St. Ambrose School, Schuylkill Haven, announced today that the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) has named Mr. Phil Schoener a 2007 NCEA Catholic Elementary School Distinguished Graduate for his outstanding personal and professional achievements and for being the personification of how Catholic schools educate people to take leadership roles in their community.
According to Mrs. Anne Curry, Principal, “Phil was selected for his deep commitment to the benefits of Catholic education and St. Ambrose School.”
A St. Ambrose School alumnus, class of 1988, Phil was diagnosed with dyslexia and transferred to St. Ambrose School. It was there that he received the much needed support to succeed and, in his opinion, where he gained the confidence he needed both academically and spiritually to further his goals in education and life.
Phil focused on his goals and as early as the 3rd grade, Phil decided he would prepare himself for a career as a sportscaster and, as a 7th Grader, he was announcing games from the press boxes on local fields!
In one of his visits with students at St. Ambrose School recently, he talked about the sacrifices he made to achieve his goals such as announcing games on weekends (when his classmates were out having fun), not actually participating in sports on the field (but being in the press box), etc. He also had to research various sports so he would know rules and regulations, referee calls, etc. He sought out a first job where he could pursue his passion and worked at a local radio station and continued while attending high school announcing games. In speaking with students at St. Ambrose, he reminded students that sometimes the route you take to achieve goals may be circuitous, but if you stay focused you can achieve them.
Phil graduated from Blue Mountain High School in 1992 and furthered his education at Northampton Community College, obtaining an Associates Degree. He then enrolled in the S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Broadcast Journalism in 1997. He acquired his first professional television position in Mississippi and then advanced to other positions in Pennsylvania and Tennessee. Each time, he became more knowledgeable not only on the plethora of sporting events he covered but also in the intricacies of broadcasting in radio and television.
Phil has previously won two Associated Press awards. In addition, he was presented with the 2007 PAB Excellence in Broadcasting Award for Outstanding TV Coverage of a local sporting event. He joined the WBRE Sports Team as an Anchor/Reporter in September 2003 and was promoted in August 2006 to Sports Director.
According to Phil, “If it wasn’t for catholic education (and St. Ambrose School) and it’s attention to the individual, I probably would have been lost in the mix of children with learning disabilities. St. Ambrose School provided the tight-knit family that I needed to succeed.”
Sponsored by the NCEA’s Department of Elementary Schools in cooperation with St. Ambrose School, the Distinguished Graduate Award goes to Mr. Phil Schoener for exemplifying the highest qualities of Catholic Education and rendering distinguished service to the Catholic Church and the United States of America.
“It is with great pleasure that we recognize distinguished graduates from our Catholic elementary schools,” said Dr. Robert Kealey, executive director of NCEA’s Department of Elementary Schools, the award’s sponsor. “The education they received in the elementary years has provided a firm basis for growth and achievement in their adult lives.”
NCEA established the Distinguished Graduate Award out of a recognition that the significant accomplishments of Catholic elementary school alumni are a hallmark of Catholic education. These awards highlight “people who as adults put into practice the values and ideals they learned in their Catholic elementary schools,” added Dr. Kealey.
The first Distinguished Graduate Awards were made in 1991 by NCEA. As an award winner, Phil Schoener joins a stellar group of hundreds of Catholic school alumni across the country. They include an FBI director, a governor, a missionary, a circuit court judge, a TV news producer, an Air Force combat training division chief, a senator, a mayor, a corporate president and a state representative.
This is the fifth year that St. Ambrose School has chosen an alumnus for a Distinguished Graduate Award. Candidates for this award were chosen from many outstanding alumni submitted to the St. Ambrose Development Office.
The St. Ambrose Distinguished Graduate Award will be presented to Mr. Phil Schoener on Thursday, May 31st at the 8th Grade Graduation Mass at 7:00 p.m. in St. Ambrose Church.
