The term 鈥渢riple eagle鈥� usually refers to an alum of Boston College High School, Boston College, and 51茶馆 Law or one of the University鈥檚 other graduate programs, but there鈥檚 another school with strong 51茶馆 ties emerging as the 鈥渘est鈥� for future avians: 聽Saint Columbkille Partnership School.
Founded in Brighton in 1901 and reestablished in 2006 through a partnership between 51茶馆, the Archdiocese of Boston, and Saint Columbkille Parish, STCPS now serves more than 400 pre-K through grade 8 students. Committed to Catholic educational and religious traditions, STCPS offers a rigorous and comprehensive model of excellence in early childhood, elementary, and middle school education. In 2018, STCPS was designated as a laboratory school of the Lynch School of Education and Human Development鈥攖he only such arrangement between a university and a city of Boston elementary school鈥攚hich increases the collaboration between the school鈥檚 teachers and 51茶馆 faculty and students to engage in more intensive research and instructional experiences.
Sharing STCPS as their academic incubator are three young men, each perched on an ascending rung of life鈥檚 ladder, and all with a connection to 51茶馆.
Jonathan Pierre (Peter Julian)
Jonathan Pierre is a graduate of 51茶馆 High (2011) and 51茶馆 (2015) who started at STCPS in seventh grade following the closure of Our Lady of the Presentation in 2005.聽 He was raised by a single mother (鈥渢he most selfless person you鈥檒l ever meet鈥�), a native of Haiti who enrolled Pierre鈥檚 brother, Emmanuel Jean M.Ed. 鈥�18, and him at STCPS not because the family was Catholic鈥攖hey鈥檙e Baptists鈥攂ut so that 鈥渟he didn鈥檛 have to worry about anything鈥� while she worked full-time in housekeeping at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. 聽
鈥淭here are special people at STCPS,鈥� said Pierre, who grew up in Brighton and Cambridge and traveled an hour by MBTA bus from home to the school. 聽
Pierre had been on 51茶馆鈥檚 campus numerous times before enrolling, the result of mentoring relationships with former 51茶馆 hockey assistant coach Mike Cavanaugh, now head coach at the University of Connecticut, and former 51茶馆 head baseball coach Richard 鈥淢oe鈥� Maloney.聽 Both coaches frequently brought their respective teams to the after-school program at the Oak Square Y which Pierre and his brother attended, and these encounters resulted in many invitations to attend 51茶馆 athletic events.
鈥淭hose two had and still have a significant, positive influence on me,鈥� said Pierre, who served as a 51茶馆 basketball team manager while at the Heights, where he earned a B.A. in economics. 鈥淭hey had an immense impact on shaping me into the man I am today. I still talk with Coach Moe, and I speak with Coach Cav on a daily basis.鈥�
“51茶馆 helps you develop as a whole, complete person. You can't put a dollar value on 51茶馆's education.”
鈥婸ierre applied to other colleges but when he was accepted at 51茶馆, 鈥渁ll the others went out the window.
鈥�51茶馆 helps you develop as a whole, complete person,鈥� said Pierre, a financial advisor at The Bulfinch Group, a comprehensive financial strategies firm in Needham, Mass., where he works with clients 鈥渨ho look like my mother,鈥� as well as with individuals whose net worth may exceed $30 million. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 put a dollar value on 51茶馆鈥檚 education.鈥�
Giving back to the community is a priority for him, and Pierre serves on the Young Professionals Board at Boston鈥檚 Doc Wayne, a non-profit, sports-based therapy program that supports at-risk youth as they process and persevere through adversity.
鈥淚 know my brother [a third-grade teacher at Young Achievers Science & Math Pilot School in Mattapan] and I defied the odds,鈥� said Pierre. 鈥淚鈥檓 a spiritual person, and in my mind, it鈥檚 not a coincidence that so many people had such a profound impact on my life. The countless relationships with special people since my adolescence make me feel like I grew up a spoiled kid.鈥�
“It was a dream of mine to attend Boston College. I've received a great education, and I'm so grateful for the opportunity and the generous financial aid that made it happen.”
鈥婥urrent 51茶馆 senior Carlos Tamayo started at STCPS in sixth grade, though he previously attended the Gardner Pilot Academy in Allston. He is the first member of his native Colombian family to attend college.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 regret changing schools at all,鈥� said Tamayo, who graduated from 51茶馆 High in 2017. 鈥淪t. Col鈥檚 holds each student to high standards but in a warm and welcoming environment.鈥�
He characterized his transition from STCPS to 51茶馆 High as 鈥渟mooth鈥� but calls the 51茶馆HS Guidance Department as 鈥渁mazing.鈥�
Carlos Tamayo (Peter Julian)
鈥嬧�淵ou get the help you need in every sense,鈥� said Tamayo, a political science major who has dreams of a career in aviation and traveling the world. 鈥淧lus, I grew very close to my teachers, who understood me, and helped me become an upgraded version of myself.鈥�
While holding down part-time jobs last school year, Tamayo volunteered at the Oak Square Y in Brighton, where he worked with teens in the Youth and Government Program, a national initiative designed to nurture and train young leaders, a project in which he participated at 51茶馆 High. 聽
鈥淚t was a dream of mine to attend Boston College,鈥� said Tamayo, who had originally hoped to study in Europe last summer, plans that were dashed by the pandemic. 鈥淚鈥檝e received a great education, and I鈥檓 so grateful for the opportunity and the generous financial aid that made it happen.鈥� 聽
鈥婽he youngest of the threesome, 17-year-old Red Molina, is a native of the Philippines whose actual full name is Matthew Exequiel Red G. Molina. His parents shortened his first name to simply 鈥淩ed鈥� when he was in pre-school, but its derivation has a long history.
鈥嬧�嬧�淩ed鈥� is an abbreviated nod to Frank Reed Horton, the founder of Alpha Phi Omega, the 95-year-old international collegiate service fraternity whose mission is to prepare campus and community leaders, explained Molina. Red鈥檚 father, an APO member when he attended college in the Philippines, greatly admired Horton, and named his son after the fraternity鈥檚 first national president and college professor.
Molina, now a senior at Cristo Rey, a Catholic coeducational high school in Dorchester, attended Saint Columbkille for sixth through eighth grade, a place that 鈥渇elt like home鈥� to him.
Red Molina (Peter Julian)
鈥淭hey were always there for me,鈥� said Molina, who lives in Brighton and frequently volunteers at STCPS. 鈥淢r. Gartside [William Gartside, former head of school who retired this past year] was very helpful, even helping us find a house.鈥� 聽
Molina has a cousin who attended 51茶馆, and he, too, hopes to enroll with an eye toward a major in computer science.聽 But Molina is already part of the University community: He has worked one day per week as an office assistant at 51茶馆鈥檚 Information Technology Services department for three years.
鈥淩ed has been an exceptionally good worker,鈥� said Cindy Pereira, his supervisor and an administrative assistant in business planning and project services at ITS. 聽鈥淗e is dedicated, hard-working and mature beyond his years. He has become a part of our team. We are lucky to have him.鈥�
Phil Gloudemans | University Communications | November 2020