With ‘Tradition Week’ right around the corner, I was given the chance to sit down with a member of the Bishop Blanchet graduating class of 1991, Lisa Marona. Marona attended Blanchet from 1989-1991 and soon returned to teach, coach the varsity girls basketball team, and is currently a member of the BBHS staff. Giving me a look inside Tradition Week while she was a student, the then-and-now comparison I was able to make was one with very few changes.

“Some of the traditions are the same, like the human pyramid, but the ones I remember the best are the search for the tomahawk, the faculty vs. senior basketball game, and the fact that the seniors always won!!” said Marona.

Tradition Week, as it is now, was a welcomed, well-deserved break for the students and teachers to have some fun after a long week of finals. Marona’s absolute favorite part about tradition week was the powder puff football game that would take place. Powder puff is a game of football, only that the teams are composed of girls. When asked to compare Tradition Week, as it is now, to how it was when she was in school, Marona thinks that the Braves of 2016, have more spirit than her class did! The change in viewing and participating in the Tradition Week activities as a student and now as a staff member lead Marona to say,

“I definitely appreciate the experience more. I was too busy wanting to graduate and get through high school to stop and enjoy how much fun all of it actually was.”

This sounds like Marona, along with every other high school senior, had a bad case of ‘senioritis’ or more simply, a crippling disease that strikes seniors. Marona’s view on being apart of the faculty and staff of her Alma Mater is one of deep appreciation.

“I consider it a true blessing to have been a part of this community since I was born and I’m really grateful for that”, said Marona.

As far as her current involvement with Blanchet goes, she is working in the attendance office of the school. Yes, Braves, it is her smiling face you see every morning when you are late to school due to “traffic”, or in other words, “couldn’t get out of bed”. Through her work in the building, she has made strong connections with many of the current BBHS students. One student in particular, is one whom she coached through the BBHS girls basketball program for two consecutive years. Lily DiPietro, a four-year varsity player, when asked to reflect on the few years Marona coached her, said,

“Mrs. Marona added a fun perspective because she had experienced the success of brave basketball during her own time at Blanchet so she made sure we were always working hard, enjoying the team aspect and keeping our end goal in mind, to reach the State tournament.”

Another senior student, Jalani Johnson, had nothing but a heart-warming remark to describe his relationship with Mrs. Marona.

“Mrs. Marona is like my school mom, she helps me push through my day no matter what it is”, said Johnson. “I know I can talk to her about anything and she will do her best to help me understand. If it wasn’t for her, I would not have made it this far into my senior year.”

Whether it is coaching extracurricular activities, teaching the Brave students, or working hard in the attendance office, Marona was, is and forever will be, a true brave at heart.

Happy Tradition Week, Braves!