WILMINGTON – Saint Mark’s High School’s students filled the auditorium on Jan. 29 to welcome back three alumni who have made their mark in public service. John Carney, the mayor of Wilmington, joined New Castle County Executive Marcus Henry and Delaware Superior Court Judge Francis J. “Pete” Jones for a panel discussion about life in the government and the role that Saint Mark’s played in their career decisions.
Each of the men briefly introduced themselves. Carney, a 1974 graduate, quarterbacked the 1973 football state champions and went on to Dartmouth College, where he played two sports and considered a career in education, the same as that of his parents. Before being elected Wilmington’s mayor this past November, he served as Delaware’s lieutenant governor, U.S. representative and governor for two terms. He also began the lacrosse program at Saint Mark’s back in the late 1980s and was an assistant football coach at the University of Delaware.
Henry, a member of the Class of 1989, talked about the influence of his mother, Margaret Rose Henry, the first African American woman elected to the Delaware senate. He got his undergraduate degree at Howard University and a master’s at Delaware. Henry has served as the director of development for the Wilmington Housing Authority and as New Castle County’s economic development director. He is the first African American elected to be the county executive.
Jones was a football teammate of Carney’s who graduated from Saint Mark’s in 1975. He pointed out to the students that he was a member of two state champions since the Spartans repeated in the fall of 1974, after Carney had graduated. He said former Spartans baseball coach Tom Lemon was the reason he chose Saint Mark’s. Jones was a litigator for decades who has received numerous awards from the state bar association. In 2018, Carney nominated him to sit on the state Superior Court.
The questions for the panelists were posed by members of the advanced-placement U.S. history class. The first was a true softball. A student wanted to know each man’s favorite moment at Saint Mark’s.
Carney said he couldn’t pick just one. He said he liked the school’s “overall commitment to service and the ideas that everything you do on a day-to-day basis” is important.
Instead of picking a moment, Jones said being part of something that was growing meant a lot to him. Saint Mark’s had opened in 1969 and was “a unique experience. We had no established tradition.”
The students and teachers, he said, worked together to build an institution.
About their decisions to work in public service, Henry said his mother definitely affected his career path. Initially, he wanted to mix his affinity for business and journalism, but he pivoted to government instead.
“It’s fulfilling to give back to people,” he said. “We’re impactful every day.”
For Carney, the foundation he received at Holy Rosary School in Claymont and at Saint Mark’s remains strong. He liked coaching, but he felt he could do more in public service.
Jones said he attended the Catholic University of America to play baseball, but he soon realizedhe wouldn’t be making a living at that. He remained at Catholic for law school, graduating in 1982.
“I thought I had something to give back to the community,” he said. “In giving back, you receive. And you’re better for it.”
A student asked the men how Saint Mark’s prepared them.
“Catholic education teaches you that you are supposed to be a servant,” Jones said.
Carney explained that the school’s focus on values and service “was really important in creating that foundation that guides us every day.”
Henry mentioned the relationships for life that he made at Saint Mark’s. The school was filled with people coming from different backgrounds and circumstances, but they were part of something together. His relationship with Carney dates back to Henry’s days at Saint Mark’s, when they were player and coach, respectively, on the lacrosse team. Carney turned to his old football teammate, Jones, when he needed to fill a Superior Court seat.
After a few more questions, each of the panelists was asked to give advice about picking a college. Carney told the students to select a school that feels comfortable but will push the boundaries of their experience. Henry said he recently went through an exhaustive search with his daughter, and he recommended they take multiple campus visits and talk to the students at those institutions. For Jones, the key is to find a place that will “stretch your experiences.”
“There’s a place out there that’s the right place for you,” he said.
