This class of 56 students, Devon Prep’s 50th graduating class, will graduate on Saturday, June 6 at 10 AM in the school’s athletic facility on campus in Devon, PA. Headmaster Rev. James J. Shea, Sch.P. will preside over the ceremony.
The members of Devon Prep’s Senior Class hail from communities in Delaware, Chester and Montgomery counties. In addition to the Ivy League acceptances, they have also received acceptances from MIT, Johns Hopkins, the US. Military Academy, NYU, Tufts and Georgetown among others. One of the graduates has been accepted into the Villanova University /Drexel Medical School program and another into Drexel University’s BS/MS Program.
Among the members of Devon Prep’s Class of 2009 are 30 AP Scholars including 13 AP Scholars with Distinction, two National AP Scholars, 12 National Merit Scholars (four are Finalists, two of whom are Scholarship Winners) and one National Hispanic Scholar. The average SAT score for this class is 1278 of a possible 1600.
In addition this senior class has performed over 1800 hours of community service doing everything from collecting and distributing food to needy families to raising money for Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
One senior, Brian Lefchak of Wayne, accumulated over 350 service hours supporting the Arthritis Foundation. In addition to advocacy efforts he planned and performed in two concerts to raise $3000 for a scholarship fund for Camp JRA (Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis). The money he raised will provide tuition for 10 children (ages 8 -18) to attend the weeklong summer camp for children with JRA.
According to Headmaster Rev. James Shea, Sch.P., these graduates are an outstanding group of young men. “During their time at Devon Prep they have consistently excelled in and out of the classroom, and have dramatically increased the spirit of the school. I am delighted to see their excellence recognized by being accepted into the finest colleges and universities in the United States,” Fr. Shea said. “These young men are a credit to our school and their families.”
Speaking at this year’s graduation will be class Valedictorian Patrick T. Mannion of Malvern and class Salutatorians Felix deRosen of Wayne and Christian R. Mirabile of Phoenixville. All three of these young men are AP Scholars with Distinction as well as National Merit Scholars. Mannion is also a National AP Scholar and National Merit Scholarship Winner. Both Mannion and deRosen will attend Harvard University in the fall and Mirabile will attend the University of Pennsylvania.
This year’s Commencement Speaker will be Devon Prep Class of 1993 Alumnus Mr. Mark Malseed, bestselling coauthor of “The Google Story,” a critically acclaimed book published in more than 25 languages worldwide.
As an investigative journalist and the executive researcher for Bob Woodward of the Washington Post, he collaborated on the #1 New York Times bestsellers “Plan of Attack,” about the decision to invade Iraq, and “Bush at War” about the US response to 9/11.
Currently Malseed is a consultant for ChaCha, the #2 mobile search company in the world, helping to educate ChaCha’s workforce of 50,000 guides as their “Dean of Search University.”
Malseed is also cofounder and executive editor of the next-generation government news site, OhMyGov.com and sister site WhatTheGov.com. He holds a BA in Architecture from Lehigh University and resides in Alexandria, VA.
Also during Devon Prep’s graduation ceremony Class of 1977 Alumnus Mr. Francis X. Diebold will receive the Alumni Achievement Award. Diebold is J.M. Cohen Professor of Economics, a professor of finance and statistics, and Co-Director of the Financial Institutions Center at the University of Pennsylvania and its Wharton School. He works in econometrics, forecasting, finance, and macroeconomics.
A prize winning teacher and popular lecturer, Diebold has also held visiting appointments in Economics and Finance at Princeton University, the University of Chicago, Cambridge University, Johns Hopkins University and New York University. From 1986 to 1989 he served as an economist under Paul Volcker and Alan Greenspan at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in Washington DC.
He received his BS from the Wharton School and his Ph.D. also from the University of Pennsylvania. He is married with three children and lives in suburban Philadelphia.
During the graduation ceremony several awards will be presented to the graduates honoring them for academic excellence, school spirit and community service.
The following are the members of Devon Prep’s Class of 2009:
George Abraham of Lafayette Hills
Daniel F. Albornoz of Newtown Square
Salvatore S. Anzaldo of Drexel Hill
Vincent A. Arcana of West Chester
Kevin W. Auriemma of Phoenixville
Michael P. Baldassari of Worcester
Griffin T. Becker of Wynnewood
Andrew J. Bellwoar of Chester Springs
Andrew T. Bigelow of Phoenixville
Ryan F. Blumenthal of Malvern
Christopher P. Caporale of West Chester
Stephen J. Contigiani of Springfield
Vincent A. Coppa of Malvern
Christopher J. D’Aniello of Worcester
Marco Degli Espositi of Malvern
Felix deRosen of Wayne
Christopher J. Doody of Radnor
James M. Gamrat of West Chester
David W. Grashof of Chester Springs
Jeffrey A. Hackman of Phoenixville
Stephen J. Johnson of Media
L. Bradley LaBoon of Valley Forge
Brian T. Lefchak of Wayne
Benjamin R. Limoges of Chester Springs
Michael R. Livesey of Bryn Mawr
Sean G. Livesey of Bryn Mawr
Conor M. Logan of Newtown Square
Patrick T. Mannion of Malvern
Philip A. Marsili of Berwyn
Brian P. McCarthy of Berwyn
Sean E. McIntyre of Radnor
Albert McMahon of West Chester
Edward J. McNichol of West Chester
James T. McParland of West Chester
Matthew J. Meeth of West Chester
Lucas A. Migliarino of West Chester
Christian R. Mirabile of Phoenixville
Neil F. Moerman of Malvern
Kevin M. Mucchetti of West Chester
Timothy S. Murphy of Drexel Hill
Leo L. Nentwig of Havertown
Henry M. Okonski of Phoenixville
J. Bradford Parkes of Wayne
Anthony J. Petras of Coatesville
Matthew J. Radomile of Media
Mark P. Rafferty of Downingtown
Aaron R. Rosania of Phoenixville
Alexander P. Sakers of Worcester
Joseph M. Santos of Havertown
Richard M. Say of West Chester
William P. Schwarz of Malvern
Walter R. Snook of West Chester
Christian A. Staub of Pottstown
Joseph F. Stormes of Strafford
Garrison J. Weaver of Newtown Square
Jeffrey T. Young of Wayne
Devon Prep is an independent, Catholic, college preparatory school for young men in grades 6 to 12 conducted by the Piarist Fathers and located on the Philadelphia Main Line. In a safe and supportive environment Devon Prep students excel academically and learn to think independently and creatively. Through a devotion to Christian values, competitive athletics and commitment to service they are prepared to succeed in college and to grow into good, confident young men.
The Piarists Fathers is an Order of Roman Catholic priests founded by St. Joseph Calasanctius more than 400 years ago. Piarists profess not only the three traditional vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, but also a fourth vow to dedicate their lives to the education of youth. Today, there are nearly 1500 Piarists teaching 115,000 students in more than 32 countries.
For more information call 610-688-7337 or visit www.devonprep.com.
