"Be The Hawk"

“BE THE HAWK!”

Rally Around Hudson Catholic

In looking to capture the essence of what it means to be a man or woman in service to others, in tribute to our Lasallian heritage, we don’t just say, we proclaim “Be the Hawk.”

When you see this phrase being used in this column or in our communications, associate it with that call to action. To do something. To be something. To think of today’s students. To give of yourself -- whether time, talent, or treasure. To be grateful for the gift of your education that enabled you to become the person you are. And to feel equally grateful to be able to share some of your success with the young minds of today and the young leaders of tomorrow.

“Be The Hawk” should invoke pride among our Hudson Catholic community, and sure makes for a nice greeting and closing among those of us who come to know its true meaning and symbolism.

We also know that many of us have lived our lives in the spirit of “Be The Hawk”. We wear our love for school on our sleeve, we are proud to say that we went to school at Hudson Catholic, and we know that its mere mention evokes feelings of pride, sentimentality, recollections of simpler times, formations of lifelong friendships, and a rallying point.

So just keep doing what you have been doing, and feeling what you have been feeling, and you not only will “Be The Hawk”, but you ‘Are the Hawk!”

Please enjoy the following montage of symbols of our school mascot through the years, around which we rally for each other.

BE THE HAWK!

Annual Fund Update

We promised to report to you on a regular basis about the status of the Annual Fund against our stated goal. While we will be presenting our ‘thermometer’ on a monthly basis, this note is an effort to impact this month’s result.

After a really good December, our January results have fallen flat. With just 6 days left to the month, we are surprisingly falling short of the pace needed to meet our annual goal. We know the holidays and the year’s end are always impactful, but they are doubly so for our families who work so hard to keep their sons and daughters at Hudson Catholic. In the last three weeks, four students have lost a parent to cancer and COVID. Now, more than ever, we need our incredible alumni and each of our stakeholders to keep their donations coming so that we can continue to provide a caring, safe, and supportive environment that enables our young men and women to grow academically, athletically, spiritually and socially. We know we can count on you to answer the call.

In the spirit of transparency and appealing to your charitable nature, we ask everyone to flood the website with donations through the 31st.

We can do this. BE. THE. HAWK!

Be 1 of 790!

DONATE NOW

Big April on Tap

Wall of Honor Inductions,

HC Giving Day,

Multi-Class Reunion Event

planned at the Hawks Nest

April looks to be a slam-bang month of activity at 790 Bergen Avenue. Two major events are planned, one at each end of the month, The beautiful Rocky Pope Gymnasium will play host to the Wall of Honor Inductions on April 2^nd and the Multi-Class Reunion Event on April 30^th.

In between, on April 7^th, the Feast Day of St. John Baptist de LaSalle, a/k/a/ our Founders Day, we will host our annual Hudson Catholic Giving Day, a 24-hour marathon of soliciting, receiving, tracking, thanking, and reporting gifts from alumni and friends all for 1964: The Fund for Hudson Catholic.

You may recall, we elected to sit out International Giving Tuesday on November 30^th, rather than compete head-on with thousands of other charitable organizations for peoples’ attention. In this manner we, and you, can focus on a single constituency and cause, respectively, and we can create an experience for thoughtful giving by people who truly care about our cause, the Hudson Catholic cause.

In the near future, you will see announcements about Wall of Honor Inductees, reunion developments, and how our HC Giving Day will work, with a pretty cool announcement to kick it off.

To express interest in or attend the Wall of Honor and Reunion events, Contact Jill Cypher, Director of Marketing & Events

jcypher@hudsoncatholic.org / 201-332-5970 x118

Hudson Catholic on Social Media

New Admissions Video hits HC FB site

https://fb.watch/aFgxN2PUk2/

Tree of Life Rededication on School Website

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjcT6QfJDWg

It's YouTube for Hawk Sports Team Games

At YouTube.com, search on

Hudson Catholic High School Channel

for all the games

Hawk Seniors Tickling the Ivys

Tis the season for the senior class to be lining up their next four years of study, and our Honors-level students are giving a grand account of themselves.

Speaking volumes about the value and transformative nature of a Hudson Catholic education, five seniors among the 15 Honors students participating in our Dual Enrollment Program with St. Peter’s University have received 7 acceptances at Ivy League schools Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Brown (2), and Cornell (2). Other acceptances include Stevens Institute of Technology, NJIT, Johns Hopkins, Vanderbilt, NYU, and Rutgers.

A reminder that THIS is what we make our investment in when we choose to make gifts to Hudson Catholic via 1964: The Fund for Hudson Catholic and the Hudson Catholic Scholarship Program.

Tell Me How You Really Feel

Quotable Quotes about our School

It is often of interest to hear what other graduates are saying about Hudson Catholic, so we decided to share snippets from some notes that have accompanied donations into the school. As Chief Advancement Officer, I get to hear these types of things all the time, but never tire of hearing them. In fact, some of them stir an emotional reaction in me, and all of them put the wind behind my sails in doing the necessary work of Advancement at Hudson Catholic. I hope they resonate with you as much as they do me.

"I attended the Class of ’86 reunion on November 13^th and experienced true brotherhood when my fellow classmates lifted me up and down the stairs along with my 200lb wheelchair. I hesitated to attend due to my situation [ALS diagnosis, June 2020] but I was glad that I made it to see my Hawk brothers after 35 years.” - Joe Luistro ‘86

"The Hudson Catholic education put me on the path for great success in my life.” - Vin Russo ‘83

“Paul (Runge) was one of my best friends in high school. We were teammates on the hockey team.” - John Favara ’94, in donating to the Class of 1994 Memorial Scholarship Award.

"Our son received an excellent education at Hudson Catholic. You have a very dedicated staff.” - Eduardo & Pauline Ferrer Alumni Parents - Dan ‘10

"Hawks are #1." - Mike Villani ‘69

“I’ve been far away for a lifetime and have come to appreciate just how much the school did for me. It’s pay back time.” - Steve Liptak ‘69

“Keeping the Hawk tradition going forward” - Lt. Col. Chris Balesteri ‘78

“I went to a similar high school in the Philadelphia area and support the mission of the school.” - Ross Crumlish, a Brothers Boy

“Received a good education that provided the foundation for my future." - John Beirne '70

"Show of appreciation for the good education I received at Hudson some 50 years ago.” - Steve Ryan ‘69

I look back on my years at Hudson Catholic as the best of my life. School provided me with foundation in education, ethics and friendships that have served me for my entire life.” - Vic Pianese ‘75

“Hudson Catholic was important to me. Hopefully, this donation can help someone at Hudson.” - Henry Kuzman ‘84

“I grew up on Highland Avenue and attended St. Aeden’s. The Brothers allowed us to practice for our CYO team in the gym. I have many friends that attended Hudson from the parish. Thanks for working in Catholic education.” - Rev. Brian Cummings

“Hawk Pride and gratitude for a great education for me and future students.” - Robert DiNicola ‘77

“To support a quality high school which provided me a solid foundation for college many years ago.” - Louis Corio ‘76

“We have all been given the opportunity for a solid education at Hudson Catholic thanks to others. Hudson exists because of the sacrifices of others: the generation of Hudson County Catholics who raised the funds to build the school, the Brothers and teachers who went with no salary or less of a salary than they could have earned elsewhere, the mothers and fathers who every year organized fundraisers to help offset the costs, individual benefactors who provided scholarships, and our families who worked hard to send us to HC. Thank you to everyone who has and is sustaining Hudson Catholic and all Catholic schools.” - Louis Scarpa ‘86

Need we say more?!

Alumni Spotlight

Turkey Trot. Joe Malloy ’73 may be the holder of the title ‘Hawk Furthest From Home’, permanently settling in Istanbul. Joe recently retired from the University of Istanbul, where he taught xxxxx for xx years. Joe wishes to remind all his Hawk brethren and friends that he would happily welcome visitors. He can assist with accommodations, tours, restaurants and a general good time. Joe encourages contact at his email address, malloyjoseph@gmail.com.

Anchors Away. John Sarao ’72 CDR, USN (Ret.) was our first graduate to attend the U.S. Naval Academy and served as an Officer on active duty for 28 years and reserve duty for 2 years, from 1976 to 2006, earning the rank of Commander. John served on Nimitz-class aircraft carriers for a good number of those years as a nuclear engineer-qualified surface warfare officer, after which he was assigned to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa under the Navy’s Commander for the Middle East, ending his service there under US Central Command, the joint command overseeing the Middle East.

Along the way, John returned to the Naval Academy as a Company Officer for 2 years, overseeing training of 120 midshipmen, and spent a year in Saudi Arabia advising Saudi naval forces.

Upon leaving active duty, John joined the University of South Florida in Tampa, where he initiated a Naval ROTC Program, and is presently Director of the Joint Military Leadership Center, leading Army, Navy, and Air Force ROTC programs.

John has lived in Tampa for 25 years with his bride of 43 years, Betsy. They have two children and 3 grandchildren plus one on the way.

Top Cops. The Scerbo Brothers, Joe ‘86 and Nick ’89 are each the Deputy Chief of Police in Bayonne, and Jersey City, respectively. As a result, many other Hawk alumni call them ‘boss’ and salute them, literally, as we solute them, symbolically. Not sure if it is a race to the top, but this column will be there if and when one or both of them become top dog in their departments. Thank you for your service, Chiefs!

Top Chef. Claude Lewis ‘99 recently represented ‘his island’ of Antigua and Barbuda in the World Expo in Dubai, which he described as “a once in a lifetime trip.” Claude is proprietor of Freetown Road Restaurant in Jersey City, winner of Food Network’s Chopped competition, and brother of Egon Lewis ’00, he of the HCHS 1,000 Point Basketball Club.