[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 47 (Tuesday, April 26, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: April 26, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                      TRIBUTE TO FATHER TOM ANDERT

 Mr. DURENBERGER. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to 
Father Tom Andert, headmaster of St. John's Preparatory School in 
Collegeville, MN, who is stepping down at the end of this school year.
  Over the years, Father Tom has performed a priceless service to 
education and has had a profound impact on the young men who have 
attended St. John's.
  All of the qualities that typify a great teacher--a love of the 
classroom, compassion, and a wonderful sense of humor--are embodied in 
this gifted and dedicated instructor. Students clamor to experience 
Father Tom's legendary teaching, and every year he adds several 
sections to accommodate an overflow of students for his regularly 
scheduled classes.
  One of the greatest lessons Father Tom brings to his students is an 
appreciation of diversity among people. He has taught the value of 
appreciating what is different about each person.
  Throughout Father Tom's teaching career, he has exemplified the 
blessing of humility, and taught us that any gifts we have are best 
turned toward the benefit and empowerment of others.
  Father Tom has long been instrumental--both as a teacher and as 
director--in the flowering relationship between St. John's and the 
famed Benedictine Abbey School in Melk, Austria, and is the founder and 
director of St. John's Sommerlage Alpenland, a German summer camp.
  His unique abilities and talents have not gone unrecognized. Father 
Tom is the recipient of the Silver Cross of Merit from the Republic of 
Austria, the Leadership in Educational Excellence Award, and The Armor 
of Light Award.
  He is blessed with a tremendous energy that has touched many in its 
wake. He was president of Benilde-St. Margaret's in St. Louis Park, a 
member of the board of regents for St. John's University, and head of 
the Minnesota Association of Independent Schools.
  His contributions to the Association of Independent Schools have been 
an important factor in raising the quality of education among private 
schools, and he has led more than 20 evaluation teams accrediting 
private schools in the United States. This has been a volunteer effort 
of legendary proportion.
  Mr. President, St. John's Preparatory School was founded in 1857, 
making it the oldest private secondary school in our State. Throughout 
his tenure, Father Tom has carried out a commitment to liberal arts 
education--where education means living peacefully with others, 
examining values and aspirations, and seeking a relationship with God.
  With pleasure I say that Father Tom has been my friend. He has been a 
mentor to my sons, and an integral part of my family's history and the 
history of St. John's. In the mid-1940's, my father coached his father 
in football and basketball in the same school where Father Tom would 
become headmaster.
  It is with deep gratitude, Mr. President, that I thank Father Tom 
Andert for his life of service to the education community and to the 
young people of the St. John's family.

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