Though the beginning of his tenure in Butler Catholic School predates that name — he originally attended St. Paul School — Kevin Kelly said he has fond memories of his time there.

“I don't think we really recognized how good a place it really was until we're, now, many years past that,” said the Class of 1972 member.

Kelly, who is now a lawyer and lobbyist in Washington, D.C., said the school prepared him for life and for his career.

“It was a good time and there was this higher purpose,” Kelly said. “And they gave you a broad-based education — rooted in faith, obviously — but rooted in skills that would allow you to go on and be successful when you left there in eighth grade.”

Those skills translated not only to his career path, Kelly added, but also to his development as a person.

“The religious values mean that you're a good person and that you're trying to engage constructively in society so that you can make the world a better place, and you always leave the world a better place than you found it,” he said.

Kelly said he appreciated the kindness and caring shown by his Butler Catholic classmates during their time at the school together. He remembered when his father died, his seventh grade classmates attended the funeral.

“Very good people have come out of there,” he said. “I don't mean just financially and professionally, but they have good values.”

The principles extolled by those at Butler Catholic encouraged Kelly to further his ties to the school and his religion. During his high school summers, Kelly worked as a member of the school's custodial staff.

After high school, he went on to study to be a priest, eventually graduating with a bachelor's degree from Borromeo College Seminary of Ohio.

He went on to earn his juris doctorate from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C.

His memories of the school and his ties to Butler Catholic and his religion had a lasting impact on his life, Kelly said. He's also tried to pass that on to his children.

“It absolutely, absolutely is an important part of the educational system,” Kelly said. “My own children had significant tranches of their upbringing in Catholic education.”

Growing up on Institute Hill, Kelly said he believes Butler Catholic is an important part of the community, and he looks forward to how it will grow with Butler.

“If you look at what cities large and small do to revitalize themselves, educational institutions are anchor institutions that are the linchpin for so much happening around there,” he said.

“The school, for that quadrant of the city, … is an anchor institution to help revitalize that part of town. I'm happy to see it.”

Kevin Kelly