Athlete, scholar, and pickle-eater.
The Class of 2015 has many remarkable students, but one who stands out in the crowd is Parker Abate.
Abate has been at Malvern since the sixth grade, coming in from Saint Pat’s in Malvern. As a middle school student he took advantage of the many opportunities to get involved at Malvern, participating in sports, service, and student council. Throughout high school, he has continued to distinguish himself as a man for all seasons.
Abate is a member of the National Honor Society and on the executive board of the Adelphia Society. As a board member of the Adelphia Society, Abate helps to plan, organize, and run the freshman orientation. This year’s orientation, which was held over the summer, included a scavenger hunt on campus and a sleepover in O’Neill.
In the winter, Abate competes in the long jump and triple jump for the Track and Field team. He started jumping in 6th grade because they had no one else to compete in those events. Once it tried it, he was hooked and has been jumping ever since.
It is in the spring however, when Abate gets to participate in his true passion, baseball. He lists winning the Inter-Ac championship last year as well as the state championship as his best Malvern memory. Abate plays outfield for the Malvern baseball team, which is hoping for a “five-peat” Inter-Ac championship this year.
“We have a strong nucleus of guys coming back, and as long as we all play up to our potentials, the ‘five-peat’ will be a definite possibility,” said Abate.
Like many baseball players, Abate has a few superstitions that he carries out before and during the games. He always ties his left cleat first and you won’t see him stepping on the foul line when he runs on or off the field.
He hopes to continue playing baseball next year at one of four schools: Marymount, Marietta, Misericordia, or York College of Pennsylvania. His work on the TV Studio Club will come in handy as he plans on majoring in Broadcasting at one of these schools.
Abate’s younger brother Mason ‘16 was diagnosed with Leukemia as a freshman. “My faith grew tremendously after Mason’s diagnosis,” said Abate. “My parents are both Catholic, and we all did the only thing we could do in that kind of situation: pray. The prayers of the Malvern community were a huge help as well.
Mason has been in remission for 15 months now. Through the experience of supporting his brother, Abate has learned “that things could always be worse and to appreciate the good of the present.”
Abate asked prayers for another member of the Malvern brotherhood, Jim Klinges, a 2013 graduate, who was recently diagnosed with a similar type of leukemia.
Away from Malvern, Parker stays busy on his PS4, watching Netflix, hanging with his friends, and either playing baseball or watching it on television.
Did Abate have anything else to share with the Malvern community?
“Yeah, I love pickles.”
