NEWTON An inscription in black-and-white tile above the entrance of D-Building must seem out of place to students here at Sussex County Community College (SCCC): “Don Bosco College.”
It certainly did to John Peter Zappe, an engineering science major at SCCC, who turned his curiosity about the odd sign into a research project, uncovering its Catholic history that is largely unknown to its students today. He learned that the campus was once known as Don Bosco College Seminary — run by Salesian priests and brothers from 1928 to 1989 and later became SCCC, a two-year, co-ed public community college in rural Sussex County. Zappe’s interest resulted in his helping create a new historical plaque — at the entrance of D-Building — to honor the Catholic roots of the secular SCCC campus — a marker that was dedicated, during a ceremony outside the three-story, red-brick building on a sunny April 25 afternoon.
“I wanted to give my fellow students an understanding of the uniqueness of Sussex County Community College and to acknowledge its Catholic history and legacy, which are interesting,” said Zappe of St. Joseph Parish in Newton. He returned to SCCC on April 25 after having been graduated last year and having served as president of Catholic Campus Ministry, which sponsored the plaque dedication. He came up with the idea for the marker and today, is studying for the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary there. “There are still so many Catholic elements on the campus,” he said.
Also attending the dedication for the plaque, which SCCC funded, were current SCCC administrators, former Don Bosco staff and students, Catholic Campus Ministry members and Salesian Sisters, who serve the Sacred Heart Spirituality Center and Camp Auxilium, both in Newton.
Attached to a stand next to the stairs in front of D-Building, the plaque answers the many questions that students might have as they look up above the main door. In short, it tells the story of St. Don Bosco, founder of the Society of St. Francis de Sales — also known as the Salesians — as portrayed with two young people in black-and-white tiles below the “Don Bosco College” sign. The plaque also translates the Salesians’ motto that sits below the portrait: “Da Mihi Animas Catera Tolle” [or “Give me souls; take away the rest”]. It also gives more information about Don Bosco College, the Salesians and St. Don Bosco along with photos of the founder and tile signs above the D-Building entrance.
“More than 60 years of the Salesians’ presence ended here [in 1989] but we were happy that the buildings [of Don Bosco] weren’t torn down,” said Salesian Father David Moreno, the Salesians’ provincial secretary, who served as Don Bosco’s last president. The priest was graduated from the college in 1973 and served here from 1979 to 1991. “Don Bosco believed that education should be aimed at both the body and soul of a person — the whole person. For him, education helps make good Christians and good citizens,” the priest said at the dedication.
The seeds of Don Bosco’s rich legacy of scholarship and faith were planted, when it opened as St. Joseph’s House of Studies in 1928 on a large farm in a wooded area in Newton. It included the former mansion of merchant John A. Horton and classroom, dorm, recreation and study-hall facilities for 50 novices. Over the years, the college built the structure known now as D-Building, an Academic Building, a gymnasium and a novitiate up the hill. Also, the Salesians ran a summer camp, according to Don Bosco’s history.
One former Don Bosco student, Frank Esposito, from Florida, spoke at the dedication, recalling his arrival here in 1963 at 23 years old — among the many priesthood candidates, who hailed from all over the U.S. He recalled one of his major accomplishments: passing the N.Y. Latin Exam, after days of study. Esposito moved to the novitiate but then felt God calling him to another vocation. Today, he and his wife, both educators, run the Alpha Omega Reading & Speech Center — a subtle reference to Jesus, who called himself “the alpha [the beginning] and the omega [the end].”
“I thank God for my time at Don Bosco. It formed me for the rest of my life,” Esposito said.
At the dedication, Father Moreno remembered teaching classes on the top floor of the Academic Building — a modern-looking structure — and living on the second floor of what is now known as D-Building.
In 1989, the Salesians decided to close Don Bosco due to declining enrollment and, in 1991 sold the 179-acre campus to Sussex County. Since then, SCCC has converted and expanded its campus. During its existence, the college formed 1,776 registered college students; 150 Salesian Sisters; 350 high-school students, who did not enter Don Bosco; more than 750 seminary graduates; more than 430 religious priests and brothers from the seminary; more than 430 priests from the seminary; and about 16,000 campers, according to the Don Bosco history.
“Mere numbers cannot tell the whole story. God alone knows the amount of good, which those who passed through the portals of Don Bosco College Seminary, produced,” the Don Bosco history states.
In his remarks on April 25, Jon Connolly, SCCC president, said that the community college endeavors to “attend to the heart and the mind” to help form students, who are “incredibly human” — like Don Bosco did.
Then, Michael Gogick, Catholic Campus Ministry president, gave Father Michael Rodak, pastor of St. Jude Parish in Hardyston, an award in appreciation for his 12 years as the ministry’s chaplain. Assistant professor William McGovern — who, along with Connelly and others, helped make the historical plaque a reality — called Father Rodak “a mentor to the students and to us [staff].”
In accepting the award, Father Rodak expressed his gratitude and spoke about the goal of Catholic Campus Ministry: “To build up people so they take their God-given gifts and make a better world.”
Don Bosco’s history also came alive for Zappe, when he explored the campus for “Catholic elements.” He took note of the stained-glass windows in D-Building’s community room, which once served as a chapel; pews in some of the hallways, which now serve as benches; and a religious shrine with a fountain, which he found in some brush.
In his address, Father Moreno applauded SCCC for growing from a vocational school into a two-year community college.
“On behalf of the Salesians, I thank you for remembering us and your own roots,” Father Moreno told the SCCC community. “Our gift to you is our continued prayers for your success,” he said.