At the May 23 commencement for Georgetown Preparatory School in North Bethesda, Maryland, graduating senior Joe Doherty stepped forward to receive the Hamilton Medal, the Jesuit school’s oldest and most distinguished honor. That award is given for scholastic success and for a student who through his school activities impacted the community there in a memorable way.
Doherty, the 101st recipient of that annual award, was a top student in Georgetown Prep’s class of 2026 who completed 16 Honors/Advanced Placement/Post AP classes. During his years at Prep, he tutored students in math, history and chemistry; joined classmates in a summer service trip to a soup kitchen in Philadelphia; and participated in the school’s Best Buddies Club, welcoming and making friends with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
But the graduation day and the honor represented much more for Joe Doherty.
Just after he received the medal, his father Steve Doherty stepped to the podium, recounting how in Joe’s freshman year, he had pain in his back and legs, and at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, he was diagnosed with leukemia. Learning of that diagnosis was a frightening and difficult time for their family, he said.
The father recounted how the Georgetown Prep community, including administrators, teachers and fellow students offered Joe “a tremendous amount of prayers, support and love” during his cancer battle, allowing him to return to school life and eventually reach his graduation day.
Addressing Joe’s “brothers that are sitting right here, the class of 2026,” Steve Doherty said, “We can’t thank you enough for what you did for our family. We had the opportunity to experience men of faith and men for others every single day. Thank you guys, for all of your support for my son Joe.”
Then the father announced that “after three and one-half years of torturous chemotherapy treatments, last week Joe finished his last round of treatments.” He said their family is thankful to God that their son reached that milestone, and they are also mindful of other young cancer patients who are in need of prayers and support.
After telling Joe that their family is proud of “the way you handled this adversity with courage and humility,” Steve Doherty then addressed the other members of Prep’s class of 2026 and all those gathered at the commencement.
“At the end of that treatment cycle, there’s a thing called ringing the bell. We are proud to have the opportunity to have Joe come up, and signifying his battle with cancer pray to God ended and with full remission and moving forward, rather than sharing that with the wonderful nurses at Children’s Hospital, we wanted to share it with the brothers of the class of 2026, you all supported Joe so much. So Joe, why don’t you ring that bell loud and proud!”
Then Joe Doherty rang the bell that had been placed on the stage, and he received a long standing ovation from his classmates and the people gathered at the commencement, as his fellow graduating seniors chanted, “Joe! Joe! Joe!”
A school community’s support
Earlier that month in an interview at Georgetown Prep and through answers to emailed questions, Joe Doherty expressed gratitude for the support of the school community, and described how the school administrators and teachers had been very accommodating, and his classmates had been very helpful to him, to keep him on track.
His birthday is on Halloween, which each year coincides with a costume contest at the school. At the Halloween contest in his sophomore year, after he had endured months of initial cancer treatments, he stepped on stage dressed as a doctor, which drew loud applause from his fellow students and teachers who knew what he had been going through.
“I got a lot of support from the audience, that meant a lot to me,” he said, remembering that day.
He described how classmates and teachers would show concern when he was not feeling well or would help him catch up after he had missed a day. “The little things make a big difference,” he said.
For the 18-year-old Rockville resident, the closeness of the school community came naturally. “I live right down the street from Prep,” he said. His younger brother Jack will be a rising senior there this fall.
Along with their parents, Steve and Mary Doherty, they are members of St. Elizabeth Parish in Rockville, where Joe attended the parish elementary school from the first through the eighth grade.
“My faith has guided me through,” he said. “I remember when I was first diagnosed, I felt a calm wash over me, because I knew whatever happened, it would be according to God’s plan, and He wants the best for me.”
Expressing gratitude for the medical professionals who cared for him, Doherty said, “I’ve very thankful for them. They have managed my treatment very well, and they helped ease my family’s and my fears about this. They had a treatment plan backed by a lot of research.” His doctors, nurses and technicians were “welcoming and warm and helped me get through it,” he said.
Summarizing what it had been like for him, going through a cancer battle during his high school years, Doherty said, “It’s been a lot of growth. I had to mature quickly to keep up with my academics, and I missed some opportunities, to hang out with my friends or to play sports.”
He expressed gratitude for the chance to remain as a part of the Little Hoyas baseball program, as the team’s manager.
This fall, Doherty will be attending Villanova University in Philadelphia, where he plans to major in chemical and biomolecular engineering. As for his career goal, he said, “I want to work with pharmaceuticals, specifically cancer treatments.”
In the summer before his junior year at Prep, he took a course there in biomedical and biotech enrichment under the direction of Dr. Christopher DeFeo, a biology and engineering teacher there. “We did lots of advanced biochemistry labs and worked on research projects about genetic diseases,” he said.
That experience, he said, opened his eyes to a possible career in scientific research.
During his junior year, he joined other students in more biochemistry labs after school with Dr. DeFeo, and they worked on research projects that they presented to freshman and sophomore honors science students.
In addition to AP and honors chemistry, his favorite classes at Prep included AP world history and a course on western civilization.
Learning from service
The Jesuit principle of being “men for others” is something that Doherty experienced and has taken to heart during his years at Georgetown Prep.
“It influenced others around me to support me, and it’s influenced me in all the service opportunities I participate in. It’s shaped my mindset on helping others,” he said.
In the Best Buddies activities hosted by Georgetown Prep, Doherty said he worked with other student volunteers to make sure that their visiting friends with intellectual and developmental disabilities felt welcomed and respected.
This past summer, he joined fellow rising seniors in a service trip to St. Francis Inn in Philadelphia, which operates a restaurant-style soup kitchen.
“My favorite role was being a waiter and bringing food to people at the tables,” he said, adding that having conversations with the guests “helped me see the humanity of people who are struggling.”
With his friend and fellow senior Declan McCahan, he organized fundraisers at Prep for the EVAN Foundation, which supports in-patient children and youth with cancer and helps raise money for cancer research. They sold wristbands at the school in exchange for students being able to have a free dress day. The words on the outside of the wristbands, “Joy against Cancer,” represented the goals of the foundation, which is known for its Treats & Treasures Carts Program that provides patients at Children’s National Hospital with healthy snacks, toys, games and books.
“They helped me when I was in-patient” there, Doherty said, noting that support brought him joy when he was in the hospital.
As a member of the National Honor Society at Prep, Doherty coordinated students tutoring other students in chemistry, and he tutored students in math, history and chemistry. “I just enjoyed helping people, helping them reach their goals,” he said.
Asked about what it meant to him to reach the dual milestones of completing his chemotherapy treatments and graduating from high school in the same month, Doherty said, “It feels like the culmination of a lot of hard work, and all the people around me supporting me, and all the work I’ve done to get back on track from the illness.”
Men for others
He added that the Jesuit values and the supportive environment at Prep “have impacted me, and I will carry them with me to college, even though Villanova is Augustinian,” sponsored by Pope Leo XIV’s religious order.
Doherty said the Jesuit value of “being open to growth has really helped me recover from the illness. I’ve matured academically, and I’ve grown in my mindset during recovery.”
He also highlighted the Jesuit value of “finding God in all things.”
“I’m finding God when I help other people through service, I find God in them,” Doherty said, adding, “I find God in my illness, as I see God putting me on a certain path for my life.”
The member of the class of 2026 who rang the bell at Georgetown Prep’s commencement ceremony signifying the end of his cancer treatment said he especially finds meaning in the Jesuit value of being “men for others.”
That value, he said, could be seen in the school’s response to him when he was sick.
“They’ve really shown me a lot of love and supported me through this,” Doherty said, adding, “I feel I have a friend in everyone here.”
His time at Prep, he said, “has made me a better person and a more supportive friend.”
