On Tuesday, September 19, Saint Patrick High School Board of Trustees, alumni, supporters, faculty and staff gathered for the Brullo Family Science Center Dedication. The evening was a celebration of the new home to the school’s STEAM program and a show of gratitude to Robert ’66 & Kathleen Brullo for their generosity in helping to make the state-of-the art learning space possible.
The Brullo Family Science Center was designed to transform traditional classrooms into a place that encourages a student-centered, collaborative environment with a modern lab space where students of all disciplines can better implement scientific inquiries and experiments. The project, completed on time and within budget, was created to be a flexible space teachers and students can grow into for years to come.
Saint Patrick administration is happy with the space and the opportunity it provides to expand the current STEAM curriculum – and are grateful to the Brullo family for their commitment to the project and Saint Patrick High School. “Without the Brullo family generosity, the space itself doesn’t happen” says principal, Jon Baffico. “We are forever indebted to their willingness to give our kids the opportunity they deserve and should be able to experience,” he added, “I believe it speaks to the impact the school had on Bob for many years.”
According to Brullo, when the initial Robotics project morphed into the STEAM program, he asked how he could help make it more robust. Brullo, a longtime 3M executive who attended IIT and started his career as a chemical engineer, knows the struggle his company had to get enough scientists and engineers over the years. He knew the STEAM program was a great opportunity to offer curriculum that encourages students to look at and excel in a career in science and technology. “If we do it right,” he says after traveling internationally for 25 years, “our students will be able to compete on a world stage.”
“We’ve always had a great athletic program and the Lowell I. Stahl Family Theatre was a huge addition a few years ago,” Brullo said. The addition of the STEAM program and Brullo Family Science Center, he believes, “is another thing to differentiate our school.” Brullo also feels it complements the INCubatoredu Entrepreneurship Program started in 2016-2017 very well. “When you have a great idea/invention, you need to figure out how to market and sell it,” he said.
In his remarks at the Dedication Ceremony, Brullo spoke about the importance of a strong family unit and how he, like many Saint Patrick students, comes from a solid middle class family. He sees Shamrocks, past and present, as one big family and wants current students to have the opportunity to succeed. “My family made sacrifices to send me to St. Pat’s for a Catholic education,” he said, “I wouldn’t be where I am today without it.”
The Dedication Ceremony included the unveiling of the Brullo Family Science Center sign, a blessing and a plaque dedicating the space “to the loving memory of Robert’s parents Ralph and Vicky Brullo who were determined, in spite of economic constraints, to provide him with a Saint Patrick education.”
Click here to view photos from the special evening.
