By DIANE GASPER-O'BRIEN

dobrien@dailynews.net

The resounding laugh could be heard all the way down the hallway.

By the end of the afternoon, everyone in the school knew who it belonged to.

Father Stephen Folorunso kept students and staff entertained for about a half hour at a time Wednesday while giving talks at Thomas More Prep-Marian High School at mid-week of Catholic Schools Week 2010.

Barbara Wagoner, in her first year as campus minister at TMP-Marian, asked Folorunso to speak to students -- 600 strong from TMP-Marian, Holy Family Elementary in Hays and St. Mary Elementary in Ellis.

Folorunso, a native of Nigeria, is a guest speaker serving the Catholic Diocese of Salina at St. John of Nepomucene Parish in Rawlins County northwest of Atwood.

Wagoner met Folorunso last summer while visiting her parents, Leonard and Berdean Wilkinson from Atwood.

She instantly was drawn to him, especially when he talked about how much "he loved kids."

"He said he would love to come talk at our school," Wagoner said of Folorunso, "so I thought Catholic Schools Week was the perfect opportunity."

Folorunso obviously likes telling his story, mixing humor with his life experiences.

"I came a long way, not only from Atwood but from Africa," he started, breaking the ice.

Folorunso told how he gave up the fast, fun life of a professional soccer player in England to become a priest, just 10 years ago.

"So I'm still a baby, but not like your baby priest," he said with a laugh in reference to Father Joshua Werth, ordained just nine months ago and now a priest at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Hays.

"I really liked the way he shared that anybody could be called," Wagoner said.

Students were divided into three groups of about 200 each, some from each of the three schools, for three rotations -- listening to Folorunso, getting a glimpse of this weekend's dinner show production by the TMP Singers and lunch.

Folorunso's talk was off the cuff, and effective.

He fielded questions from students of all ages.

"What's your favorite thing of being a priest?"

"Everything," he said, flashing a big smile.

"The ability to get up every morning knowing many people went to bed last night and didn't get up this morning," he said. "You recognize that God has given you a new day. That is a privilege."

"What's your least favorite thing of being a priest?" was another question.

"That's hard; I'll have to think about that," he said.

"When you are with a family that has lost a loved one," Folorunso quickly added. "You are there to help them, but you are human, too."

Then, there was that smile again.

"Maybe not having as much time to play soccer," Folorunso said.

All in all, Wagoner called her first Catholic Schools Week a success. While activities continue today and Friday, the focus of the week normally is on Wednesday's Mass, which is followed by afternoon activities combining students from kindergarten through grade 12.

Wagoner was pleased with the involvement of all the student groups at TMP-Marian, which for the first time invited students from the two elementary schools in the county to spend the entire day on campus.

In the past, following the Wednesday Mass in Al Billinger Fieldhouse with Bishop Paul Coakley, TMP-Marian students accompanied half the Holy Family Elementary students and half the St. Mary students back to Holy Family while the rest remain on the high school campus.

So Wednesday definitely was a full house at TMP-Marian.

"I think this is a great way to do it," said Jana Simon, principal at Holy Family. "They were so excited to get to spend the whole day here."

And that was before they got to listen to Folorunso and hang out with older students.

"Our kids were thrilled, loved the fact of everybody being in one (school) rather than bused back and forth," said Jim Moeder, principal at St. Mary's. "And I loved how organized it was this year, a very, very good day."