as life changing.
My second story involves one of your peers who is sitting in this audience today. I won’t use his real name. I don’t want to embarrass him. Let’s just call him Andrew for the sake of the story. Andrew was in my homeroom in Grade 9 three and a half years ago. It was December and Can Aid week was upon us. My class had brought just a few cans of food for a campaign that was off to a slow start. That’s when Andrew came forward and really surprised me. He handed me $80 in cash and said,
“It’s from shoveling driveways in my area. I’ll try to bring a little more next week.”
I tried to remind him that it was almost Christmas and that he should be thinking about buying gifts for his family.
“Don’t worry, sir. Hungry people need this money more than me.”
I was amazed by his generosity and true to his word, he brought in more money the following week. Andrew’s example of generosity has stayed with me whenever I see a poor or homeless person, whenever I am tempted to say no so someone in need.
His selfless example made a profound impact on me and on the entire class. His generosity is a second part what it means to be a Brebeufian…to be generous and to look out for others… whether they live across the street or across the world in places like Africa and India.
Certainly, a second part of being a Brebeuf student is to be compassionate, to be a man for others.
My third story is about not one of my former students…it’s about one of my teachers. He’s a man who taught religion and outdoor education for 18 years. He was a humble man whose career actually got off to a very slow start. In fact, for the first two years of his teaching, his students wouldn’t even listen to him.
However, as years went by, his students began to admire him and respect what he stood for and more importantly, they began to follow his example him until his life was cut short by his untimely death at the age of 55. Who was this man? Let me give you a hint.
His students called him Ekon, the one who carries the heavy load. Of course, I’m talking about our patron saint, Jean de Brebeuf,
Brebeuf continues to be my best teacher. He teaches me about faith, about service, and about courage. Indeed, he was his own man, a man who courageously served his brothers and sisters, a man who had a clear vision of his mission, a man whose life was a resounding success if only measured by the thousands of students who have graduated from this school carrying the spirit of Ekon with them.
Indeed, the third part of being a Brebeufian is about courage: courage to make the right choices in difficult circumstances, courage to be there for a friend when others are turning away, courage to lean into life when things get tough instead of just bailing out, the courage to be say “Why not me?” instead of “Why me?” when life throws you a knuckleball.
In closing, I’d like to issue three challenges to you, the future of Brebeuf.
First, I challenge you to always be mindful of and proud of your connection to the rich tradition of Brebeuf College. Second, may you answer the call to be compassionate, to be men for others. And third, may you always be inspired by our patron Jean de Brebeuf to be courageous, to accept the things you cannot change and to have the courage to change the things you can.
In short, as Brebeufians, I challenge you to be connected, to be compassionate and to be courageous.
I am confident you and many others after you will take up these challenges going forward in these next 50 years.
In 1963 when Brebeuf College opened, we we’re known as a school with a difference. With your commitment, let us now be known as a school making a difference.
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