De La Salle Collegiate surely prepared Brad Sabo, ‘03, for a successful professional life. 

The now accomplished chiropractor serves as the associate clinic director at Caruso Chiropractic, a chiropractic clinic based in Lake Orion, Mich.

Long before his career as a chiropractor, however, he learned his fair share of life lessons while walking the hallways of De La Salle, where he followed in the footsteps of his brother, Adrian, ‘00, and was molded into the man he is today. 

One of the core lessons Sabo soaked up was the importance of time management. 

It was an important aspect of his time as a Pilot, as he balanced his heavy course load with commitments to campus ministry and various athletic programs, including varsity football and baseball. He also served as the student manager for the varsity hockey team for three years, including the very first year of hockey being a sport at DLS, and participated in intramural sports. He played IM basketball all four years. 

During his time at De La Salle, he also participated in Kairos, serving twice as a leader on the annual junior/senior student retreat. It was an eye-opening experience for Sabo. 

“You're bringing so many different people and different backgrounds together with Kairos,” Sabo commented. “It was such a powerful thing to see on display. And, it helped me realize that I was no different than the other students.” 

Balancing all of the above extracurricular activities led to Sabo becoming very efficient with his time. And, subsequently, by the time he arrived at Michigan State, he felt more than ready to tackle the challenges of college.  

“By the time I got to college, I never felt overwhelmed with anything,” Sabo said. “And, I would definitely say De La Salle helped me immensely with being prepared.” 

He graduated from Michigan State in 2007, with a bachelor’s degree in exercise physiology. He followed it up by attaining his Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Life University in Marietta, Ga.

Since obtaining his doctorate degree, he’s served in his present role at Caruso Chiropractic, alongside Dr. Sam Caruso. At the practice, he sees a variety of patients, ranging from newborn babies to 90-year-old men and women.

It’s a people-centric business, relying upon one’s ability to properly communicate with others. It’s a skill that Sabo picked up during his time as a Pilot.  

“I learned about the importance of being able to talk and relate to people while at De La Salle,” Sabo said. “This included learning how to be compassionate and understanding of others and their differences, no matter the person's background. It was a huge lesson that was instilled in me by both my parents and the DLS faculty and staff.”
 
As a student, Sabo admired a myriad of DLS teachers and coaches. 

The list ranged from Anthony Mensen, who taught Sabo in math and Spanish, to longtime faculty member Mike Szatkowski, ‘73, who taught Sabo in U.S. history, and former De La Salle President Br. Robert Carnaghi, St. Joe’s ‘48, whom Sabo considered to be a “special” person.   

There were also a variety of coaches that had a major impact on Sabo. Of the individuals with the biggest influence on him, he named off the late Shane Raxter, who coached Sabo in both football and baseball, along with Szatkowski, a longtime assistant football coach, former varsity baseball manager Brian Kelly and longtime varsity football assistant Mike Lewis. 

Lewis, for one, would work Sabo extra hard, in an effort to get the best out of the then-DLS student-athlete.   

“He (Lewis) never let me take a play off, or slack and screw around when the time wasn’t right. This all started before the season and on the practice field, which would translate over to the games and in turn, life,” Sabo expressed. “At some point, I realized that this wasn’t just him being hard and extra tough on me, but that he cared a lot about me, knowing what my potential could be. This is something I was able to use throughout life: work hard, play hard. Also, these things translated well into my personal and professional life.” 

Lewis and the other aforementioned faculty and staff members helped build Sabo into the man that he is today, and Sabo is more than proud of his De La Salle tutelage.

And, DLS is equally proud to call him one of its own.