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Fellow Austin Alum,

Welcome to Austin Prep’s web page. I hope your tour of our school’s site today is informative and enlightening. Know that you are welcomed back for a much more personal tour any time. Please let me know when you plan to be nearby Reading and I will be happy to show you around the campus. I think you will say after seeing our new facilities first hand, that Austin Prep is looking good.

There is a lot to see. We have completely renovated the old Augustinian monastery. It now houses a new library, music center and studios for fine arts instruction. You must have read about and seen pictures of all this work in newsletter and annual report publications. As far as the new multi purpose facility is concerned, our students use it every day. I think they feel the gym has been there forever.  As may be expected, they are making very good use of it. There are 4 levels of boys’ basketball and 4 levels of girls’ basketball teams playing on the new courts from November to March. In the fall we field three levels of girls’ volleyball. Spring sports use the gym to get ready while the sun thaws the baseball and softball fields.

The Meelia Theater, located on the second floor, is the site of daily classes in drama for our 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th graders. The Austin’s Drama Society produced a fall play and practice there for state competitions and the spring Austin Prep Arts Festival. That event in early April has turned into a showcase of talented musicians, artist and performers displaying their year of artistic growth. In years to come as our emphasis on fine arts instruction grows, I expect that night will become our most anticipated annual event.

The Alumni took Career Day to a new level this year. Mark MacDougall ‘74 flew up from Washington to team with John Cohan ’82 to talk about the business of law. They were joined by 21 of their fellow alumni to talk with Austin’s students about work and career. The program has grown over the years to include all students in grades 8 through 12. Members of the National Honor Society serve as hosts and join the speakers for lunch and good advice.

This fall, Austin's weight room was named after Dave Nelson '81.  The entire Nelson Family, including Fred ’73 and Ron ’75, attended a moving ceremony that included hanging David’s retired #10 on the weight room wall. Mark MacDougall was back after a visit last spring when he served as keynote speaker for the National Honor Society induction ceremony. Kevin Keane ’75 has the distinction this year. He carries forward a tradition begun 10 years ago when Ed Hoell ’70 first talked to the NHS inductees about the road ahead.

 Mike Barry ’79, Matt Diapella ’98 and Liz Dorrance ’00 move in as Alumni Council leaders this year. They are charged with continuing the good work of predecessors Fred Gilfeather ’69, Ed Hoell, Amy de Garavilla ’98 and Meg Brown Guziewicz ’98 who led the Council in its formative years. All of them helped to develop the Council’s impressive Business Networking Night. This year’s guest speaker is Chuck Brain ’68. Chuck is a Washington insider and veteran Clinton staffer. He is president and CEO of Capitol Hill Strategies in DC. Chuck will speak on what to expect from both the Democrats and Republicans in the months ahead.

Don’t forget a trip back to Austin for your class reunion. That gala may not be far off. This year we’ll greet the Classes of 1969, ‘74, ‘79, ‘84, ‘89, ‘94, ‘99, and ’04 for an annual Thanksgiving weekend night out.

Enjoy your tour of Austin Prep on line. I look forward to seeing you at Austin very soon,

Jay Dowd ‘69