News

Alumni of the Year: Michael Schillage ‘06

Michael Schillage is a 2006 graduate from St. Michael High School and is the 2022 St. Michael High School Alumni of the Year. Michael has served the Warrior community through his commitment to sustaining and promoting the Alumni Softball tournament as well as volunteering for numerous campus events like Open House and Career Day.

Michael attended Tulane University where he majored in Legal Studies in Business and Philosophy. He then attended the Mississippi College School of Law and graduated in 2013. After his time in law school, he interned at the East Baton Rouge Parish Attorney’s Office in its civil Litigation Division. From the internship, Michael eventually grew into a Special Assistant Parish Attorney within the PAO’s Litigation Division and now operates his own private practice as well.

During his time as a student at St. Michael High School, Michael was a member of the football team as well as the track and field team. He was also a part of the ambassadors, student council, peer ministry, the BETA club and the NHS club. Michael says his favorite high school memories include everything from meeting his wife in geometry class, to Mr. Timmerick’s jokes and the Senior Day crawfish boil. He has been married to his high school sweetheart, Julie Marie Barth ‘06 for 8 years, and has two children, Ethan and Savannah. They are expecting a third later this year.

Wall of Honor: Stephen deBessonet

Long-time Warrior partner, Stephen deBessonet has been an integral part of St. Michael High School since 1994, volunteering for various positions in the Warrior Club along with revitalizing the Wall of Honor that we celebrate at today’s Warrior Awards Dinner.

Between 1994 and 2001, Stephen served the Warrior Club as Treasurer, Vice President, President, and the chairperson for the Wall of Honor Committee. His commitment to revamp the Wall of Honor into a prestigious title was made clear in his diligence of designing and budgeting to build the actual structure of displaying the award today.

Stephen graduated from LSU in 1975 a with Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and minor in Electrical Engineering. He has worked as a programmer, data process manager and later became minority owner, cofounder, and President of Louisiana Data Services. Today he is creating and executing a transition contract with LINQ software and looks forward to retiring at the end of 2023.

Stephen has been married to his wife, Terry, for 45 years. He has two daughters, both alumnae of St. Michael High School, and 5 grandchildren. In his free time, you can catch him tailgating or attending any LSU sporting event and spending time with his family.

Warrior Sword Award: Mr. James Baldridge

Mr. James “Jim” Baldridge has been a Warrior since day one, beginning his teaching career at St. Michael in 1984 when the school’s doors first opened. Originally a geologist who graduated from Iowa State University, Jim made the decision to go into teaching after finding it difficult to travel so often with his job in the oil industry. So, after four years, he made a career change and took the necessary steps to become a certified teacher.

During his 37 years at St. Michael High School, he has taught a variety of subjects including Physics, Physical Science, Environmental Science, Western Civilization, and French I - V. He is also the founder of the travel abroad program at St. Michael High School and has taken hundreds of students around the world since 1989. Jim has seen the classroom environment evolve from using ditto masters to make copies all the way to students taking tests online in Moddle but asserts that students have remained the best part about the job throughout the years.  

Jim and his wife Lisa, who teaches Spanish at St. Michael High School, have been married for 43 years. They have three children, Shannon, Sean, and Kristin, and one grandchild. Upon retirement after this year, Jim still plans to serve his Warrior family as a substitute teacher while he enjoys his newly found time off.