By Joshua Sutker ‘23
Someone pinch me because it was only yesterday that I walked into Coach Gleeson’s gym class as an innocent little freshman. I can still hear him barking one of his 100 trademark sayings into my ear as I am in the middle of a “Southside Johnny.”
In only a couple of days, it will be my last time walking into the building as a student. I can look back and say that I walked into the building every day with a smile on my face. I was always looking forward to coming to school.
The countless memories made on the baseball field, in the weight room, and in the classroom are something that I will have for the rest of my life. The lessons I have learned from the men who have come before me have prepared me for whatever comes next in life.
The Crusader Crazies molded my experience at Rice. The Crazies have taken me down Pulaski on my bike, as well as taking me places as far as Yorkville. The best part about Rice is that you can look to your left or right and see someone that has had a shared experience because of the Crazies.
Baseball at Brother Rice was always a part of my life. I went to the Brother Rice Boys Camp as a little kid, then in middle school spent every day during the summer at the baseball/football camp, to finally being able to take the field as a player when I got to high school. It was inevitable. As a senior, I am happy to say that the program is in good hands.
The spiritual connectivity offered at Brother Rice has allowed me to understand things about the world that I may not understand and has encouraged me to take more risks. Kairos was the greatest retreat I have been on. It has changed my outlook on life ever since.
To sum it all up, I will always be a man of Edmund Rice. I am forever grateful for the opportunity to walk in for the first time as a boy and leave for the last time as a man.
