Every fall the Marymount School of Santa Barbara community gathers to celebrate the special place grandparents hold in grandchildren’s lives at a pre-Thanksgiving Grandparents and Special Friends Day.
The school also honors a distinguished Marymount alumnus or alumna and invites them to come back to the school to speak to the crowd. This year’s Marymount Distinguished Alumni Award went to Casey McCann.
Casey McCann attended Marymount from 1983-93. He was the recipient of the Marymount M upon graduation, the School’s highest award, and was also recognized as the school’s top male athlete.
After Marymount, McCann went to Cate School, where he earned the Ellis Cup for outstanding citizenship and public service.
McCann then went on to Middlebury College and after graduating cum laude went to work in financial services, first with Beacon Hill Financial in Boston and then Wells Fargo Private Banking in San Francisco.
He then joined his family business Hazelwood Allied Van Lines and McCann Mini Storage in Santa Barbara.
Currently a Trustee at Cate School and a member of the California Moving and Storage Association board of directors, McCann is active with St. Jude’s Children Hospital in Memphis and is a Charter Member of Move For Hunger, providing extensive services to the Santa Barbara Foodbank.
McCann’s connections to Marymount are furthered by the fact that he is the son of a former Marymount teacher, Janet McCann, and married to a current middle school history teacher, Melissa McCann.
His affection for Marymount and recognition of the foundation the school gave him was evident in the talk he gave.
“Marymount instilled in me a way of thinking, certainly reinforced by my parents, but an outlook that I’ve carried with me throughout my life,” he said. “And it’s based on three simple principles: 1. Be positive 2. Be interested in learning, in each others’ perspectives, in each others’ feelings 3. Be kind.”
“I encourage all of you this week to pause and look around at all of the good things surrounding you: the amazing town in which we live, this beautiful campus, your friends and family with you here today, your teachers who care about your education and your well-being. Marymount is certainly a positive force for me.”
Members of the extended Marymount community left campus after McCann’s heartfelt talk feeling more grounded, connected and grateful, ready to celebrate Thanksgiving.
— Molly Seguel is the director of admission for Marymount School of Santa Barbara.