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The St. Joe's Brotherhood

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Hear students and teachers describe the unique relationships that exist in our community.

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The term brotherhood was not a term we used a lot when I was here as a student, but it's something you felt. You certainly felt part of something bigger as a St. Joe's student. Now coming back for me 23 years later, now I see even more so what it means because I'm the one - along with a great team of people - who are working with these boys every day to ensure that this Brotherhood is real. That it's not just a word that we put on a piece of marketing material or say in a video, but it's something that's lived out authentically each day. The Brotherhood at St. Joe's is real. I feel it when you first walk in.  You feel it when you walk in the hallways. It's this sense of connection and the relationships you build with these other students here.  You really come to know them. I could tell you more about my friends then I can probably tell you about myself. Of course the Brotherhood has stayed the same over the years. That hasn't changed. The camaraderie that you see with the students still remains. They come in freshman year, and they're from all over. You get kids from Buffalo, from Ken-ton, Cheektowaga, Lancaster, wherever it might be, but it doesn't take long before they start really becoming a cohesive unit and it's no longer "oh we're from here, from there" - it's "we're from St. Joe's." The strongest feeling I have towards my classmates is pride. Some of my closest friends just went to New York City for an economics competition that they did incredibly well in and didn't expect to, so it's mostly just pride in all of their accomplishments and all of our accomplishments as a community. Since I'm so competitive in nature, I'm always trying to do the best at everything I can. It's not a competition against everyone else in my school, it's a competition with them. So, through every step of everything I do, they're always helping me through every process. I feel really proud when my friends do something really incredible. My friend Alex Hartman made those two saves in the penalty shootout against Canisius in the soccer championship. That was the happiest I've ever been. That was the loudest I'd ever been. Not only because we won the soccer championship, but because my best friend made two great plays. The range of families here, the diverse student population, the friends that my sons have made here -- they wouldn't have made at their district high school. It's so important. It's wonderful to see because they're going out then and into the world as brothers with my son and with all of their sons, and it's very special. I've made friends who will push me to strive better in my academics, and musically I've met friends who've pushed me to be more creative in what I do and try new things. With both of those together, it's kind of like a mash of becoming the best creative self as I can while striving to do the best I can. There's a comfortableness here. A comfortableness where they mature at their own rate. Much of what we teach in the faith, the Lasallian identity, may be an acquired taste. It may not be a selling point to someone who's never heard of it right away, but after four years they grasp that we're in this together, we're in the same boat. We're not all Lone Ranger's out there making careers for ourselves. This is where service and the academic aspect and Lasallian training all kind of converge into a part of humanity and a bigger Brotherhood. People say you're going to make friends in high school, and these people are going to be people whom you know and love your entire life. That's true. I couldn't give you one exact description of them because they're all different in their own respect but I love them. With St. Joe's, you kind of get to really know them as true friends or brothers. We do a bunch of collaborative pieces. We work together in different groups in class, and I think that really helps to further the relationships that you get. I'll wear a St. Joe's hoodie, and it is not uncommon for me to go anywhere and not pass a guy who's like St. Joe's Class of '98. You'll just automatically connect with someone just because you went to St. Joe's. I have alumni behind me. I have staff behind me. And I have the student body behind that. You have to represent when you go to St. Joe's. St. Joe's, without a doubt, was the place I felt at home. With the friendships I've built here and the relationships I've built with the teachers, that can't compare to any other school around Western New York. The St. Joe's / Canisius game at New Era Field this year. I was right down in the front row and sometimes I have to catch myself because I have to remember I'm not just a fan anymore, but you feel that energy. We're all rooting for the success of our brothers who are on the field. For me, it's brothers who are a lot younger than I am, but when you put the St. Joe's name next to any of our names, we share a connection.

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The St. Joe's Brotherhood

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