Quinn Brothers a No. 1 Hit at Mount Carmel

Chicago – Any student who attends Mount Carmel High School is overly familiar with the 105-year old institution’s motto.

“You come to Carmel as a boy. If you care to struggle and work at it, you will leave as a man.”

Educators at the school always believe the operative words in the motto are “work” and “struggle.” The school’s premise is that if a student puts forth a noble effort for four years, and works incredibly hard in and outside of the classroom, he will be equipped to succeed in college and make a positive contribution to society.

Despite a major recent expansion to the campus on 64th and Dante in Chicago’s historic Woodlawn neighborhood, the school still thrives on its family atmosphere. Mount Carmel has a knack for celebrating each individual student. Figuratively speaking, whatever type of song each young man wants to sing in this world, Mount Carmel is there to help him sing it.

But for Pat and John Quinn, two brothers at the school who hail from Queen of Martyrs in Mount Greenwood, the above phrase can be taken quite literally.

Pat, a junior, and John, a freshman, are two young men who are in the process of leaving quite an impact on the 2005-06 school year. Their vigorous work habits, brilliance in the classroom and vibrant personalities are leaving a huge mark on the soul of Mount Carmel. But the true intrigue of the Quinn brothers’ success is that they are blending together all of their passions and talents across the board.

Aside from excelling in the classroom, Pat and John are taking the musical world at Mount Carmel by storm. They both star in the school’s musical ensemble, BrownTown. The band plays rock-and-roll and rhythm and blues pieces at various gigs throughout the school year. Moderator Jim Civik is thrilled to have Pat and John on board.

“They’re both extremely dedicated to BrownTown. They’re always there at or before the beginning of practice time, which is at 7 a.m.” Civik said. “It’s a delight having

musicians who have such a strong base of training. These kids are thoroughly grounded in the basics. This allows us to move forward constantly, and never backward.”

Much like an athletic team in high school, BrownTown has a young cast this year that is learning the ropes and growing stronger by the month. There’s no secret, however, that John may be the future of the band.

“John is excellent. He is, without a doubt, our No. 1 guitar player,” Civik said. “He exhibits a mastery of his instrument well beyond his years. He’s incredibly funny too, and he’s not a shrinking violet. The lead guitar player in a band can’t be a shrinking violet.

“He’s extremely confident in his abilities, but possibly the most impressive attribute of John’s is the patience he shows to our other guitar players in the band. He’s very willing to teach what he knows, and that’s not something you find in most young musicians.”

Performing as the band’s leader as a rookie is similar to a freshman playing quarterback for football or point guard for basketball on the Varsity team. But John is having no problem finding his way.

“I expected to get a few songs this year, but I didn’t realize I’d be playing with mostly juniors and seniors,” John said. “But the adjustment hasn’t been too huge, because ever since I started playing, I’ve always kind of landed a big role, so I can accept it.

“When I play, I’m in a complete state of happiness. When you’re playing, you realize that you’re the one responsible for the amazing sound you’re hearing. It’s a pretty cool feeling,” he said. “Playing in BrownTown is great because I get to be very involved in the school, and I’m doing something I love to do. If we work hard and keep getting better, I really think we can be an unbelievable band when we’re juniors and seniors.”

Even Pat, who pushes aside the stubbornness any big brother displays towards a younger brother, is aware of John’s musical brilliance.

“He’s an amazing guitar player. There’s no doubt about it,” Pat said. “I’ve learned so much from him. But in music, there’s things I learn on my own because I can’t ask him everything. And with him being my little brother, it’s a little hard to accept that he’s a better guitar player.

“But we’ll go to Guitar Center, and he’ll show up people who have been playing for 20 years. He can play such a wide variety of music, that he amazes people. He’s special.”

Perhaps Pat is so comfortable showering praise on his younger brother because he has some extraordinary abilities himself. Pat’s creativity and sharp ability to learn material quickly has his teachers overly impressed.

John Hoerster, who teaches Pat’s AP English class and coaches Varsity football, has a clear understanding of what makes Pat tick.

“His creativity as a writer is truly amazing,” Hoerster said. “Typically, musicians are very creative. They display the freedom to think outside of the box. A lot of musicians are inspired by the past, they’re a bit rebellious. You can see these influences in Pat’s writing. But he’s also strong technically as a writer. He’s very fundamentally sound.

“On several of his papers, he chooses simple themes to write about, but the way in which he tells his story makes his stories beautiful. He’s capable of having any reader buy into his writing.”

Hoerster, who always encourages his students to relate to literature in a way that is unique to them, marvels at Pat’s uniqueness.

“He’s a fun kid to be around. He’s proved himself to be an outstanding student,” he said. “Sometimes there’s a box that AP students think in. They must behave this way, they must believe this and they must write this. There’s one particular style of thought. But Pat has crawled out of this box, and he displays creativity, and he’s spontaneous, and he uses improvisation. This is probably why he’s such an outstanding musician. He doesn’t do everything by the book. In music, and really, in his life, he plays as he feels.”

Both Pat and John are incredibly gifted in the classroom. Pat has reached the High Honors level every semester of his Mount Carmel career. He is a member of the National Honors Society and sports a 3.99 grade point average. Younger brother John is no slouch, either. In 8th grade, he scored in the 99th percentile on Mount Carmel’s Entrance Exam, and hasn’t slowed down a bit upon his arrival at the school.

Dr. Jon Berry, who teaches Latin to Pat and John, also understands why the brothers excel in the classroom and on the stage.

“They both pick up material very quickly,” he said. “Learning a language is similar to playing a musical instrument. There are a lot of similarities in playing complex chords and writing in another language. I’m not surprised they’re good musicians.”

Pat is a member of Mount Carmel’s football program, which just ended a magical 13-1 season that lasted until the final seconds of the IHSA State Championship game. He also plays Rugby for Mount Carmel.

Pat’s Mount Carmel experience has only gotten better with the arrival of his brother.

“The first two years I was here I always felt like Mount Carmel was my place. Nobody from my family was here, so in a way that was special. But it feels good to have John here. I want Mount Carmel to be his place too,” he said.

“I helped him a lot with football, things like what to wear and what to bring. I help him along, but I choose not to tell him things because I want him to experience high school for himself. I don’t want to hold his hand. High school is a huge part of growing up, and I don’t want him to lose out on that. At Carmel, you have to take more responsibility. You can’t just call your mom and in 5 minutes she brings you the lunch you forgot.”

In the future, both Quinn brothers want to surround themselves with music. John, who usually practices about five hours per day, wants to play in a band for a living and teach others how to play. Pat aspires to major in Journalism and minor in Music, with the hopes of writing for Rolling Stone one day.

For now, Pat and John will enjoy each other’s company at Mount Carmel, guiding each other through their learning experiences. Their lessons learned from each other and from teachers and coaches at Mount Carmel will last a lifetime.

“The No. 1 quality we learn here is discipline. That’s the key to school and life,” Pat said. “I’ve learned what it means to be a family. The relationships I enjoy here are amazing. In football this year, I learned about what overcoming adversity means. If I can do that in football, I know I can do that in life, too.”

One thing is for sure. When Pat and John Quinn leave the halls of Mount Carmel, they will certainly be entering the real world as men…and talented ones at that.

Contact Info:

Matt Kellam

Director of Communication

P: 773.324.1020  x245

F: 773.324.2468