5-Year Reunions 2013

Saturday June 9th Mount Michael Alumni gathered for 5-Year Reunions.
 Photos - List of Names for photos

Elkhorn-Valley Annual Tractor Ride

Mount Michael served as the start and terminus of the annual Elkhorn Valley Antique Tractor Club’s ride for charity.  The event raises money for the Christian Outreach Program of Elkhorn.  The ride began shortly before 11:00 am and proceeded down to Maple Street and then through old town Elkhorn then down the Old Lincoln Highway which is celebrating its centennial.

The tractor parade then wound its way back to Mount Michael for a club picnic at the Mount Michael Michaeleen picnic grounds.   Bro Mark (John) Berns a monk and member of the club served as host.  More Photos

Paul Hotovy Named Director for Camp Mount Michael

Paul Hotovy '03

Adam Terasinski | Guest Writer

During summer vacation some kids are so consumed by video games and cell phones that they often forget that the purpose of summer is to be outside. Since 1967, Camp Mount Michael has offered activities such as archery, outdoor camping, hiking, and arts and crafts for boys ages 7 to 14.

This year Mount Michael will be welcoming back 2003 alumni Paul Hotovy. Hotovy is a teacher at Pensacola Catholic High School in Florida. He has four brothers, including Alex Hotovy, a current Mount Michael sophomore. Paul has also been a camp counselor at the camp for several years. “I am extremely enthusiastic about camp. When I was a counselor, I told Mr. Crawford that I would do camp for free. He still paid me, but I meant it,” Hotovy said. Admissions director Eric Crawford is just as enthusiastic about Hotovy, “Paul is a great pick up for the program.”

Often, new directors change programs to try and make them better, but Hotovy feels the program is strong already “I have fond memories of camp, but I really think that camp is much better now. There have been a lot of good ideas and changes in the last five years.” One big change was switching the name from Camp Saint John to Camp Mount Michael. “This was for marketing and consistency purposes,” Crawford said. The camp is one of Mount Michael’s biggest recruiting tools. In fact, 43% of all students currently enrolled at Mount Michael attended camp for at least one year.

In any case, Hotovy doesn’t plan to change much during his first summer as director. “Camp has an awesome tradition. The Camp Mount Michael formula is great, so I see no need to tinker with it too much. We’ll still go to the pool, do archery, horseback riding, and have Olympic day. I do not plan on doing anything radically different.” Hotovy did however; say that some minor things would change such as the camp tee-shirts having the traditional sun logo again.

Hotovy looks forward to his duties as camp director this summer. “As people get older, they get a little more cynical and pessimistic. Being with 7-14 year-olds is rejuvenating. They have so much life and are always excited about everything. It’s really a breath of fresh air to be back at camp” Hotovy said.

2010 Grad Publishes eBook

Gunhee Park '10

Mount Michael alumnus Gunhee Park recently published a book designed to help international students find employment in the United States.

Gunhee Park is currently an international student studying at Arizona State University. He is currently a senior double-majoring in Supply Chain Management and Computer Information Systems at the W.P Carey School of Business. During the past summer he worked as an intern at Goldman Sachs. He has committed to return to Goldman Sachs for another internship this summer.

Gunhee set his mind to write this book after a frustrating experience of trying to find an internship during his sophomore year. He ran into several obstacles that nobody seemed to have an answer to. After overcoming several difficulties in trying to secure an internship, he was determined to help other international students in their efforts of trying to secure a job. He hopes this book will help guide those students who wish to remain in the United States after graduation through work sponsorship. Learn More

New eLibrary, Just in time for summer!

Mount Michael has just launched a library of eBooks for students and faculty which is accessible anytime anywhere 24/7.  Just in time for the summer!

The initial collection of books is small, 42 books, but each month more books will be added, even during the summer months.  The company Baker & Taylor hosts The Mount’s books.  Baker & Taylor’s AxisReader app works with any iOS or Android device including iPads, iPods, iPhones, android phones & tablets. Some eReaders by Kobo, Sony and others such as Nooks that use epub files work.  KindleFire tablets by Amazon will also work.  Unfortunately Amazon’s e-ink readers will not work because they use a non-standard file format exclusive to Amazon.

Over the last several years Mount Michael’s librarian, Bro Luke Clinton OSB, performed multiple surveys of the student body in regards to eBooks. The results showed a clear interest but implementation was cost prohibitive until recently.   The availability and pricing of eBooks for libraries varies greatly from publisher to publisher.  Some books are limited to 26 circulations while others charge a high premium for new releases.  Each year more and more publishers are coming around to being library friendly. View Mount Michael's Axis360 eLibrary