BOSTON -- William J. Kemeza, president of Boston College High School and the St. Ignatius Award Committee this week announced the recipients of the 2008 St. Ignatius Awards, the highest honor bestowed on BC High graduate. The award ceremony was to be held in BC High’s McNeice Pavilion on April 3.

This year’s recipients are:

John E. “Jack” Conway -- Conway has dedicated years of his time and talents to a number of philanthropic endeavors that stretch from his hometown of Boston throughout the world. He founded the Ambassadors of Holy Cross, which supports the mission work of the Congregation of Holy Cross in the poorest areas of Peru. Closer to home, he has tirelessly worked for the MainSpring Coalition for the Homeless and Brockton Area Multi-Services Inc. He is also a benefactor of BC High where he funds the Conway Country Scholarship for students in financial need.

Paul J. Driscoll -- A longtime supporter of St. Gerard’s Youth Ministry program in Canton, Driscoll’s drive to carry out the mission of Jesus has taken him from his home parish, to revitalizing struggling coal mining towns in Kentucky, to assisting in the cleanup and rebuilding in New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. He currently leads a youth outreach group at St. Gerard’s that is dedicated to bringing medical care to remote areas of Peru. He lives his life in an effort to be a positive influence and a compassionate role model for youth, while leading others to help serve those who are in dire need.

John V. Murphy ‘67 -- Murphy has exemplified the qualities of doing justice, openness to growth, and intellectual competence through his extensive service work. He has dedicated countless hours as a board member of Project Rebirth, a nonprofit organization dedicated to documenting the historic rebuilding of the World Trade Center site and the emotional recovery of people affected by 9/11. In addition, he is a dedicated supporter and mentor for the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, which provides a financial literacy curriculum to students who wish to learn about business and entrepreneurship. He has also served his alma mater as a trustee and trustee associate, and has endowed a scholarship to help BC High students.

Father John J. Pashby -- Father Pashby has taken his Jesuit education and applied it to a lifetime of serving those who need it most. Father Pashby has worked in Peru since 1963, and since 1979 has lived and labored in a remote, mountain town in the parish of St. Thomas. In the last 30 years, he has worked to build hospitals, schools, roads, and soup kitchens, often performing the arduous, manual labor himself. He has focused his talents on three goals: to care spiritually and physically for some of the world’s poorest; to promote equality and justice; and to enable people to become better educated and thereby improve the quality of their lives.