In three short months after graduation on May 23, Sean Kenney will uproot from his longtime hometown to transplant an exemplary academic and athletic background from St. Ed’s to hallowed Ivy League ground at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business.
“I’m extremely excited about the prospect of graduating,” Sean says. “Some might find it tough to leave St. Edward’s and Vero Beach, but I’m very well prepared. Although I will miss the people and restaurants, I’m eager to get to Philadelphia to meet new people and learn new things.
“I also like to try new food and the food up there is outstanding.”
Culinary pursuits have certainly not been Sean’s sole concern since his family moved to Vero and he enrolled at St. Ed’s in second grade. He carries a 4.4 GPA, top 5 percent class ranking, and is an AP Scholar with Distinction. Among other achievements, he was inducted into the National Honor Society and Science National Honor Society.
The strapping six-foot-two, 185-pound, 18-year-old was a member of the cross country, swimming and basketball teams during the first portion of his senior year. His third year on the rowing team this spring will conclude a high school varsity sports career teeming with memories to last a lifetime.
Rowing is much more than just a passing fancy, however. Sean was a key oarsman on the varsity 4+ boat that finished fourth at the Stotesbury Cup Regatta in Philadelphia last May. A week later his crew made the semifinals at the Scholastic Rowing Association of America National Championship Regatta in Mercer Lake, NJ.
Sean plans to row all four years on the heavyweight team at Penn. Until then, St. Ed’s crew members have some unfinished business. The Florida Scholastic Rowing Association State Championships scheduled for later this month in Sarasota will determine if St. Ed’s qualifies for a third straight trip to the SRAA National Championship Regatta in New Jersey.
The outlook is uncertain, but should that opportunity materialize, Sean will miss the graduation ceremony.
“If we quality for nationals it will be a little weird to miss graduation,” Sean said. “Nationals is definitely more important to me. It’s something I have a deep connection with and I’ve worked very hard to achieve that goal. Whatever happens, happens. I’m prepared for everything.”
St. Ed’s rowing coach Aaron Lee also teaches an economics class. Sean found those two disciplines vital in his pathway to college.
“Mr. Lee is a very good economics teacher and at Wharton you automatically major in that subject,” Sean said. “So I was secretly hoping that I really liked economics when I took his class. That nailed it for me. He’s very good at using simple language to draw analogies. Because of him I’m much more able to comprehend complex ideas and concepts. He’s also my rowing coach so he’s a very important person to me in terms of both academics and athletics.”
Lee recognized that he had a pupil with untapped talent for rowing. Sean’s first 2K on a rowing machine as a sophomore came in at a fast seven minutes flat.
“I had never touched an erg before,” Sean recalled. “That stood out to Mr. Lee and he said that I had potential in the sport. He also said if I enjoyed rowing and was willing to dedicate the necessary time and commitment, I could do it at the Division 1 level in college.
“After that conversation and what happened last year, I just fell in love with rowing. Mr. Lee has really helped me to get where I’m at.”
The just concluded basketball season proved to be one of extremes, the highest of highs and lowest of lows, all within a period of one week in January. Sean played in a “game I will remember forever” seven days before St. Ed’s grad and assistant coach Darell Flowers succumbed to cancer at age 20.
“It was our Senior Night when we got the news,” Sean said, fighting off emotion. “I had worn his #5 the whole season, but I refused to wear it that night. We were going to retire his number that night, hopefully with him there, but he was never able to make it.
“As tragic as it was, and it’s still tough to talk about, it opened our eyes to how fragile life is. He was going to play basketball in college and now I will be rowing in college. The whole future that you are excited about can be taken away just like that.”
Sean admitted to having trouble sleeping the night before a resounding victory over archrival John Carroll and two ex-St. Ed’s players. “That game was the biggest reason I wanted to play basketball this year. Coach (Greg) Zugrave told us that was what high school basketball should feel like. The gym was packed and the crowd was enthusiastic. No doubt that was my most memorable game ever.”
A busy summer lies ahead before classes at Wharton start August 25. In addition to a summer job to save for those anticipated restaurant forays around Philly, Sean says he will probably be joining the Indian River Rowing Club. The coaches at Penn want him to row three to four times a week to stay in shape.