[StBernard] Displaced students reunite to graduate

[Westley Annis]

Displaced students reunite to graduate
Miles didn't break St. Bernard bond 
Sunday, May 21, 2006
By Karen Turni Bazile
St. Bernard/Plaquemines bureau 

Although Hurricane Katrina destroyed the only Catholic high school in St.
Bernard Parish, 101 members of the 19th graduating class of Archbishop
Hannan High School in Meraux gathered Saturday for their traditional
baccalaureate Mass and graduation ceremony. 

 
Despite spending less than 21/2 weeks in classes at Hannan before Katrina,
students didn't miss out on end-of-year rituals, reuniting at St. Philip
Neri Church as an organist, singer and trumpeter filled it with soulful
music during the morning Mass. 

Underlying the day's events was the knowledge that "on Aug. 29, our world
was changed as we know it, with so much suffering and loss," the Rev.
William Maestri, school superintendent for the Archdiocese of New Orleans,
told graduates and parents. 

Maestri celebrated Mass because the school's namesake, retired Archbishop
Philip Hannan, remained hospitalized in Covington, recovering from an
inflammation of the intestine. Hannan turned 93 Saturday. Maestri
acknowledged that students are still wrestling with the storm's impact. Most
of Hannan's students are from St. Bernard, which was inundated by Katrina's
floodwaters typically more than 10 feet deep. Only five of the parish's
27,000 homes were spared major damage. 

"You find yourselves in exile; you find yourselves not at home," Maestri
said, calling on students to rely on their faith during tough times. "You
ask, 'Why do bad things happen to good people?'. . . I don't know. But you
should ask, 'What do good people do when bad things happen?' They come to
the church for hope." 

Maestri said the high school, with 500 students and a debt-free campus
valued at $19 million, will follow many of its permanently displaced
students and reopen in the fall in Covington. 


Making memories 


Founding principal John Serio kept in touch with this year's widely
scattered seniors through e-mails, phone calls and personal visits. Serio
and other school officials made sure the students had an overnight retreat
in Baton Rouge, a senior trip to Disney World, a prom at Southeastern
Louisiana University in Hammond -- and Saturday's events. The graduates
gathered Saturday evening, wearing black tuxedos and formal white dresses,
for their commencement at Tulane University's McAlister Auditorium. 

"This was the most catastrophic event in the history of the country, and we
had to do whatever we needed to do to make significant memories for the
seniors," Serio said in an interview. 

Speaking at the Mass, Senior Class President Troy Glorioso said Katrina
"took away many of our most prized possessions and left us with barely
anything. There are a few things however, a few important things, that it
could not strip from us: We still have our families, we still have each
other, and we will always have Hannan." 

Like all Hannan seniors, Glorioso faced a starkly different school
environment during his senior year, attending classes in Plano, Texas. 

Serio said some seniors moved too far away to return Saturday, and a few
chose to graduate from their new schools. Some of the other schools required
seniors to choose one school for graduation ceremonies, while others let
them participate in events staged by both schools. 

Hannan administrators kept track of students' academic progress during the
year and posted their grades with state education officials, thereby
ensuring the degrees could be awarded. Seniors normally are required to have
28 credits to get a Hannan degree, but Serio, knowing some students couldn't
attend school the entire year, awarded degrees to anyone who met the state
minimum of 23 credits. 

Maestri announced earlier this year that Hannan High would be housed for two
years at the St. Joseph Abbey north of Covington, giving it time to build a
campus on nearby land south of Goodbee. 

He reiterated that the school's departure from St. Bernard doesn't mark its
end. 

Maestri said the archdiocese is still committed to Catholic education in St.
Bernard Parish. Only one of five schools operated by the archdiocese in St.
Bernard, Our Lady of Prompt Succor Central Catholic School in Chalmette, has
reopened since Katrina. The grammar school opened Ash Wednesday with 24
students; it now has 100 and should have about 300 by the fall, officials
have said. 

"What we need to preserve (of Hannan) is not a series of buildings, but a
series of beliefs, practices and virtues," Maestri said. "The archdiocese is
committed to go where parents and students have moved." He also repeated an
earlier promise that St. Bernard would have another Catholic high school
when its population base is restored. 


Slow return to normal 


Despite not being able to meet on the Meraux campus after the storm, the
school's dance team, the Hannan Hawkettes, practiced at other locations,
marched in Carnival parades and participated in a state competition. 

Team coordinator Paula Puglise, who handed out gift bags and trophies to
team members after Mass, said the students deserve some restoration of
normalcy. 

For graduate Dustin Schwab of Chalmette, Saturday's events were bittersweet.


The senior year "turned out good, but it wasn't the way I had hoped," said
Schwab, a Hannan baseball player who attended Archbishop Shaw High School in
Marrero after Katrina, playing shortstop on a team that nearly took the
state title. 

Although he will participate in Shaw's graduation ceremonies, Schwab said he
wanted a Hannan degree and attended Hannan's senior prom, which allowed him
to see many of his old friends for the first time since Katrina. 

His mother, Sue Schwab, who is moving back to Chalmette, was thrilled with
Saturday's events. "He's my third one to graduate from Hannan," she said.
"We were upset that Archbishop Hannan couldn't say the Mass, but we are glad
they were able to do this as a class." 

Serio told the students he hopes they can benefit from harsh Katrina
experiences. He urged them to keep in mind the school's motto, "Charity
brings us to perfection." 

"We had a lot of adversity, but that adversity helped us to find out and
evaluate who were are," the principal said. 

. . . . . . .