Our Old Boys
We refer to Western Academy graduates as our Old Boys, reminiscent of the British Boys' schools tradition which we share. The Old Boys and their families form an important part of our community and enrich the life of the school. The boys come to receive mentoring with our teachers and attend the annual Pigskin Classic football tournament in December and the El Clasico Soccer game in February. As we follow their growth in high school and later in college, trade school or the military, we see our young men truly Alive! Graduated parents stay in touch with Western through events, ongoing parenting formation, and with their gifts to the Old Boys Fund.
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Alvaro Directo (Class 2015), speaking at Founding Roots Dinner 2019
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Garrett Kindle (Class of 2013)
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Mathew Saye (Class of 2017)
Two Old Boys studying at St. Martin’s Academy in rural Kansas are playing rugby there. Jonah Aycock (‘20) plays on the Varsity Team that just won the Kansas State Rugby Championship!
Graduates of this year’s high school graduates (WA 2020) report that they will be attending 23 colleges of a great variety. It’s great to keep track of our boys as they move on in their careers and education.
25 members of Western’s Class of 2020 attended Founding Roots Dinner this year on April 27. Taylor DeJarnette (‘20) gave a rollicking speech remembering his days at school.
Old Boys and dads turned up to face faculty teams at a March madness inspired basketball tourney on April 13. One of the Old Boys’ teams beat out one of the Faculty teams in a tight game (24-20) to come up on top.
In February, Kyle Smith (‘12) and wife Erin, welcomed Margaret Anne into the world. Kyle was the second Western grad to marry and the third to have a child so far, congrats to Kyle and Erin!
Joseph Cosgray (‘17) began working on cattle ranching while in high school. Nowadays, Cosgray Farms has expanded and provides grass-fed beef nationwide.
Mason Abell (‘18), a student at Yale University, joined a five-man team win a hackathon at MIT. See his deep-dive into team’s adventure in “near quantum term based portfolio optimization.”
Eleven Western high school young men attended the UNIV International Conference in Rome during Holy Week and witnessed the beauty and universality of the Church.
John Hebert (‘22) was honored at Strake Jesuit with a fantastic Sophomore award. Congrats, Johnny!
Pierce Ledet (‘17) took his passion for fishing to get his Captain’s license and start his inshore Galveston fishing charter business last year.
Quick sightings at high schools these days, young graduates on stage at Strake Jesuit and on the Rugby pitch at St. Thomas.
This year, three Western graduates are members of Faculty, a Faculty Intern or Part-time Faculty. Congrats to these pioneering young men!
Jett Bush (‘15) can be found on the field helping coach Track & Field this spring. He has great things to say about his time at Western and joy at helping current boys build character.
In August last year, Nick O’Bar (‘12) launched his own company, Orion Construction. Nick reminisces about his time at Western, in the very fist years, and talks about his experience so far.
Since our first graduating class in 2012, 358 young men have graduated from Western. Our graduates choose a variety of career and educational paths, but It’s fun to list the colleges they have chosen to attend.
Elliot Bing (‘12) achieved his dream to fly as a commercial pilot for Southwest Airlines in June, 2023. Elliot tells the story of his efforts after graduating from Western…
Many of our 2019 Western graduates are attending college this year. So, we wanted to share the news, and reminisce a little about the boys and their Houses.
Western’s graduation in May, 2023, the school’s twelfth in history, was a beautiful affair and took place in the Barn for the first time. Here we have our 42 young graduates along with some of their accomplishments. Congrats to these young men!
Walker Glueck (WA‘18) and Josh Hebert (WA‘19) did a great job entertaining guests at Go Western this year with their musical talents. Both are doing great writing songs and performing as they move ahead with their work and study. Great job guys and thanks for sharing!
This year’s Pigskin Classic touch football tournament on December 30 was great. Western Class of 2021 team narrowly defeated the 2020 Old Boys team in the championship game by the tight score of 13-12.
Peter Hayden (WA ’12) and his wife Bailee welcomed Brooks Thomas Hayden into the world on January 25. It’s amazing watching our Old Boys forming families like this!
David Heffernan's (WA’13) November wedding felt like a Western Academy event! Many Western faculty, staff families, and other Old Boys attended the wedding and toasted the newlyweds at their reception.
Some of our oldest Western graduates are starting their own businesses. We will showcase a few of these ventures and begin here with Chris Gosselin’s, Texan Landscape Group.
Walker Glueck (‘18) is living out his dream writing and singing country music. The third of four Glueck brothers to graduate from Western, Walker’s roots in music harken back to his days at school.
Alessandro Fowler ‘18 became the most recent Old Boy to attain Eagle Scout, completing beautiful outdoor projects at his old elementary school.
Enjoy some beautiful poetic verse from the pen of our own Mr. Thomas in honor of our Old Boys!
Our second Old Boy to wed, Kyle Smith ‘12, married June 25. A member of Western’s first graduating class. Great news and congrats, young man!
Two Old Boys from Class of 2021 throw some dirt at groundbreaking of Frasatti High School’s new athletic stadium this month.