The campus here at 3900 Vincent Avenue has never looked better. There have been massive renovations and upgrades all throughout campus just in the past couple of years. Most of the projects here are upgrading existing space and improving everything in the space. Let’s highlight some of those projects.

Schaper Center

The Schaper Center has been in the possession of Elder since the late 1990s. Before Elder acquired it, a Super X was located there. In the early 2000s the library was brought into the Schaper Center along with a place for the band and Glee Club to practice. This space also allowed for Elder to host large meetings in the space. Five classrooms were also added to the space. For about 20 years the way the Schaper Center looked when it was converted from the Super X was the way it looked. Until May of 2020 when work began on gutting the entire building and giving it a much needed facelift. The carpeting and lighting were all upgraded, as well as the student and teachers’ desks. The desks were also upgraded all throughout the entire school building as well.

There is a maker space room that was created within the library to be a space where the 3-D printers are placed. This maker space will make it easier for those working on 3-D ideas to do so in a quieter setting. The biggest and I think most daunting part of the renovation of the Schaper Center was completing redesigning the Elder News Network studio.

My freshman year was the first year for the Elder News Network. We were in the library in a makeshift studio with very little advances to the technology that we had access to. Sophomore year and Junior year brought us into a classroom in the Schaper Center. Slowly we were looking more and more professional. But, at the end of the day the studio was in a classroom that was turned into a studio. The renovations to the studio were, having a separate control room and studio divided by a glass wall. Through generous donations, the administration was able to bring in a lot of new technology with a lot of new capabilities for the students to use.

The equipment is truly professionally built. The options are endless with the equipment that we have. The studio is now to the level of a professional TV station. I plan on making a video documenting these changes once the studio becomes fully operational in the very near future.

Donohoe Center

The Donohoe Center has once again been transformed into a new space for students and alumni of Elder to enjoy for years to come. The space has been changed a lot since opening with the rest of the school in the fall of 1922. This transition has gone from the weight room and spirit store to a bigger spirit store and conference rooms. The transition of this space started in 2018, when construction on the new Panther Fitness Center began. The space stopped being a weight room when the new Panther Fitness Center opened in the summer of 2019. Over the spring and in the summer of 2020, the reconstruction of the Donohoe Center began. All the old walls from the coach’s office and spirit store were ripped apart. What was left was the bare structure of the original 1922 structure.

I was fortunate enough to peak in of what the Donohoe ‘Tank’ Center looked like back when basketball was being played there. The structure was massive and a lot bigger than it appears from the outside. The spirit store was to be moved to the side of the Donohoe Center closer to The Pit. The side where the coach’s office and spirit were formerly located are now conference rooms. A large conference room and a smaller one. The new Donohoe Center opened in the summer of 2020 to a brand-new role in the long and rich history of the Elder campus. For the first couple of weeks of school both conference rooms were used as temporary classes as the Schaper Center was in the final stages on construction. Get a full look of the new spirit store HERE!

The Grotto

The Grotto is also another spot-on campus that is getting a major facelift. The Grotto has been on campus since the fall of 1951. Construction is still in progress and we are unable to see and envision the full picture until work on it gets a little farther along. I have been told that the final product will create a more spiritual setting for students and alumni alike to prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The project will take a couple of parking spots away but that is ok, they are adding more spots in the west lot.

These are some of the renovations that have taken place over the last year or so. There are a lot of projects that are still in the works in preparation for the 100^th anniversary of Elder High School being in Price Hill. The campus sure has changed during the last 100 years and more specifically over the last couple of years.

One thing remains the same, the steadfast goal of pursuing Altiora, in the classroom, on the field and in life. Through these projects we are given better tools to enhance our spirituality and education. All these projects are funded through our loyal alumni and friends of Elder. That is what makes Elder stand out as an institution. When there is a need or a want for improvements in any aspect of Elder, Elder Nation always pulls through and gives back to their Alma Mater.

I want to express my sincere gratitude to those alumni and friends of Elder that have made a generous contribution to the physical improvement of the campus to make the campus an even more enjoyable place to learn.