E. D. White Catholic Monthly Updates
February 2019
In This Issue
Card Draft 2019


Upcoming Events
April 12

Quick Links
Day at the Races



The E. D. White Alumni Race at the New Orleans Fairgrounds was held on February 9. Male alumni who attended the event are pictured in the winner's circle after the race: (from left) Tommy Bonvillain '09, Boyd Hebert, Jr. '73, John Daigle, Jr. '09, Ben Jones, Jr. '07, David Richard '63, Grant Chiasson '11, Jordan LeBlanc '07, Brent Soignet '07, Gerald Daigle '61, Luke Ford '52, John Ford '79, Charles Caillouet '66, Michael Richard '84, Jeff Donnes '73, Tim Robichaux '79, Dr. Guy Zeringue, III '88, and Jed Duplantis '79.


 
Alumnus of the Year 2019


Jeff Prosperie '84 was the recipient of the 2018-2019 Alumnus of the Year Award.  Prosperie was honored at a special school-wide assembly on February 15 and at an Alumnus of the Year luncheon that followed at Grady V's Restaurant in Thibodaux.

Prosperie played at the assembly and received a standing ovation from the crowd.  He then spoke a few words after tossing aside the speech he had originally written and said that his heart is telling him to speak about something else.  

"As you leave E. D. White you can do all the right things, but sooner or later you have to make that choice.  Who do you say I am?" he asked.  He said that if you want to be happy in life you have to discover your purpose, develop your gifts, and take advantage of the opportunities that have been laid out in front of you.  "The purpose in life is to develop those talents and discover them, and the meaning of life is to give them away in service to others," said Prosperie.

Prosperie actively serves as a championship level adjudicator for Drum Corps International having judged Championship Week 17 times and finals eight times. He is also a frequent finalist percussion judge for Winterguard International World Championships.  He recently served for two years as the percussion arranger/instructor for the nationally televised Army All-American High School Marching Band.  

The Alumnus of the Year Award is given to a graduate of Thibodaux College, Mount Carmel Academy, Thibodaux Central Catholic, or E. D. White Catholic, who exemplifies the charism of the Sisters of Mount Carmel and the Brothers of the Sacred Heart in his or her life and who has achieved success in the global community.


   
Video  
Alumni Mass

 
The alumni sponsored Mass was held during Catholic Schools Week on February 1 with celebrant Bishop Shelton J. Fabre.
  
   
First Place Finishes


Congratulations to the Winterguard and Indoor Percussion on placing 1st in their class on February 16 at Drummin' & Spinnin' on the Bayou held at the Warren J. Harang Jr. Municipal Auditorium.

Freshman Retreat


 
On their annual retreat which took place February 13, the freshman class took a day away from school work to reflect on the meaning of respect of self and neighbor. They started out the day traveling off campus to their retreat locations in town, and engaging in community building activities with their classmates.
             
After some introduction to the topic for the day, more intentional conversations began. There were speakers from within the E. D. White community such as teachers and upperclassmen, as well as guest speakers who shared testimonies surrounding the topic of respect.
 
"Looking back on freshman year, the message of the retreat would have been exactly what I personally needed to hear as I encountered the struggles of everyday life," said retreat staff member Faith Hebert '19.
 
The topics for the small sessions were respect of diversity, the impact of words, and how to model a life after the saints. Hebert said, "The discussions cultivated through the topic further allowed the girls to work on better understanding their vocation to love."
 
Al Wilson, Mass Communication senior at Nicholls spoke at the boys retreat about respecting people who are different from them. Wilson said that the boys were very attentive and he felt well received by the group. He said, "I hope I was able to impact some of them in a positive way."
 
Trang Tran, Family and Consumer Sciences junior at Nicholls, spoke to the girls and said, "It was amazing seeing young teens interested in the topic of respect of diversity."
 
Karaoke kicked off the afternoon at the girls retreat and allowed for practical application of the respect theme, as well as some good natured fun. Nathan Rachal '19, a retreat staff member said, "It is such a blessing to be part of the retreat team and see the students throughout our school interact with our Lord and have fun with their faith."  
             
The freshman were able to question a panel of model adults about curiosities that arose throughout the day. At the retreat's close, the students were able to bring their whole day into prayer with personal reflection time and finally, the sacrifice of the Mass.

-Written by Annie Knight '15
 
 

Engineering Day


(From left) Eighth graders Ava Zelesnik, Laura Rabalais and Christina Zhang participated in the John Deere sponsored Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day program on February 21. This program is a national movement that shows girls how creative and collaborative engineering is and how engineers are changing the world. Students work together in small groups to solve problems, learn more about engineering and have fun.   

Teacher Highlight 

Danielle Trahan graduated from E. D. White in 2000, Nicholls State University in 2004 and completed her Teacher Alternative Certification in 2008 from NSU. She is currently pursuing her Master's in Educational Technology through the American College of Education.

She said, "I've known since the second grade that I wanted to be a teacher. My mom says that she knew everything my teacher, Mrs. Gina Bonvillian taught that day because I would go home and line up all my dolls and play school and recite everything she said. In addition to Mrs. Gina, I had so many amazing teachers throughout my years at St. Genevieve and E. D. White, and they reinforced my love of learning and education."

She said that she wanted to teach at her Alma Mater because a part of her always knew that she wanted to end up at EDW, but she had to put it in God's hands as to when that time would be. She applied and accepted an English position in 2015.

She said that the students are what make EDW so special. "Every year my students are a great group and I learn as much from them as they learn from me. I love the relationships I am able to form with them through prayer, class discussions, and school events."

 

 
Having a Class reunion?  
 
Contact us and we can help with the details!  Email Alumni Director Michelle Keife at mkeife@htdiocese.org or call at (985) 446-8486.
 

 
We are looking for alumni updates to put into  the next edition of the Cardinal Courier. If you or  someone you know has recently married, added a new addition to their family, or know of an alum or friend of EDW who has passed, please email Kaye Self at kconstant@htdiocese.org.
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