One graduated from college when he was ten years old. Two are Rhodes Scholars. Another was voted the outstanding scholar-athlete in the United States. Jack Callahan profiles eleven young Irish-Americans who may well be the next generation of leaders.
Tom Burns
The National Football Foundation and the College Hall of Fame elected Tom Burns as the nation’s outstanding scholarathlete for 1993. Voted to the first-team of the GTE Academic All-American Football Team, he is a member of the class of 1994 at the University of Virginia.
As a starting line backer on the football team, Burns was also voted to the 1994 All Atlantic Coast Conference third team. But more importantly, Tom Burns is an excellent student majoring in nuclear engineering.
In 1991, he was one of 60 students chosen, from the entire country, for the prestigious undergraduate summer institute on contemporary topics in applied science, which was held at the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory in California. His ultimate goal is to earn a doctorate in nuclear design.
Tom’s great-grandfather immigrated from County Cork and his paternal grandfather was Robert McNamara Burns. At Bishop McNamara Catholic high school in Forestville, Maryland, Tom had a GPA of 3.42 and was class valedictorian. His sister Nicole graduated number one in her high school class, and she is now at the University of Virginia, where she is a college honor student. His other sister Cristie is a high school honor student.
Sean Fahey
A 1993 Rhodes Scholar, and the brigade commander of the midshipmen for his last semester (class of ’94) at the U.S. Naval Academy, Sean Fahey scored a perfect 4.0 GPA in systems engineering. His immediate goal is to become a member of the submarine service of the U.S. Navy.
Picked by USA Today as one of the top 20 college students for 1994, the Rockville, Maryland, resident chose the Naval Academy over his mother Elizabeth’s choice of her alma mater, the University of Notre Dame. His father is a physicist.
Jennifer Flanagan
Each year Penn State presents the John W. Oswald Award to graduating seniors who display extraordinary leadership in one of five categories. Jennifer Flanagan won this award in 1993 in the creative arts category. She also won the 1993 Kenneth J. Sonneberg Poetry Competition and has had her poetry published in Poet Magazine.
Flanagan graduated with a GPA of 3.7 (3.9 in her major, English) and is currently working in the publishing industry in New York City with aspirations to be a writer.
Flanagan’s father has a doctorate and her brother, Bob, is currently pursuing a doctorate. Her thesis on abused women is currently being used at crisis clinics across the country.
Michael Kearney
When Michael Kearney graduated from college with a degree in anthropology at 10 years and 5 months, he became the youngest person in history to do so. He completed high school before he was 7 years old,
His parents, Kevin and Cassidy Kearney, are originally from Buffalo, New York. Mrs. Kearney’s maiden name was Murphy and Michael’s paternal ancestors immigrated from County Cork to Toronto, Canada, and later to the United States.
Like many 10 year olds, Michael is engrossed with video games, but unlike many 10 year olds, Michael tutored some of his academically-challenged college classmates. Michael’s younger sister, Meghan, is also an excellent student.
As you would expect, Michael’s graduation has created a flurry of media interest and Michael appeared on the “Tonight” show with Jay Leno. Michael’s current ambition is to be a television game show host, but grad school is definitely in his future, and his ambition may change.
Michael’s parents are college graduates, his father has a degree in engineering, and his mother a degree in business.
Sean Keehan
Sean Keehan graduated St. Mary’s College in Southern Maryland with a 3.9 GPA in Economics, and was selected as a 3rd team forward for the GTE Academic All-American Basketball team.
The 6’9″ Keehan had a scoring average of 10 points a game and was voted the 1994 Male Academic Athlete of The Year at St. Mary’s. Sean was a member of the economics honor society.
Sean’s brother Tim has an MBA from St. Mary’s where he graduated cum laude. His sister Lori graduated magna cum laude from Dayton University and is a computer engineer. Sean plans eventually to get an MBA, but he is planning to work in the economics field for two years, possibly consulting, before going to graduate school. Sean’s father is a lawyer, and his mother is a nurse.
Molly Keenan
Molly McCall Keenan graduated from St. Bonaventure University in 1994 with a 3.9 GPA and a major in journalism. A member of the journalism national honor society (Kappa Tau Alpha) and the dean’s list, she was one of 50 students, of a total 750 applicants, selected for a journalism internship (sponsored by Dow Jones, Inc.) and she interned at a newspaper in Syracuse, New York, during the summer of 1993. While at college, Molly published a small job bank data newspaper, which students and alumni used to secure employment.
Although neither of Molly’s parents attended college, they strongly encouraged Molly and her sister Elizabeth (a high school national honor student) to excel academically and to secure college educations.
Mary Meaney
A resident of Corpus Christi, Texas, Mary Meaney is a 1992 Rhodes Scholar. In February, 1993, she was selected to the 1992 All-American Academic Team by USA Today, with a 4.0 GPA. She graduated from Princeton University in 1993. Mary’s ambition is to become a constitutional lawyer and she has been accepted at several law schools, including Yale.
Meaney’s paternal grandparents immigrated from Ireland and she and her brother visited Ireland in 1991. Several Irish cousins from County Kilkenny reciprocated when they visited Texas to attend a wedding.
The Meaneys are a family of high achievers. Mary’s father has a Ph.D., her mother, a native of France, is an M.D. Her brother, Joseph, is pursuing a doctorate and her sister, Elizabeth, is studying to become an architect.
Thomas Murphy
Tom Murphy graduated from the University of Iowa in 1994, majoring in anthropology and religion with a GPA of 3.9. His paternal ancestors emigrated from Ireland in the 1700’s. While at college, Tom received several awards, including co-winner of the Sanxay Award, given to the outstanding Iowa resident graduating from the University of Iowa. He also was the commencement speaker at the College of Liberal Arts.
Murphy served in the Persian Gulf (Desert Storm) conflict with the 209th medical company of the Iowa national guard. His treatise, based on his service, earned him the Elie Wiesel ethics prize. He was offered a fellowship to the University of California, Santa Barbara, but decided to do post-graduate work at the University of Washington. Eventually, Tom hopes to be a college professor. His father, Roy, owns two restaurants in Idaho, and his brother Greg is an honor student at Utah State University.
Erin Noteboom
Erin Noteboom attended Creighton University on a full academic scholarship, and earned all A’s except for one B during her college career. She graduated in the Class of ’94 with a major in physics.
Erin entered a poetry contest sponsored by the Hopkins International Society and Irish poet Desmond Egan and won a trip to Ireland in the summer of ’93. Erin will be attending graduate school, but she had not decided where, when I conducted my interview. Her sister, Wendy, is also an outstanding student, presently attending St. John’s College in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Erin is of Dutch descent on her father’s side, but her mother’s maiden name is O’Connor.
Patrick J. O’Brien
Patrick J. O’Brien majored in biology and chemistry, at Santa Clara University and graduated in the class of ’94 with a GPA of 3.7.
From Clackamas, Oregon, Patrick’s ambition is to become either a college chemistry professor or a bio-chemist. His father is a chemistry professor at Portland State University, so Patrick may have chemistry in his genes.
Patrick is the oldest of six children and all of his brothers and sisters are honor students. His mother is a college student; she will be graduating in 1995.
Brendan O’Leary
Brendan O’Leary was president of the class of 1994 at Middlebury College in Vermont, where he had a 3.7 GPA in organic chemistry. He is now attending M.I.T. where he will pursue a Ph.D. in organic chemistry. Eventually, he hopes to become an entrepreneur with a business either in pharmaceutical manufacturing or industrial supplies.
Brendan is from Surry, Maine. His mother is a nurse and he says that she has had a very positive impact on his academic career, as did his father who is a businessman. He has a sister, Niamh, who is an honor student at Middlebury College and a teenage brother, Sean, who is also an excellent student.
The academic achievements of these young Americans of Irish descent were nationally publicized in newspapers. We are sure that there are other Irish-American college students that are also exceptional academically whom we are not aware of.
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in the January/February 1995 issue of Irish America. ⬥
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