THE BODY and THE LEGACY

When the decision was made to close Brooklyn Preparatory High School it is fair to assume the question surfaced, “What will happen to the Alumni as a “Body” and the instilled Jesuit Tradition that had become an essential part of each of us?”

The Body 

The response to that question led to the formation of the Brooklyn Preparatory Alumni Association (the Body). This organization would enable all graduates to maintain a fraternal brotherhood of fellow classmates, friends, and teachers, intertwined with our Jesuit Tradition. This entity would replace the loss of our school as the organization that would provide the forum for alumni events that normally emanate from a school.

Each of us would be invited to become a member of the Brooklyn Prep Alumni Association. A brotherhood was created whereby we could maintain a fraternal camaraderie with the people from whom we derived our friendships, our teachings, and our roots.

To qualify for membership, the primary pre-requisite was, simply stated, to be a bonafide graduate of the school.

To provide structure and viability to our institution a charter was developed by Father Jack Alexander SJ and a Board of Directors was formed to govern and control. The board would be composed of graduates supported by one of our Jesuit priests who would actively serve on the Board as moderator.

Lest we forget, the very idea of the Brooklyn Prep concept was first “seeded” and then opened by the Jesuits in 1908. For us, the Jesuit Tradition began at that point in time. The mark of that training and teaching remains with us today and must always be recognized and remembered.

The single, most dominant and meaningful tradition that has grown out of this entity has been the annual Mass and Spring Dinner. It provides the forum and means for the alumni to fulfill the primary purpose of our existence-fraternal camaraderie and spiritual experience. It has become the single most attended event offered by our association.

Conclusively, the essence of our original mission consists of a spiritual connection to God via St. Ignatius and the fraternal camaraderie between classmates, teachers, and Jesuit traditions and influence. The Brooklyn Preparatory Alumni Association (The Body of members) and the annual Mass and Dinner are a manifestation of these objectives.

The Legacy

As the Association developed and matured there came a time when the Board of Directors searched for a goal that would enhance our purpose beyond the essential primary mission previously outlined. This goal would always have to coincide with the defined traditional primary mission of the BPAA. It should never transcend our original purpose.

Appropriately, The Scholarship Fund was created. Our organization decided to sponsor young boys and girls at our prep schools by way of scholarship. The Brooklyn Prep Scholarship Program required candidates to meet criteria based on financial need, their academic potential, and the desire to earn this opportunity. They would join our Jesuit communities as young students and finally leave our Jesuit High Schools as young Catholics equipped with the same values and morals we experienced during our Jesuit exposures and training.

This goal has been realized and manifests itself in the three hundred plus students who have completed this journey. The Brooklyn Preparatory Association successfully created a goal that would benefit others in the tradition of our Jesuit Training. It would be an extension of all that we were in the past and would continue towards the future. The Body of Members developed an additional, more meaningful purpose for the Brooklyn Preparatory Alumni Association with a long-term future.

However, the Board of Directors, under the watchful eye of the Investment Committee and our previous moderator, Fr. Jack Alexander SJ, determined that a major growing question had to be answered.

There would come a time when the “Body” would begin a pattern of population decline as the membership’s mortality becomes evident. This led to the question, “What can we do to ensure the continuance of the program when the “Body” no longer exists?”

To ensure that the original principals and guidelines that have been established continue in perpetuity, a legal document "The Last Man Standing" was created under the direction of Board member Ralph Mascia 71'.  After a year of thoughtful introspection and assistance from a team of attorneys and accountants, the document now stands in place to guide future curators of the Endowment.

This Scholarship program is our contribution to the young students participating in the Jesuit Tradition. Yet, it also has produced a positive causal effect relationship. The financial challenges related to the Scholarship Program have produced the effect of renewed efforts for us to maintain our levels of membership in The Body.  When you reflect on where we started, where we are, and where we are going, you begin to see that the goal is now inspiring us to maintain a pro-active, positive direction of the Brooklyn Preparatory Alumni Association.

The BPAA started the program for the students and now the program, as designed, is actually helping to “drive” us. God does work in strange ways. We are striving to protract and prolong the viability and productivity of BPAA to achieve our “spiritual gift of giving”.

When our numbers finally decline, the remaining, closing alumni will have this asset to manage and follow through to the final completion. The Scholarship program will continue "Ad Infinitum" due to the "Last Man Standing" document the Board has put in place. The Brooklyn Preparatory Alumni Association will have defined and installed The Legacy of our High School.

Conclusion

If we reflect on these thoughts it is rather simple and plain to understand. A group of students, teachers, and priests shared a common tradition of values and education offered by the Society of Jesus. The Brooklyn Preparatory Alumni Association was formed as a structure in which the “BODY” of members could maintain its identity and purpose for being in the long term.

The “Body” developed a spirit of giving in the form of the Scholarship Fund. It was the result of the values and traditions learned during our school years. In God’s scheme of things, the very program to help young people enjoy the fruits of our efforts is now becoming a significant driving force towards our future for us as well.

The scholarship awards concept and goal is taking on the form and definition of The Legacy.  It is becoming a part of the spiritual driving force of our association.

We should reflect on this very basic BPAA creation: The Body and the Legacy. We must re-dedicate ourselves to the fundamental original mission and purpose for our being and take the necessary steps to insure and ensure our goal. We must not be distracted from who we are and what we are attempting to do.

At some time in the future, only the Legacy will remain. That legacy will consist of gifts of love to young students who will graduate from Jesuit High Schools just as we did. That will be the testimony to The Brooklyn Preparatory High School we all loved and cherished.