Sparrows Point High School principal  Robert Santacroce is flanked by magistrate judge John Kaull (left) and U.S. Coast Guard Vice Admiral (Ret.) John Shkor after the two were inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame.      photo by Joseph M. Giordano

Coast Guard vet, judge are added to SPHS hall

by Joseph M. Giordano

Two more alumni joined the prestigious ranks of Sparrows Point High School’s two-year-old Hall of Fame.
    This year, the Sparrows Point High School Alumni Association added U.S. Coast Guard Vice Admiral (Ret.) John Shkor and magistrate judge John Kaull to an elite group that now includes five members.
    Last year, former New York Met Ron Swoboda, 1st Mariner Bank founder and president Ed Hale Sr. and pediatrician Dr. Rachel Barnes Dodge were inducted as the first SPHS Hall of Fame class.
    Shkor and Kaull were presented with plaques during a schoolwide ceremony last Thursday morning in the SPHS auditorium.
    “These two men have had significant and distinguished careers,” alumni association board member David Taylor said. “Several faculty members submitted [Shkor and Kaull’s] names, and we voted to induct them. They represent what the Hall of Fame is about.”
    Kaull,  a federal magistrate judge who spoke first at last week’s ceremony, graduated two years after Shkor in 1964. He has been on the federal bench since 1999, according to information provided by the alumni association.
    “Wrestling taught me something,” Kaull said during a booming motivational speech to the student body. “It taught me it isn’t about winning. It’s about never quitting. I am deeply humbled by this recognition.”
    An Eagle Scout in 1960, Kaull also worked at the former Bethlehem Steel blast furnaces between semesters at college.
    Kaull graduated from from West Virginia University College of Law in 1971 after earning  a bachelor’s degree in political science and history from West Virginia University.
  Though the thought he would fail, Kaull sailed solo the length of the Chesapeake Bay when he was 17.    
    He talked to the students about failure.
    “There’s nothing wrong with the fear of failure,” Kaull said. “But you cannot let the fear of failure overcome you. You can do anything you put your mind to.”
    When he took the lectern after receiving his plaque, Shkor used his 40 years in the military to reach out to the students.
    “You have to operate like a military leader,” Shkor said. “What’s a sound idea now might not look so good later. You can never tell with certainty what’s going to happen.”
    Shkor graduated in 1962  and  earned a bachelor’s degree from the Coast Guard Academy in 1966. In 1973 he earned a Juris Doctor degree from Georgetown University Law Center  in 1973 and in 1985 a master’s of management degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technolog, according to the alumni association's information.
    Shkor  served as chief counsel of the Coast Guard and was appointed director of the National Narcotic Border Interdiction System by then-Vice President George H.W. Bush.
    Shkor's final assignment before retiring was as commander of the Coast Guard Atlantic Area, serving as operational commander for all Coast Guard activities conducted by 26,000 military and civilian personnel, according to the information. During his  long career he also commanded task forces, conducting counter-drug operations in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean.
    Following the events of Sept. 11, 2001, Shkor served as the chief operating officer for the Transportation Security Administration, where he helped implement new requirements for aviation passenger and baggage screening.
    “This is an exciting time for you,” Shkor told the students at the assembly. “This is the last time you’ll ever get knowledge for free. When you leave here, knowledge will cost you. People will charge you for it. Take advantage of the free knowledge now, while you have the chance.”    
    After the recipients took their seats, SPHS principal Robert Santacroce addressed the students.
    “These men went well beyond success in school. They took risks.,” he said. “These men are proof that there’s life outside the peninsula.”