BY ANDREW BENISEK ‘17

If you have ever lost your starting spot, been cut from a team, or were not casted for a starring role; then you have something in common with A-List Celebrity, Tom Hanks, whose tie to Cleveland came about as result of failure. After a successful lead role in his college production, he was confident he could be casted for the lead role in the next play that came into Sacramento. To his surprise, he did not land the role. Hanks, disappointed and longing to be in a production, shipped himself across the country to participate in the Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival in Cleveland. Like many students, entrepreneurs, and professionals, Tom Hanks found his haven of opportunity in Cleveland, which is what brought him back to northeast Ohio last Friday afternoon.

With the filming industry on the rise in Cleveland, there was no better person to speak with 900 students eager for a career in production than Tom Hanks, a man who undoubtedly was given his start in Cleveland. Hanks was brought in by The Greater Cleveland Film Commission, the group that helps to bring large scale filming productions to Cleveland by lobbying for tax incentives and reaching out to production companies, to be a keynote speaker at their Friday night fundraiser. However they sponsored a Q&A in the morning at Cuyahoga County Community College’s Metropolitan Campus. Hanks was interviewed by St. Joseph Academy senior, Jonae Williams, who was given a list of pre-submitted questions from the audience, among whom was Mr. Buzzelli, Fr. Ross Pribyl, and 15 students from the film and animation class.

Based on the accounts of our students and faculty in attendance, the event was very casual and humorous, jumping from conversations about his past roles, hobbies, and opinion on the role of television. When asked about his role as Woody in “Toy Story” he said doing voice overs are torture, more specifically, “hell on earth.” He also reflected on his extensive typewriter collection. Hanks’s love for
his typewriters stuck with Fr. Pribyl, who said, “He really appreciated the ‘artistic’ aspect of a typewritten letter: how a key imprints a design into the paper and how the ink saturates the paper fibers so that the letter could be read hundreds of years from now.”

Overall Tom Hanks was very well received by the audience and served as a great example for perseverance, determination, and the power of Cleveland to the aspiring students in the audience.

BY ADAM KAYE ‘17

David Speelman ‘17 and Nathan Speelman ‘18 have taken action this year, making a positive change through the Saint Benedict Joseph Labre Ministry to the Homeless.

David and Nathan have created a new initiative that directly helps the homeless men and women in Cleveland. Operating through his parish and Saint Ignatius, David and Nathan Speelman have collected flashlights and batteries to distribute to Labre’s friends on the streets.

The Speelmans were inspired to start this initiative because of their experience of going out on Labre one Sunday night. David and Nathan felt called to do something more. David and Nathan have taken that meaning of “magis” above and beyond with this initiative, titled “Let Your Light Shine in Cleveland.”

David said that the thought of this initiative started when he and his brothers felt that “we should give back to the people who didn’t have as much.” The Speelman brothers then started collecting flashlights at their parish, bringing in close to one hundred flashlights.

Their goals were even bigger though, as David and his brothers brought their initiative to Saint Ignatius, where they were able to collect close to one hundred more flashlights. Let Your Light Shine in Cleveland has been a great success, and the Speelmans’ initiative is being felt by the men and women affected by Saint Ignatius’s Labre Ministry.

To this day, the Speelmans and Let Your Light Shine in Cleveland have collected close to two hundred flashlights that have been or will be donated directly to those on the streets of Cleveland who need the help the most. The Speelmans have helped to bring light to those who are often left in the dark today. This great connection between the Speelmans’ initiative and the Labre Ministry to the Homeless will touch hundreds of lives in many ways.

David and Nathan Speelman are a great example of Saint Ignatius students taking initiative and going above and beyond to serve others. David and Nathan Speelman truly are great examples of Ignatius Men for Others.

BY PETER NICHOLS ‘18

The 49 JCWA delegates traveled to the University of Virginia on November 17-20 for their first conference of the year. At the 36th VAMUN conference, they each represented politicians or world leaders in different committees. Some of the committees include the Indian Parliament, the Aztec Empire, the Constitutional Convention, and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

The Diplocats have been preparing for this conference for over two months by researching various topics on their committee, writing position papers, and creating resolutions for their topics. In their committees, delegates debated topics and worked together to write and pass resolutions with some of the best Model UN teams in the country.

The Diplocats came home with three awards. Colin Caniglia ‘17, representing the National Police Force Head Officer in the Weimar Republic, received an honorable mention (third place). Jack Showman ‘18, representing Fidel Castro in FARC (The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia), received an honorable mention as well. John Jakubisin ‘18, representing a Chief Resident in Cairo for the KGB, received a verbal mention (fourth place).

After receiving his first award, Jack Showman ‘18 said, “The key is to talk constantly and make your presence known. I passed a ton of personal directives and my plans didn’t fail or backfire. I controlled all the Cubans in the committee with an iron fist. I acted like Fidel (Rest in Peace) by supporting the proletariat through thick and thin and starting a proxy war.

Winning any award at UVA is significant because schools like Langley have massive MUN clubs, so they send basically only their juniors and seniors. They manipulate how many people they send to maximize their chances of getting best delegation. We also go against schools that take MUN as a class.”

John Jakubisin ‘18, the Under-Secretary General for Delegate Services, sums up the conference: “Regardless of awards, the conference was still a great opportunity for learning Model UN and gaining experience. Considering that we had 20 first time delegates, we were expecting this to be a conference for delegates to learn the intricacies of speaking and writing.”

After a weekend full of heated debate, the team attended the annual “delegate dance”, where they undisputedly lead the dance floor year to year. Commentating on the social aspects of JCWA, Secretary General Cullen Viancourt ‘18 states, “JCWA is a great outlet for young men, whether their passion is politics, athletics, or just meeting new people. JCWA gives all of them an amazing opportunity to forge memories that will last a lifetime.”

The Diplocats now look on to start preparing for their next conference in February at the North American Invitational Model United Nations Conference (Georgetown).