Big Blue Line Mourns Another Fallen Brother

Social Media is changing how the world communicates. The ability to quickly spread news across various social media vehicles certainly is a benefit from bygone days with much slower communication methods. Take a look at how fast news of the election protests in Iran and the earthquake in Haiti spread on Twitter in the past year. Images and video were captured and launched around the world to thousands within minutes, long before traditional media was broadcasting on the ground.

When sad news hits close to home, it becomes even more evident how useful social media applications can become in spreading important messages quickly. On the evening of Friday, April 2nd, well-known St. Xavier High School Senior football star and USA Today First Team All-American, Matt James, died after falling off a balcony at his hotel while on Spring Break in Panama City, Florida. The news spread rapidly via text messages and a Facebook Group Page was quickly established: “R.I.P. Matt James”. The Facebook Group Page posted over 3,000 members by Saturday morning (roughly a 12 hour time span) and nearly 8,000 in less than 24 hours. St. Xavier students used social media to put out a call for action to meet at the school for a prayer vigil at 11:00 p.m. Friday night. The Facebook Group Page gave mourners a place to share their thoughts and memories about Matt and to offer condolences to his family.

Matt James was a young man loved by many with incredible talents both on and off the football field. He was scheduled to graduate in June and join fellow football recruit Luke Massa at Notre Dame for the fall under former UC coach Brian Kelly. St. Xavier spokesperson, Mark Motz, was quoted on the ESPN College Football Website as saying about Matt, “His message was that we have to take care of one another."

St. Xavier, the largest Jesuit boys’ school in the United States, is known for their motto: “Men For Others”. Last night, the students of St. Xavier exemplified this belief as they quickly organized a prayer vigil and ensured that their classmates heard the news about their fallen brother as soon as possible, given that many had fanned out with family for the start of Spring Break. Unfortunately, for this tight-knit community, this was a drill that they had been through before. I wrote about a similar call to action last fall, when students rallied together to support Junior classmate Kevin Le, after he was struck by a car. Kevin hung on to life for several days prior to succumbing to his substantial injuries. Read about Kevin Le HERE.

Funeral arrangements are still pending at the time of this posting. Please check the Facebook Group Page for additional details or to leave your thoughts on the Wall.

As you approach this holiday weekend, take some time to unplug: turn off the smart phones, notebooks and laptops and spend some quality time with friends and family. You won’t regret it…..

Copyright Michelle Beckham-Corbin 2010

Zombies in My Back Yard?!!

Love a school where the students can create any manner of extra-curriculars. St. Xavier High School's newest club will be debuting on Thursday, 11/19/09 and is all about ZOMBIES. Here is the blurb from the Announcements Page:

"The newest co-curricular may be the one that will save the life of you and your family. Join the Zombie Defense Council for its inaugural meeting during first flex, 11/19 in room 1506 and learn how to protect yourself from the flesh-eating undead."


Just in case the undead appear in Anderson, it's good to know that Zombie Busters Abound!!


Copyright Michelle Beckham-Corbin 2009

Brotherhood of the Long Blue Line & The Social Media Revolution

Social Media can start a revolution or spread a message rapidly in the same amount of time. Upon hearing the news that St. Xavier Junior Kevin Le succumbed to his injuries yesterday afternoon, the cell phones started texting and the Facebook pages started updating all over Cincinnati as Kevin's Bomber Brothers began to organize a way to honor Kevin's memory.

I first heard the organizational news when my son walked into my office last night and said that he was looking for his dress pants because the boys at St. Xavier high school had made the decision to all wear a dress shirt and tie to school in memory of Kevin. Facebook Group pages quickly sprang up and students left the most heartfelt messages for their fallen brother. Poetry and song lyrics mixed with memories and messages for Kevin in update after update.

Just got in from doing the Soc Med Biz thing and received this letter from St. Xavier's principal about what the boys did to organize themselves into a revolution of brotherhood and caring. This is only the beginning- I surmise that the first home football game tonight holds even more wondrous surprises. This is a school where the boys are truly taught to be "Men For Others" and today they were Men For One Of Their Own: Kevin Le- who will always be a member of the Long Blue Line.

Principal’s Weekly

September 18, 2009

"Hello St. Xavier Parents,

As you learned from yesterday’s phone call from Fr. Tim Howe and have undoubtedly seen covered in the media today, the St. Xavier family is dealing with a devastating loss. Junior Kevin Le’s mother Diane informed the school Kevin was declared brain dead yesterday afternoon. We will continue to keep Kevin and his family in our prayers as our attention turns to the care and well being of the immediate St. Xavier family today and in the days ahead. As ever, your sons are our first priority. Today we have prayed with them, provided counselors for those who need them, and shared stories of Kevin and the times he shared with his friends. We’ve celebrated a Mass in Kevin’s honor, where the Psalm reminded us, “The Lord is my shepherd, nothing shall I want.” We are in God’s hands, and I can’t think of a better place to be in such a challenging time. I have been deeply impressed by the ways in which your sons have demonstrated a brotherhood of caring for Kevin and his family and for one another today. On their own they decided to wear ties as a sign of solidarity. On their own they asked for the regular lunch-time Mass to be moved from the chapel to the larger space of the gym and then filled all of the bleachers. Together they are showing us that they know how to be God’s hands for each other and for Kevin and his family. Please continue to pray for Kevin and his family.

A number of people have asked about how to help the Le family financially. The Le family has set up the Kevin Le Fund at Fifth Third Bank. Donations can be mailed or taken to any branch of Fifth Third Bank."

President's letter credit: http://www.stxavier.org/s/106/index.aspx

Copyright Michelle Beckham-Corbin 2009

The Deepest Sadness One Can Endure

The greatest sadness on earth has descended on a family. The worst fear a parent can ever have: that of losing a child, has come to fruition for a local family. Imagine that you make it through the early worries:

• the first time they ride the school bus
• the first sleep over at a friend's house
• the first overnight summer camp
• the first time they take up a contact sport as a young child
• the first time they take the car out on their own

And then your talented 16 year old, honor-roll son is walking along the road for an after-school job. A job that probably helps to pay for expenses at his large Jesuit boys' high school. A school where he is loved by many and participates on the wrestling team as well as the audition-only, renowned singing group, the X Men. Perhaps he is thinking about homework or maybe about an upcoming performance as he walks slowly to his destination.

In a split second, a middle-aged woman runs a red light going 50 miles an hour and slams into the young man. In that small amount of time, a life is compromised; a destiny changed. His life hangs in the balance as he lays in a coma at University Hospital for nine days, most of his organs massively affected by the impact.

The school community prays for him daily. And then the phone call comes. He has been pronounced officially brain dead. A mother has lost a son, two brothers have lost their middle brother and his class mates have lost a dear friend. My heart continues to ache hours after I received the phone call from St. Xavier stating that Kevin Le had died this afternoon. I sobbed for Kevin and the injustice of it all.

I am a mother with a son close to Kevin's age and I know that news of this kind would destroy me if I were in her place. I continue to pray for Kevin and for strength for his family and I know that in the end he has found peace from his many injuries and release from the coma that he had been in. My hope is that his life will be celebrated for all of the good that he achieved in his short 16 years and that everyone, parent or not, will take the time to appreciate the gift of those who are in their lives on a daily basis. I tell my children that I love them often, after today often won't be nearly enough......
Copyright Michelle Beckham-Corbin 2009

FALL IN CINCINNATI = SPORTS!!!!

OUR FAMILY'S FAVORITE PAST-TIME: READING!!!!!!








IMAGES FROM THE WEEKEND:




ST. XAVIER VS. MOELLER H.S.









SPOOKY STUFF IN OUR YARD SOCCER CLUB TOURNAMENT


CYO BASKETBALL LEAGUE GAME VS. GA TEXTING IN BETWEEN SOCCER GAMES

OH WHAT ARE WE TO DO???? (let them eat cake)



Well, I am feeling quite confused about the upcoming election but am so very glad that I didn't vote absentee a couple of weeks ago as I had planned. Some doubt is creeping in on my initial candidate and since there was some doubt on the other party as well, I am left feeling quite lost. it may come down to the lesser of two evils for me. In order to help with my thought process, Cam & I stopped by the Hyde Park Busken's Bakery this afternoon to purchase a few of their Presidential Candidate Cookies. Channel 5 News was there filming the cookie rack, but alas no reporter to ask my opinion of the race. So, until I completely make up my mind, I am going to enjoy my Obama cookie and then finish it off with the McCain cookie unless the resident teenage Republican puts McCain in the freezer for posterity. Then, I'm doomed!



This just in from the Scholastic Youth Election Poll:
(Busken Bakery Presidential Cookie Sales are saying the same thing!)

Student Voters Pick Senator Barack Obama to Win 2008 Presidential Election

Scholastic Election Poll Has Mirrored Outcome of Every Presidential Election But Two Since 1940

October 14, 2008: 09:00 AM EST

The votes are in and student voters have spoken: Democratic nominee Senator Barack Obama is the winner of the 2008 Scholastic Election Poll, with 57% of the vote over Republican contender Senator John McCain, who received 39% of the student vote. The poll, conducted every four years through Scholastic classroom magazines like Scholastic News® and Junior Scholastic® and online at Scholastic News Online (www.scholastic.com/news), is an educational activity that gives children too young to go to the polls themselves the opportunity to cast their vote for President. A quarter of a million students from across the country participated in the Scholastic Election Poll.

MOCK TRIAL ROCKS!!!!!!

CAMERON MAKES ST. XAVIER MOCK TRIAL TEAM

NEWSFLASH: The kid made the cuts for the St. Xavier Mock Trial Team. He prepared a three minute speech on whether the US was justified in starting the war in Iraq. He spent one of his two power outage off days researching in the downtown public library. Kids from the closed Cincinnati Public school system were hanging out in the teen section playing the Wie on a large screen while others occupied all of the available computers sitting 2 and 3 deep- pages of MySpace, YouTube and computer games evident everywhere. Cameron stood, books spilling out of his arms, as he talked to the male librarian about his upcoming try out for the Trial Team.

When I picked him from the bus stop on the day that the team list was posted, he got in the car with a poker face. I assumed he hadn't made it, because he wasn't smiling and he hadn't texted me while on his bus ride home. I had been praying that he would, because it is so up his alley. He has attorney written all over his personality! He claims that he will have a prosecuteor role on the team and that it was totally based on his answer to who he was supporting in the presidential election. I think he is pulling my leg- another good trait for an attorney.

He is going to have a great year!

Here is a little explanation on Mock Trial:

Mock Trial is a statewide program where students learn about the law through courtroom simulations. Participants play the roles of attorneys and witnesses after doing the appropriate research for the development of their case. Throughout the process, they work closely with real attorneys who act as legal advisors and mentors. Ultimately, teams will compete with those of other schools before real judges who preside over the trials. Moderator: Mr. Tony Nardini

HOLE IN ONE @ AGE 14!!!!

Well less than 30 days after turning 14 years old, Cameron has achieved the golfer's dream: a Hole-In-One! Some golfers spend a life-time trying to achieve this feat and never make it. A quick look at the stats on making one:

According to USHoleInOne.com, which insures hole-in-one contests, the odds of getting a hole in one on a par-3 are 12,500 to 1 for an amateur and 7,500 to 1 for a pro.

"I don't know how many hole in ones we make out on tour a year, but think about it," says Rich Beem, who won the 2002 PGA Championship and had a hole in one in the second round of the 2002 Disney Classic in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

"You've got the best golfers in the world firing at the pins how many times a week? I mean, we only have X amount of hole in ones? There's a lot of luck."

Cameron achieved his Hole In One on 8/23 at Royal Oak Country Club while playing with his dad. He aced the 161 yard 5th hole using his 6-iron. The club is recognizing his accomplishment with a plaque and he was noted in both the Royal Oak and the Ivy Hills (where he was part of the Jr. Golf program this summer) Country Club Newsletters.

Although he didn't make the St. X JV golf team, he is on the St. X freshman Intramural team so he still gets to play this fall and will try-out again next year.

Here's looking at you kid!!!!!!!!!!

St. Xavier Freshman Orientation-

St. X Welcomes Class of 2012

"The future is now for the freshman class at St. Xavier High School.

Not even three months since most of them graduated from eighth grade - kings of their respective hills at their previous schools - the class of 2012 arrived on North Bend Road Aug. 18 as low men on the totem pole in the fabled Long Blue Line.

The days of trying to trick freshmen into buying an elevator pass, however, are long gone. The freshmen were embraced with open arms and began a series of activities carefully designed and implemented – and led by seniors on the student leadership team - to make them feel part of the family right away.

Each homeroom played name games with their senior Bomber Pilots to help introduce themselves to one another. The boys participated in several ice-breaker activities before embarking on one of their most important tasks of the morning – learning the school’s Alma Mater.

The freshmen rounded out their day with a prayer service in the Chapel of the Holy Companions where, lo and behold, two of the original companions appeared.

St. Ignatius Loyola (Joe Markesberry, ’10) and St. Francis Xavier himself (Tommy Boeing, ’10) gave a brief history of the founding of the Society of Jesus, aka the Jesuits, and welcomed the freshman to a 450-plus-year tradition of educational excellence.

Student council president Mark Grote (’09) led the freshmen in the singing of the alma mater to close the service.

“We’re all part of this together,” said St. X President Fr. Walter C. Deye S.J. (’66), who presided over the prayer services. “You’ve met many leaders today and we are called to lead, to do great things, to be men for and with others as best we can.”"-- (St. Xavier Website)

Cameron Dedication

Here's a quick blurb on my own corporate project: Cameron C. Cameron has exceeded all objectives set for his launch into the big bad world of high school. He has remained a straight A student throughout his junior high years; he played on his school's basketball, golf and volleyball teams. He is a Boy Scout working on his Eagle Project- his goal is to help the elderly and he is a buttoned down prep 24/7. No lie, this kid practically sleeps in his khakis and Hilfiger polos. He is going to St. Xavier High School next year, and we are excited because it is an excellent fit. This is a kid who truly loves to learn!

So here's looking at you kid!!!