Every year, Rockhurst High School graduates a class of “men for others,” human beings prepared to, in the words of Ignatius of Loyola, “Go set the world on fire” in whatever field they choose to pursue. For at least a few of those students every year, there’s a chance that they will end up paying their formation forward. Alumni make up a sizable portion of faculty and staff at Rockhurst, and four additional alumni returned to the Rock this year.
Steve Redmond ‘04, Martin Radosevic Jr. ‘16, Mark Blanck ‘98, and Doug Bruce ‘67 are all back on campus in a variety of roles.
Redmond joins his alma mater as co-director of admissions. A former Division I football player at the University of Missouri, Redmond came to Rockhurst with a breadth of professional experience in areas such as coaching, insurance, and real estate. He now hopes to apply the passion that drove him to success in multiple industries to helping prospective students.
“I was thinking my heart is really set on developing young people,” Redmond said. “And then one of my really good friends said, ‘Hey, man, you need to do this.'”
Radosevic, son of current math teacher Martin Radosevic Sr., is the most recent graduate of the four. He assumes a new office at Rockhurst as director of community engagement. It’s a new type of role for Radosevic, who has spent the majority of his professional career in college athletics after playing collegiate baseball and graduating with an MBA from West Virginia Wesleyan.
His most recent role overseeing athletic communications at the University of Louisiana Monroe gave him valued experience ahead of his return.
“[Community engagement] was something that there were a lot of parallels to what I was doing in college athletics,” Radosevic said.
Radosevic originally learned of the opening from another returning Hawklet.
“Mark Blanck was one of my connections and he promoted the role on his LinkedIn page,” Radosevic said.
Blanck now serves as the vice president of philanthropy and engagement, a role he stepped into in the winter of 2025. Blanck spent nearly a decade working at Rockhurst as a fundraiser from 2010-2019, before spending time at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and University of St. Mary.
When Dr. Diane Marty, who previously held the position, moved to take a new role at the school, Rockhurst president David Laughlin reached out to Blanck about a return.
“[Laughlin] asked if I would have any interest in coming back to serve in this role, and I jumped at that,” Blanck said.
While Blanck is in his second stint at Rockhurst, Bruce, a member of only the second graduating class to spend all four years at the Greenlease Memorial Campus, is entering his third. After a 29-year run from 1978 to 2007 that included time as a math teacher, head basketball coach and athletic director, Bruce retired and moved to Colorado before returning to teach math for the 2021-2022 school year.
Three years later, Laughlin, who Bruce has known since the former’s time at Creighton Preparatory School, asked him to return as a calculus teacher.
“Finding people who can teach calculus, that’s not easy to find on the spur of the moment,” Bruce said. “So he said, ‘If you could come back and help us again, that’d be great,’ and that’s too good for me to turn that down…I love teaching.”
All four men noted differences in the physical environment of their alma mater, but appreciate the continued mission and spirit of the school.
“When I got out here at the beginning, back in ‘63, there was nothing out here except this high school,” Bruce said. “I remember people in Kansas City saying at the time, ‘You put that high school where?’ But I mean, look at it now. It’s managed to keep the character that it had when I was here.”
“We’re still in the business of forming young men to be good men–to be successful, God-fearing men–and that means more to me now than ever,” Redmond said.
“That’s really the foundational principle of Rockhurst is we’re ever evolving, but we have the same mission,” said Radosevic.
“The way that the school continues to grow is mind blowing,” Blanck said. “To see the different co-curriculars being offered for students is exciting.”
Instilled with the same values current students learn today, these men are now entrusted with the betterment of the school they hail from.
“What I’m passionate about is to continue to improve and make this place even better,” Radosevic said.
Some of that passion comes from the long tradition that has kept legions of alumni connected to the Rock.
“Over the next six weeks, I’m going to six cities where there’s strong… at least over 100 alumni in those cities,” Blanck said.
“For people to stay in the game that long, that means that something that we’re doing here is really special,” Redmond said.
Some current students will have the opportunity to join the ranks of the alumni as soon as this spring. Those who have recently returned encourage students to capitalize on the connections they can build during their time at the Rock.
“You’re going to get some advantages from that that other people aren’t going to be able to enjoy,” Bruce said, “so you want to take advantage of the time while you’re here, and get that all set up for yourself, because it’s going to be a lifelong thing.”
“Fight to keep the brotherhood strong and a part of your life, because this culture is very unique,” Redmond said.
An annual celebration of that culture is right around the corner, as hundreds of graduated Hawklets will return to Rockhurst when homecoming week kicks off on Sept. 22. Class reunions and a Friday night tailgate will bring home more members of the brotherhood from across the country, at least for a short period of time.
