Legacy Gift Recognizes the Impact of Education in the Holy Cross Tradition
Paul Whealon ’67
Paul Whealon ’67 kept himself very active during his ND years. A three-year swim team member, he was on the 1967 triple championship team: District League Champions, State Dual Meet Champions, and CIAC Champions. However, the pool was not the only place you would find him during his ND sojourn. His interest in history, social studies, and civics brought him to Richard Antonetti’s ’57 Current Affairs Club; his commitment to others brought him to Young Christian Students and The Christophers, two 60’s clubs whose purpose was to deepen the Christian life fostered at ND. In his senior year, Paul served on the staff of The Herald, the school newspaper.
Paul’s formation and involvement at ND influenced his choosing History as his college major and education as his career. He received his AB from Providence College and began teaching at Norwalk’s Brien McMahon High School as a teaching intern. After completing his internship and receiving his Connecticut Permanent Teaching license, Paul took a job at Salesian High School in New Rochelle, NY. While there, he began graduate studies nearby at Manhattanville College. In 1977, with his MAT in hand, he returned to his roots, although at a different Connecticut location, Holy Cross High School, Waterbury. During his teaching career, he was involved in coaching swimming and diving, moderating the yearbook, and was deeply involved with the drama programs at all three schools. At Holy Cross, he helped create and form the drama program where he provided direction, guidance, and support for 42 years, three years beyond his retirement.
“It is difficult to explain the influence that Notre Dame and the Brothers of Holy Cross had on my life. It was not until I was teaching at Holy Cross High School in Waterbury that I realized that Notre Dame profoundly influenced my vision of education. And my vision of education impacted my responsibility to my students. The deeply embedded spirit of Basil Moreau was such a part of my background that it came out when I taught without even thinking about it. Education is the art of helping young people to completeness; for the Christian, this means helping a young person to be more like Christ, the model of all Christians. – B. Moreau
“I always felt that, no matter where we encountered our students, in class, in the halls, in outside activities, we were teaching. I came to realize that I was doing my job without even knowing it. No matter how the curriculum, the students, or the school structures changed, we were still TEACHING. How we educate the mind will change with the times; how we cultivate the heart is and will remain timeless. – B. Moreau
“I firmly believe that the education I received at Notre Dame is one that should be available to all. I have included Notre Dame among the beneficiaries in my will as a means of repaying Notre Dame for the education I received. I realize it is also a means of paying it forward for a new generation of Notre Dame Men. It is my wish that my legacy gift and that of other alumni, parents, and friends, will ensure an Education in the Holy Cross Tradition will be available to all young men who seek it.”
