Matt Powers ‘22:
Matt Powers, a current sophomore at Wake Forest University, spent two years writing for the Friar’s Lantern. In his senior year, Powers, along with Matt Hess, was the paper’s Editor-in-Chief. Expressing his gratitude towards his team, Powers stated that most of his favorite memories came from the current mainstay of the paper: Carney 203. In particular, his favorite memory was seeing the newspaper fresh off the press after meeting stressful deadlines with his team. In addition to his time in the classroom every morning at the early hour of 8AM cleaning his laptop with windex, Powers greatly values the work he did. In particular, his favorites are pieces on Mr. John Ostick and Student Jobs.
Today, Powers is pursuing studies in economics, communication, and entrepreneurship and hopes to enter business consulting and/or private equity. Most recently, Powers has been interviewing for summer internships, which he stresses are not a necessity for everybody’s career path. When asked how his time with the newspaper still affects him today, Powers said it was crucial in building skills like time management, teamwork, and writing in different styles. Signing off, Powers offered special thanks to Ms. Suzanne Sweeney and Mrs. Kathryn Wolstenholme along with the rest of his team.
“The Friar’s Lantern doesn’t affect your GPA, so it’s all about what you learn, and your experiences. The staff we had was a family, and I’m happy that I was a part of something that was bigger than myself working towards a common goal,” Powers said.
Danny Malloy ‘18
Danny Malloy is a 2018 graduate of Malvern who spent all of his high school years writing for the Friar’s Lantern (formerly Blackfriar Chronicle until 2017). Under the leadership of Ms. Kate Plows, Malloy accumulated roles like Chief Investigative Reporter and Editor-in-Chief. The Malloy led paper received awards left and right (2017-18 Awards) and was invited to journalism conferences across the country.
“We had the opportunity to attend conferences in New York, Seattle, Orlando, and Dallas, which Ms. Plows was very instrumental in,” Malloy said.
Along with the newspaper homeroom in Duffy 118, Malloy’s favorite memories included writing articles like “Friar Triers: Too Hot to Handle” and “Grades Inflating at Malvern.” For him, writing for the paper was an opportunity to express himself and make a real difference in Malvern’s community.
Malloy pursued further education at the University of Notre Dame, where he would double major in Business Analytics and Applied Math. Today, Malloy works in New York City as a consultant for Altman Solon. Despite not pursuing a career in journalism, he considers the lessons he learned from the paper and memories he made invaluable.
“From the paper, I got to learn from and work with a lot of great people… I never thought that our school newspaper would be able to have much of an impact, but I am happy that we did and pushed the boundaries on many things,” Malloy said.
Paul Regan ‘12
Paul Regan graduated from Malvern in 2012. Early into his freshman year, Regan joined the newspaper because he enjoyed writing and was interested in being a part of a team doing what he loved. Regan worked up the ranks to become Editor-in-Chief in his senior year.
“Writing was one of the things I was passionate about in high school and college. Being a part of the newspaper was a good way to be involved in the school and contribute that way,” Regan said.
Regan’s favorite memories of the paper come from his time with Mr. Bohannon reviewing articles, design, and literature. After graduating from Malvern, Regan attended Villanova, where he studied biology. Additionally, Regan was a consistent contributor to “The Villanovan,” the school’s paper. Despite studying science, Regan continued writing in the sports section of the paper regularly. From there, Regan attended medical school at Penn State, in pursuit of being a dermatologist. Today, Regan is in the final months of his residency, learning from expert dermatologists. Starting this summer, Regan plans to practice dermatology in the Main Line area.
“Skills like writing, editing, meeting deadlines, and staying organized definitely carry forward into college and beyond,” Regan said.
David Marcucci ‘08
Dave Marcucci joined the newspaper in the spring of his sophomore year. Learning quickly, Marcucci became the paper’s top option for design- whether it be graphics or paper layout. Recognized for his contributions, Marcucci became Editor-in-Chief in his senior year.
Marcucci liked the team aspect of the paper and was valued as a dual contributor in writing and design. When he graduated, many of Marcucci’s favorite memories were from the newspaper, particularly in the morning.
“The newspaper had its own homeroom with Mr. Bohannon in Knapp/Tolentine. Every morning he had to turn in attendance. Rarely that process would happen on time, so we never were never late,” Marcucci said.
After his days with the paper, Marcucci attended Drexel University in Philadelphia. There, Marcucci studied Finance and Economics. After, he entered a business career centered in Philadelphia. Today, Marcucci is an investment research analyst for an institutional asset manager called Glenmede Investment Management in Philadelphia.
“Reading and writing were never my strongest subjects but I was able to contribute to the paper in a meaningful way. Perhaps the paper had more grammatical errors while I was editor, but I’d like to think we published more frequently (than prior classes) and were improving the paper’s planning/organizational capabilities,” Marcucci said.
Alec Schoenfeld ‘05
Alec Schoenfeld wrote for the paper all four years of high school and became Editor-in-Chief during his junior and senior years. Schoenfeld and his staff had a newspaper homeroom in the old Knapp Hall during his last three years at Malvern, and this is where memories were made. The best memories for him was seeing the same group of guys and Mr. Bohannon, their moderator, virtually every morning.
“I wish I could say we spent that time in heated arguments about the Oxford comma, dangling modifiers, and what makes a compelling lede, but in truth, I think it was a lot more frantic studying for vocab quizzes and passionate debates about television or the Eagles. A word about Mr. Bohannon is appropriate: He’s a gentleman and a scholar, and he tolerated a significant amount of procrastination from us, especially in our senior year. He was the real engine of the paper during my tenure,” Schoenfeld said.
After graduating from NYU and law school, Schoenfeld did not want to practice law. Instead, he followed a unique career path in the business and technology world, where his legal expertise would also be very useful. Today, he works for a technology consulting company, implementing software for large law firms.
“The “reps” I got writing and editing stories for The Blackfriar Chronicle were invaluable to me. I think about how many sentences and paragraphs I must have written or edited in those years, and there’s no doubt in my mind that it made me a better writer and thinker. Writing is a skill or a muscle. It’s like cooking or golf or playing the guitar–the more you do it, the better you get. In a tangible way, then, there is probably a connection between the time I spent structuring stories for the BFC when I was sixteen and my structuring a report I write at work today. In a more abstract way, I think good writing is fundamentally about learning to organize your thoughts, and that is a really valuable life skill whether you are writing something or just trying to think through a complex situation or problem in life,” Schoenfeld said.
Bill Russo ‘05
Bill Russo was a member of the newspaper for three years during his time at Malvern. Working with moderator Mr. John Bohannon and the rest of his team, Russo found that his interest in writing was very fruitful with the paper. Russo expressed how his time writing at Malvern greatly influences the way he writes today.
“The practice we got of being nimble to go from article to article and issue to issue lead to [us developing] skills that are quite handy today,” Russo said.
Russo worked up the ranks to become a Lead Editor of a staff with over ten contributors. His favorite memories of his time come from the paper homeroom, where the staff and Mr. Bohannon would discuss ways to improve the paper, prepare for classes, and joke about what was going on in the world. Russo’s favorite articles that he wrote were “New Program Helps Students Avoid Plagiarism,” and “Something’s Cooking at Malvern,” a piece on Malvern’s cooking club. Looking back, Russo even reflected on his article “The Global War on Terror,” and how it connects to his career today in international affairs.
Graduating from the University of Delaware and later the University of Sussex, Russo found the perfect career path for his passion in serving and making a difference in his community: government. Today, Russo is now the Assistant Secretary for Global Public Affairs at the U.S Department of State. His career connects even more with his time with the paper, as today he speaks publicly, interacts with reporters, and directs the communication arms for the State Department.
“The foundational elements of what reporting is, how to conduct an interview, when to do fact checking, and how to write and edit a story that I got from the paper are crucial for my career today,” Russo said.
