A Service to Others

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In October 2019, Brother Al celebrated his 89th birthday. He took his first vows as a Marianist on August 15th, 1948, at age 17, and has served 72 years in this religious profession. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Brother Al has served his community in a variety of places, such as Chicago, Oklahoma City, and Fort Worth. He holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Education (University of Dayton), Masters in Business Administration (Marquette University), and Masters of Arts in Counseling (University of Notre Dame). Throughout his life, Brother Al has served as a teacher and counselor at the high school level, while coaching various sports including soccer, tennis, track, and football. In addition, Brother Al has experience as an athletic director and has served on the hiring committee at St. Mary’s for an athletic director, which is currently filled by Robert Coleman. Now retired, Brother Al or Brother “GQ” as his fellow Marianist Brothers call him due to his trademark stylish apparel, continues to live and maintain an overall healthy lifestyle.

First, Brother Al will tell you his healthy lifestyle starts with his genes, inherited from his mother. He also maintains a healthy diet by limiting his salt and sugar intake. Brother Al is also an avid tennis player, and playing 3-4 times a week on campus helps keep him in shape. Due to his love and experience of tennis, Brother Al currently serves as chaplain for both the men and women’s tennis teams at St. Mary’s. He explains, “Tennis makes me happy and when I’m happy, it makes praying easy and it makes work easy and it makes service easy.” His inspiration for service is St. Julian of Norwich, who once said, “the greatest honor we can give to God is to live joyfully in the knowledge of His love for us.” Brother Al has used these words to help him be a service to others joyfully and selflessly.

In addition, the Marianist Home has a fairly new fitness room that was built on the second floor for the Brothers to use for exercise. In addition, this exercise room makes things a lot more convenient for the Brothers who before being built, had to walk or find transportation for the Alumni Athletics and Convocation Center, which is located across campus from the Marianist Home. As a result, Brother Al takes full advantage of the exercise room, working with his trainer Mike 2-3 times a week. In each session, Brother Al uses the bike for cardio and various dumbbell and elastic band exercises for weight training and flexibility. Being a fitness enthusiast myself, I had the pleasure of meeting Mike and watching an exercise session between him and Brother Al. While research shows that regular exercise is one of the best ways to stay healthy, decrease stress and improve cognitive functioning, Brother Al mentioned other benefits: It's a way to make friends, enjoy the outdoors, clear the mind, and even pray.

In my first semester of graduate school at St. Mary’s, I was assigned a project for my Documentary and Filmmaking class. For this project, I had to create a single documentary film based on a specific aspect of the history or heritage of the Marianists; working closely with the Marianist Brothers and the Marianist Archives on campus. Studying Public History for graduate school and being new to St. Mary’s, I was unfamiliar with the Marianist charism but knew I wanted to somehow involve sports or health and wellness for my project. The Marianist Archives staff connected me with Brother Al. Today, Brother Al and I have built an unlikely yet, wonderful friendship that I continue to value and cherish.

St. Mary’s has been built on Marianist values of leadership and service since it was established in 1852. Brother Al is a prime example of leadership and service. He has not only been a role model for myself, but he is also an inspiration to his friends, family, and fellow brothers.