PATRICK MAGURE '05

Patrick Maguire, a graduate of the IHS Class of 2005, recently earned his Wings of Gold and was selected to fly CH-53Es out at Marine Corps Air Station in Miramar, CA. Before flying high for our country, Patrick pursued other flight plans, and found that Immaculate had prepared him well for all of his life choices.

After graduating from Immaculate High School, Patrick earned a degree in History from the University of Connecticut and then coached football at Fordham University in New York for several years before deciding that he “wanted to take my life a different route” and joined the United States Marine Corps.

Upon receiving his commission as a Second Lieutenant in November 2013 in Quantico, Virginia Patrick attended the Marine Corps’ Basic School. Following that Patrick reported into flight school at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida where he completed the two-year course of training and was then stationed in Corpus Christi, Texas and again in Milton, Florida. In June 2016 he earned his Gold Wings and was selected to fly CH-53Es at Marine Corps Air Station in Miramar, California.

Patrick feels that his experience at IHS prepared him well for college, the military and life in general. He believes that he and his siblings were “extremely lucky” to have been able to attend both grade school and high school in the Diocese of Bridgeport. “I think the biggest takeaway from my time at Immaculate, and this is something you don’t realize until you yourself have been removed from education and working in the real world for some time, is the level of dedication that the staff has towards the students,” Patrick said. “Just being around people of that character sets the tone for how you should conduct yourself as you get older,” he added.

During his student-athlete career at Immaculate High School, Patrick played football, lacrosse and baseball. Patrick noted that he always likes to stay busy, and he felt that Immaculate always had an outlet for him “to get out any extra energy.”

“I was fortunate enough to play football for Coach Kaplanis when I was a student and to say that he was a major influence in my life is an understatement to say the least. From Coach Kaplanis, I learned the importance of punctuality and organization as well as what it means to be held accountable both by authority figures and your peers on a daily basis,” Patrick said.

Patrick is the youngest of three Immaculate graduates. His sister Brigid Maguire Rice ‘02 is currently an elementary school teacher in Eastchester, NY. She and her husband Tim have a daughter named Mariah. Patrick’s brother Jack Maguire ‘98 works on Long Island in the New York National Guard, awaiting to get picked up to attend the Army Officer Candidate School.

Patrick and his wife Molly are expecting their first child in May 2017. Despite his necessary travels, Patrick always tries to visit Immaculate HIgh School when he is in the area. “Even though my job and schedule make it nearly impossible to come back and visit with any regularity, Immaculate still holds a place in my heart. Never forget where you come from and who helped you along the way,” Patrick noted. Patrick was recently in the Danbury area and took the time to stop in to IHS to visit with his former teachers. They welcomed him into their classrooms and invited him to speak to our current students about his service to our country.

He also believes in doing more for his alma mater than just visiting. “Always leave something better than how you found it. We were blessed to go to IHS and there are plenty of kids out there who should be afforded the same experience that we had, “ Patrick said. “We have to pay it forward as alumni, it’s a special place that is still worth the time and money,” he noted.