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Leaving one band of brothers for another

By Nicole Sweeney Etter
Photos by Ben Smidt

Incoming freshman Timmy Garcia-Prats wasn’t daunted by the prospect of rooming with nearly 300 other guys at O’Donnell Hall. Sharing a bedroom and waiting in line for the bathroom is part of the territory when you’re the youngest of 10 boys.

Timmy follows a long line of accomplished older siblings, all of whom attended Strake Jesuit Preparatory in Houston and most of whom also chose Jesuit colleges. But he is the first to choose Marquette.

A visit to campus with one of his older brothers planted the seed when he was just an eighth grader. “It was always in the back of my mind,” says Timmy, who is majoring in international business. “I Iiked that it was in the middle of the city, and I had heard good things about the music and sports scene here.” And after attending Catholic schools since kindergarten, he was eager to keep up the tradition.

“The boys liked that Jesuit influence,” says his mother, Cathy.

Timmy’s parents have become an influential force of their own. Cathy, a former grade school teacher, and her husband, Joe, a professor and neonatologist, have written four books, including Good Sons Don’t Just Happen: Insights on Raising Boys From the Mother of 10 Sons and Good Families Don’t Just Happen: What We Learned From Raising Our 10 Sons And How It Can Work For You. They have become sought-after speakers on parenting topics, and the entire family once appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Despite the family’s large size, the kids have always been close. Last year was the first time Timmy had his own room. Even when it was just down to him and his next oldest brother, Jamie, the two preferred to bunk together.

“It’s interesting and it’s fun, especially when I was younger because there was always someone to play with,” Timmy says of his family life. “It was hard when I got older because everyone started leaving.”

And then it was Timmy’s turn.

As Timmy unpacked his belongings during move-in day, he admitted he was most excited about finally being on his own. “And being around people my own age around the clock,” he added. “It’s like having a bunch of brothers.”

“I'm still trying to appreciate that our youngest son will be in college and Joe and I will be empty nesters after almost 37 years of having a son at home,” says Cathy, whose hungry brood used to slug back five gallons of milk a day. “It is definitely a transition year.”

After moving nine other sons into colleges across the country, Joe and Cathy had learned some lessons — rent a bigger vehicle, buy the essentials locally, don’t bother to leave an iron because you’ll still find it in the package four years later. Soon, Timmy’s limited belongings — a suitcase, laundry soap, tissues, granola bars, Gatorade, a soccer ball, and yes, even text books — spilled across the grass outside of O’Donnell as he and his father schlepped back and forth to his new room.

“It’s hard,” says his mother, tearing up. “It doesn’t get easier. It’s like when he started kindergarten. But it’s a new phase, and I know he’s in a good place.”