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As part of the St. Sebastian's 75th Anniversary celebration three years ago, the School held its first-ever Founder's Day to celebrate the opening day of classes on Nonantum Hill on September 29, 1941. That tradition was continued on Friday, September 27, 2019.
Fr. John Arens began the assembly in St. Bartholomew's Church with a prayer and Headmaster Burke introduced the keynote speaker, Trustee William Evans '77, P'17, Executive Director of Public Safety & Chief of Police for Boston College. Evans, who formerly served as the Boston Police Commissioner, spoke with the student body about how he overcame adversity during his childhood after losing his parents (as well as a brother) at a young age. Raised by his four older brothers, he was given the chance to go to school at St. Sebastian's and noted that this was "an opportunity of a lifetime." He credits his time at St. Sebastian's as playing a major role in his life and went on to say "the education, the Christian upbringing and the whole idea of having faith in myself and faith in God, got me to where I am today." Evans continued his story, sharing how he developed an interest in law enforcement after attending Suffolk University and his journey from a police cadet to the Commissioner of the Boston Police Department, to his current position at Boston College. He finished his speech with "I'm forever grateful for St. Sebastian's...I owe all my success...to the fact that St. Sebastian's taught me values and they educated me well and I wouldn't be the man I am now if it wasn't for St. Sebastian's."
It was a honor to have Mr. Evans be part of our fourth annual Founder's Day celebration. Happy 78th Birthday, St. Sebastian's!
