Wall of Honour celebration at Holy Cross High School May 29, 2008 ...

Bishop Murray Chatlain, Mary-Jo DeCoteau, principal Ben Garchinski, Tom
Hayden and David Karwacki (left to right) next to the Holy Cross Wall of Honour.
Wall of Honour celebration at Holy Cross
High School May 29, 2008 recognizes
accomplishments of four former students
By Kiply Lukan Yaworski
A bishop, a breast cancer awareness advocate, a scientist/writer and a politician
were recently added to a Wall of Honour commemorating the achievements of
graduates at a Saskatoon Catholic high school.
Bishop Murray Chatlain of the diocese of Mackenzie-Fort Smith, who attended
Holy Cross High School from 1975-1979, presided at the celebration of the
Eucharist to begin the school’s 2008 Wall of Honour ceremony May 29.
Chatlain and three other Holy Cross alumni – Mary-Jo DeCoteau (1987), Tom
Hayden (1984) and David Karwacki (1983) – were then officially added to the list
of those featured on a wall in the school cafeteria commemorating the
achievements of former students.
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In his homily, Chatlain described his own faith journey and his conviction that
“God is trying to make our souls bigger” through the circumstances, events and
choices of life.
Ordained a priest in the diocese of Saskatoon in 1987, Chatlain related his
ongoing struggle to move beyond the calls of materialism and success, and how
his encounters with aboriginal people both in Saskatoon and during his years as
a pastor in the Northern Saskatchewan communities of Fond-du-Lac and Black
Lake helped to shape him.
“Living with the aboriginal people - learning to speak their language - changed
my mind and heart,” Chatlain said, describing life in the northern diocese of
Mackenzie-Fort Smith, for which he was ordained bishop in September 2007.
“They’ve helped me open my eyes … they are helping to make my soul a little
bigger,” he said.
In his remarks during the induction ceremony, Chatlain said that his high school
years were challenging, and included a lot of turmoil. “Because of many of my
classmates, many of the teachers, Holy Cross made a difference to me.”
Wall of Honour inductee DeCoteau was 18 years old when her mother was
diagnosed with breast cancer and 22 when the disease claimed her mom’s life.
Realizing she should take steps to find out more about her own risk factors, she
discovered that breast health pamphlets and materials all seemed geared to
older women. “Losing my mom had a huge impact on my life. At times it seemed
like everything changed, but the core of who I was did not change. I still liked
film, fashion, music,” she said.
Realizing there was an opportunity to approach the subject in a new way,
DeCoteau founded Rethink Breast Cancer, a charity dedicated to creating
innovative awareness campaigns, as well as supportive care programs for young
breast cancer patients, and training for young researchers. Since its inception,
the organization has raised more than $10 million for the breast cancer cause
DeCoteau said that she feels as if she “flew under the radar” during her years in
high school, not making the honour roll or participating much in school sports. “I
would like to say to all the students out there that if you are someone who is
flying under the radar screen … just pursue your passion, your dream, and the
future is there for you.”
Tom Hayden, who attended Holy Cross from 1980 to 1984, said that his time at
the school included achieving average marks, contributing to losing soccer
teams, participating in “nerdy extra-curricular activities” and graduating with “a
sigh of relief.” He studied agriculture and microbiology at the University of
Saskatchewan, and is “proud of fact he dug outhouse pits on three continents
before the age of 25.”
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In 1992, Hayden moved to Los Angeles to pursue graduate studies in biological
oceanography. In 1997, he was awarded a fellowship to work with the science
department at Newsweek magazine in New York and moved into a new career
as a journalist. He has written cover stories for major magazines and
newspapers, including US News, Smithsonian and National Geographic, as well
as publishing two books — On Call in Hell, about battlefield medicine in the Iraq
War; and Sex and War, about the biological and cultural evolution of warfare.
Hayden also encouraged students to persevere in following their interests, even
if they are finding high school challenging. “Don’t worry about it, it’s going to be
okay. Follow your passion, follow your heart: just keep going.”
Wall of Honour inductee David Karwacki, entrepreneur and leader of the
Saskatchewan Liberal Party, said that Holy Cross High School was a special
place for him, with its tradition of pursuing excellence. He paid tribute to teachers
who “helped kids find their passion, what they really cared about, whatever that
passion was, whether it was music, art, dance or math. It was about finding what
you really cared about, and that didn’t have to necessarily mean the most
popular thing.”
After high school Karwacki attended the University of Saskatchewan, graduating
from the college of commerce in 1989. He and three business partners founded
Star Produce, Ltd., an international fresh produce distribution company, for which
he as served as chief operating officer and CEO. His interest in politics began at
the age of eight when he met Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau during a 1974
election campaign. Karwacki became active in the Saskatchewan Liberal Party in
1999, and became leader after a contested leadership race in October 2001, a
position he filled until his resignation in December 2007.
“I would not trade one minute of any day that I was involved in public life. It was
my passion,” Karwacki said, encouraging students to find their passion and
pursue it. “Then you’ll wake up every morning and you’ll be excited about what
you’re doing; you’ll live life to the fullest; and as Bishop Murray said, your soul will
just be bigger.”
The four new inductees join 30 other former students featured on the Wall of
Honour, including athletes, entertainers, academics, artists, musicians and
missionaries. The wall was created as a millennium project in 2000 at the
suggestion of Holy Cross teacher Rick Murza. The ongoing project is intended to
recognize Holy Cross graduates who have achieved excellence in a particular
field of interest or career and have been recognized for their achievements at the
national or international level.
The inductees serves as role models to all Holy Cross students, said principal
Ben Garchinski. “This ceremony and the Wall of Honour itself serve to remind us
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that we too must set goals and use our gifts and talents for the betterment of our
community and the world as a whole. I challenge you to continue the tradition of
excellence and strive to be your best no matter what direction life takes you.”
SRC member Alex Kaczmarek agreed. “This wall of honour is to serve as a
concrete reminder to the current student body that ordinary, typical students like
you and me are able to make significant contributions to the community around
them,” she said.
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