Servant first. It precisely sums up the way in which Frank Slanczka, a class of 2015 De La Salle graduate, lives his life. 

At just 26 years old, Slanczka has already become the epitome of someone who puts the needs of others before their own.   

He’s a selfless, Christ-centered young man who credits not only his parents, Frank and Karen Slanczka, for his strong Christian upbringing, but also the Lasallian, faith-filled education he received as a student at De La Salle. It helped mold him into the morally grounded and upstanding man he is today.   

“De La Salle taught me how to be a hard worker while being both value-oriented and virtuous,” Slanczka said. “I couldn’t be more proud of the Lasallian education I received. It taught me the importance of helping others, and of practicing the virtue of charity.”

Since graduating from De La Salle, Slanczka has been keenly focused on serving the less fortunate and giving back to the community. His most recent act of service came as part of a trip to Poland earlier this summer. 

Slanczka spent nearly three weeks in the Central European nation, providing aid to the millions of Ukrainian men and women who have taken refuge in the Polish cities of Warsaw, Rzeszów, and Przemyśl.      

Specifically, he assisted individuals in getting to checkpoints to further their travels, made and served food for refugees who had just arrived in Poland, took care of children at a refugee daycare, and directed sick people to proper places of care. 

Additionally, on top of all that, he helped organize a warehouse which was stocked full of daily essentials. These items, which included medical supplies, clothes, soaps, etc., were then shipped to Ukraine and also used for the three million refugees based in Poland.

Despite the hardships of the Ukrainian people that he witnessed, Slanczka found his time in Poland to be a highly rewarding experience. 

“The experience itself was hard to see. It was unimaginable to put yourself in their shoes, and it was hard to digest some of the horrific stories that I was told,” Slanczka said. “However, I would not change the experience for the world. It was a rewarding feeling to be able to put a smile on someone's face whose future was unknown, and to be able to help them as much as I could.”

Currently, Slanczka is a teacher at Guardian Angels Catholic School in Clawson. He teaches sixth-eighth-grade students in history, religion, and humanitarian literature. 

On a daily basis, he emphasizes to his students the importance of possessing a strong work ethic, a lesson he learned during his time as a Pilot. 

“Whether it was in sports or inside the classroom, all the teachers, staff, and parents at De La Salle taught us to work hard in whatever we are doing,” Slanczka expressed. “This has carried over into my life. Whether it is building friendships, helping others, teaching, or praying, I work hard to get better every single day. This is one of the many life lessons that I have learned from DLS.”

Slanczka has a myriad of fond memories from his time as a De La Salle student, both from inside and outside the classroom. 

He played soccer and ran track as a Pilot student-athlete, and also participated in multiple Wig and Mask Society (WAMS) play productions, including “South Pacific” and “Damn Yankees.” Meanwhile, he was a well-accomplished student, and thoroughly enjoyed being taught by longtime social studies teacher Thaier Mukhtar and retired faculty and staff member Mike Karas. Karas taught in the social studies department at DLS from 1981-2014. 

Mukhtar and Karas helped mold Slanczka into the disciplined, well-rounded man he is today, and played a significant role in why he pursued a career in teaching himself. 

“Some of the best memories of my life are from my time at De La Salle, and have carried over into my life now,” Slanczka commented. “I still keep in contact with many of my friends and teachers from the school. I always cherished seeing the teachers greeting us in the hallway every morning and taking the time to help us when we, as students, needed help. This is a big part of why I chose the profession of teaching.”

Next up on the ambitious DLS alum’s to-do list is to set up an emergency supplies drive to benefit the people of Ukraine. Among a multitude of items, he is looking to obtain the following: gauze and bandages of all sizes, medical tape, medical scissors, adhesive dressings, Advil and Tylenol, cold medicine, vitamins, peroxide, Benadryl, and Neosporin. 

It speaks of Slanczka’s unsatiated desire to help out others, especially those who are most in need of it. To find out more about the fundraiser and how you can support it, please email franekjs24@gmail.com.

Slanczka has proven to be an exemplary leader both inside and outside the classroom and perfectly embodies the Lasallian spirit. Consequently, there is no denying the fact that his life of being a servant to others has just begun.