MADISON — St. Ambrose Academy celebrated the 10th anniversary of its founding on Saturday, Dec. 7, with the seventh annual Feast of St. Ambrose Benefit Dinner in honor of special guest Bishop Robert C. Morlino.
Over 600 supporters and friends of the school came together for this festive evening at the Alliant Energy Center.
Growth in 10 years
(Catholic Herald photo/Kevin Wondrash)
In the 10 years since its founding, St. Ambrose has grown from 10 to 94 students. The school strives to provide a classical education, rooted in the Catholic faith, to all interested students in grades six to 12.
In order to ensure that this education can be accessible to many families, St. Ambrose keeps its tuition fees well below operating costs and relies on benefactors to offer generous tuition assistance.
The annual Benefit Dinner is the school’s major fundraising event each year, bringing school families and benefactors together in a celebration of classical Catholic education in the Madison Diocese.
Living with joy
“I’m always thrilled to see so many Ambrosians past and present. I’m going to do everything that I can to make sure that this wonderful place continues to grow,” said Bishop Morlino, as part of his opening remarks that centered on the theme of “joy.”
“The way we draw people to the Church is through our joy. We can have the joy that nothing can take away, and, with that joy, comes hope. If we live in a way so that nobody can miss our joy and our hope, then the Church grows. And then St. Ambrose grows.
“I can easily imagine a time when, rather than 90 students, this school will have over 300. These great young Ambrosians inspire me very much each day.”
Celebrating past, present, and future
The evening’s program celebrated the school’s past, present, and future.
Miriam Seitz (Class of 2018) exemplified the St. Ambrose junior high curriculum with her recitation of an excerpt from Shakespeare’s Hamlet for the group.
Alie Neumaier (Class of 2014) shared a lighthearted peek into life at St. Ambrose with an unscripted video taken at school.
Following the video, Master of Ceremonies Dr. Constance Nielsen introduced keynote speaker and distinguished St. Ambrose alumnus, Bobby Marsland (Class of 2007).
“Our celebration tonight is above all an act of thanksgiving to God, for this concrete display of his loving providence,” Marsland remarked.
“He has brought into being and sustained against all odds a school where children learn happiness — by learning both the big picture of what their life is about, and the specific skills and virtues that will enable them to live that way.”
Since graduating from St. Ambrose, Marsland has earned a bachelor’s degree in physics from Princeton University and a master’s degree in philosophy of physics from Oxford. He is currently pursuing his PhD in physics at MIT in Boston.
Keep dreaming big
Marsland shared his vision for the continued mission of St. Ambrose coming to fruition: “Imagine what our community, our city, our nation would look like if it were totally enveloped in the Christian atmosphere of love, service, and intense, competent work that our parents and teachers have created for us by the grace of God.”
He encouraged all in attendance to “keep dreaming big,” saying, “Our Lord has promised us that our request will be answered, no matter how impossible it may seem, and that just as we have seen with St. Ambrose, our biggest dreams will fall far short of the reality.”
For more information on St. Ambrose Academy, go to www.ambroseacademy.org