By Robert Regan ‘23

The greatest honor a member of the Brother Rice faculty can receive is being inducted into the Brother Rice Hall of Fame. The newest inductees are ones that are more than worthy of the honor: Mr. Thomas McAuliffe and Mr. Frank DiNovella. These two members of the Brother Rice family embody the values of the school. Both of these men have put the institution that is Brother Rice High School far above themselves.

The faces of these two individuals are ones the Brother Rice community knows well.

Junior Dominic Pettenon said, “Frank is one of the most kind and compassionate people I know. He is very welcoming and always excited to see us in the morning in the cafeteria.”

Junior Daniel Rivera said, “I always enjoy Mr. McAuliffe’s class because he brings a lot of life into the classroom. He is always enthusiastic when he is teaching and gives very thorough explanations.”

Mr. McAuliffe first started teaching at Brother Rice in 2003. He has taught a wide variety of classes, including history, theology, and even the infamous AP Economics class.  During his time, he has been heavily involved in sports and clubs. He is the assistant bowling coach,  a director in both the fishing and diversity clubs, and the intramural floor hockey referee, who has never made a bad call. He has gained recent notoriety as the head of concessions at Brother Rice basketball games. Given his background in the food industry as a Portillo’s manager, this is the perfect job for Mr. McAuliffe and the concession stand is running as efficiently as it ever has.

Frank DiNovella first started working at Brother Rice on November 17, 2007. Frank attended Brother Rice as a student and graduated in 1989. He can be seen anywhere at any time helping out where he’s needed and working on the upkeep of the school. He most often works in the cafeteria where he can often be seen telling students to “pick up their trash,” and helping students at the vending machines when they aren’t working. He has mastered the art of shaking bags of chips out of the vending machines. Frank is also famous for supervising detention on Saturday mornings, where he makes sure students make up for their wrongdoings with honest, hard work that builds character.

Since both have been working at Brother Rice so long, they have some favorite memories.

Mr. McAuliffe said, “I remember the first day my son Patrick (’19) and I walked through the doors in August of 2016 together. I was able to watch him grow as a young Crusader and develop into a solid young man.”

Frank said, “My best memory would be working with Kenny Williams, who got me the job, through my boss Kurt Bosi. I had great memories working with them both.”

There is a reason both have worked here for so long, and that is because they have a love for the school of Brother Rice that makes them stay.

Mr. McAuliffe said, “The great group of people that are here – the faculty, staff, and students – are the most dedicated I’ve ever been around. In my twenty years here at the school, I have never had a bad day.”

Frank said, “What I love most about Brother Rice is the students. Their personalities, that they are all different, the funny conversations they have, and how crazy they all are at the sports events. ”

The foundation of the Brother Rice community is built upon great individuals such as Mr. McAuliffe and Frank. No two members of the Brother Rice family better embody the school’s spirit. Everyone can look to these great men as role models and examples of what it truly means to be a Crusader.