“Developing men of vision in Spirit, Mind, and Body” is the summary of Cathedral Prep’s mission statement. It is Prep’s goal for their students to succeed in their future careers and be an example for future generations of what Cathedral Prep can help do for you. Prep has guided thousands of alums to achieve great success in all of their endeavors, but one alumni that has epitomized this success Mr. John Hilbert Sr., graduating member of the Class of 1982.
Mr. Hilbert has been very successful after his time at Prep, going on to be the President of PHB Inc., a major corporation for assemblies and molding. Mr. Hilbert chose Cathedral Prep for multiple reasons, such as the pride the school had and the people that he knew that attended the prestigious school. His father was also a key component in his decision to attend. From his time at Prep, Mr. Hilbert gained a wide assortment of skills that plenty of other students at different high schools may never get the opportunity to like a determined work ethic, integrity, pride in everything you do, and countless other essential factors that help attain success.
Cathedral Prep is a brotherhood, a second family that will always have each other’s back in any situation. Because of all the time and effort Prep had in molding the young minds of students, Mr. Hilbert wanted to make sure that the students could have a modern environment in which they could advance in their studies. With this in mind, he donated an extremely generous gift to Cathedral Prep to help construct the Hilbert Family Library Commons so that Cathedral Prep could continue to be one of the top education facilities.
When asked what was one of the main reasons for the donation, he said it was his “commitment to Prep”, to show that once you graduate, you will always be a part of the family. Also, it makes sense wanting the best education for your children, which is why his children Tim (Class of 2015), Johnny (Class of 2014), and Olivia (Class of 2018) all are attending (or have graduated from) either Cathedral Prep or Villa Maria Academy because they are the two schools that will best shape them for their future along with guidance from their mother and father.
One great thing people can notice who have not attended Cathedral Prep is the bonds that are formed at school continue on after graduation. Mr. Hilbert said that a good amount of the friends he had in high school are still very close even to this day. Now, even some of the alumni that he was not close to or not in his graduating class are now “like seeing a brother.” It just goes to show that once you are a part of the brotherhood, it is not something that will ever go away, even long after the seniors receive their diplomas.