Keeping you up to date on all things Hudson Catholic, past and present

Alumni Leadership Program

Is moving to Advancement

From the Alumni Association

Hudson Catholic Regional High School and the Alumni Association Hudson Catholic High School, Inc. jointly announce the transfer of the Alumni Leadership Program from the Association to the school. 

As of July 2023, the ongoing recruitment, promotion and administration of the ‘ALP’ moves to the Office of Advancement, remaining branded as such, and becoming an integral component of the umbrella Hudson Catholic Scholarship Program (HCSP). ALP now rounds out HCSP with four-year commitments as part of our program lineup.

In 1994, with now-CAO Gary Ferrari '73 as President, the Alumni Association initiated the ALP in direct response to the stated desire of then Principal, Brother Tom Gerrow “to extend assistance to qualified and deserving prospective Hawks faced with financial hardship, with four-year commitments so that the families would be able to count on that assistance as part of their planning to fulfill their tuition obligation.”

Recent conversations between Hudson Catholic and the Alumni Association have focused on reducing competing activities and occasional confusion in fundraising. Consequently, both organizations felt that it made sense to make this transition. The Association intends to focus more heavily on the social aspects of its charter, in fostering goodwill among Hudson Catholic alumni and the school, and with each other.

Over the past 29 years, the ALP has provided $602,000 in 530 tuition assistance awards made to 208 students who became alumni. In testament to that, the Hudson Catholic Scholarship Program is home to the ‘ALP Recipients’ Award, a vehicle aimed at compiling donations from those same alumni who, as recipients of past ALP awards, may now consider “paying it forward.”

Those interested in offering an ALP award should be willing to commit to a four-year pledge of a set amount, at a minimum of $1,500 per year, which a family can rely on receiving each year for the benefit of their own tuition payment planning. Contact Chief Advancement Officer Gary Ferrari at gferrari@hudsoncatholic.org or 201-888-6276

See our new web page at hudsoncatholic.org/alp

Giving The Gift of A Hudson Catholic Education

In just six weeks, our 530 kids -- our young Hawks, will be back on campus. During this time, 80% of their families will be scrambling to find needed tuition assistance in order to avoid undue hardship and assure their children’s uninterrupted attendance at The Home of The Hawks.

Organizations such as the Scholarship Fund for Inner City Children and the Student/Partner Alliance play a huge role to help meet a good deal of that need, and have done so for years. Hudson Catholic itself budgets for the provision of financial aid. And the Alumni Leadership Program annually lends a big helping hand, and has done so for almost 30 years!

But it is not enough.

The Hudson Catholic Scholarship Program, consisting of scholarships and tuition assistance awards, comprises 30 named scholarships that offer tuition assistance to 37 students at a collective value of $78,000.

It is this program that we look to grow, from year to year, in order to enhance the school’s ability to provide aid to each student deserving of attendance at Hudson Catholic irrespective of their ability to pay. After all, that is at the heart of our Lasallian Mission. We believe that no student capable of performing in our college prep educational curriculum should have to withdraw for reasons of financial hardship.

So it is at this time of the year, in the summer months preceding the return to campus, that we appeal to our alumni and friends to consider providing gifts to an existing scholarship or tuition assistance award, or establishing a new one to increase the number of awards that are available for deserving, academically-capable Hawks in need.

You may ‘Give the Gift of Education’ to any number of awards you’ll find at hudsoncatholic.org/hcsp or contact Chief Advancement Officer Gary Ferrari at gferrari@hudsoncatholic.org / 201-888-6276 to discuss your intentions for setting up a new award.

BE THE HAWK -- and Give The Gift of Education!

A Message From the President

I had a wonderful opportunity to meet with a group of alumni at the 3^rd annual Hawks at the Shore event held at the Shillelagh Club in Belmar this past Saturday.  I realized two things:   the Garden State Parkway shore traffic is still the same, and so is the love our alums have for Hudson Catholic and each other.  There were alums from the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s and 2000’s in attendance, but it was very evident that when Hawks get together, they are all 15, 16, 17 and 18 years old again for a few magical hours.  The friendships that Time can’t touch were on full display.  Quite honestly, it’s not Algebra or Biology that are ultimately important; rather, it’s the stories, the laughs and the memories that make the Hudson Catholic experience so memorable.   To see the love and respect men in their 60s still have for Sir Jack Campion, transforming back into his students right in front of him, is a wonderous thing.  For me to be able to sit at a table with Pat Donnelly who I first called student back in 1986 and now call friend is a special gift.  To remind Bobby Quirk that I was on the Freshman Football team when he was a high school coach gave everyone a laugh, but was also a reminder of just how intertwined our lives are when you come of age in Hudson County.  And to see incoming freshman Maria Naatus sitting at a table reminded me just how much of a difference our co-ed initiative has made and that Hudson Catholic is here for new generations, just as it has been for the past ones.  It is truly a privilege to share in these moments. 

Thank you for opening the doors for our future alums so they can create these same bonds and memories. The opportunities that you provide to our students through your time, treasure and/or talent are genuinely life-changing.  Please come back to the Hawks’ Nest whenever you can!  Attend a reunion or an athletic event or one of our plays.  Take a moment to travel back in time!  But also take a moment to see the fantastic students who now walk the same halls you once did.  You won’t be disappointed.

Hawk Happenings

ESPN recently issued its ‘Top 100’ list of high school basketball prospects across the nation, and Hawk rising senior and Auburn commit Tahaad Pettiford made the list at #13!

Make plans early to come out to see this season’s version of Coach Nick Mariniello’s Hawk Boys Basketball Team. Tickets will be hard to find wherever the Hawks play. Season Schedule upcoming.

Hawk Hobnobbing at HATS

The third annual gabfest at the Friendly Sons of the Shillelagh Club in Belmar featured an impressive update about the school from President-Principal Terry Matthews, and the introduction of new Varsity Football Coach Dan Hicks. We were graced with the presence of Sir Jack Campion and Mr. Frank McGady, and incoming freshman, Maria Naatus and her Mom, Mary Kate Naatus, who is Assistant Provost and Dean of Continuing Education and Professional Studies at Seton Hall U. This year's collectible HATS swag was the event logo aptly blanketing a beach towel!

That's the legendary Bayonne Bard, Sir Jack Campion encouraging Frank Lemkan '80 to follow his heart to the stage! It seems Frank is already in character for a role in Jersey Boys!

EVENT SCHEDULE

September 28th

October 12th

Site TBD

Drinks. of course, will be on Terry

October 14th

Class of '73 -- 50 Year Reunion

at The Hawks Nest,

Where all of our triumphs and misdeeds occurred

Get there by #16 Public Service or Bergen Ave Bus,

but GET THERE!

Registration details to follow

October 15th

Memorial Mass for Brother Patrick King, FSC

St. Aedan's Church, 2pm

Reception in Hudson Catholic Caf at Noon

RSVP Oct. 8th to Jill Cypher at jcypher@hudsoncatholic.org

November 5th

30th Annual Alumni Mass of Remembrance

November 11th

In St. Petersburg, Florida

Contact: Email 'Rocco' Filerino '80 at filerino@gmail.com or Darren Scarpa '80 at djs713@duck.com

New Addition to Advancement Web Pages

Digital Journal Contents Posted for Events

For our recent Hall of Fame Gala, we ran a digital journal at the event and are happy to post the contents of the testimonials and ads on the school website under the Advancement page for the event. It may be viewed at hudsoncatholic.org/hfgala. We are currently working on adding the same feature for the Jack Campion Stage Naming Tribute. Stay tuned for developments.

Alumni Spotlight

on Hawks who are Ducks

That we know of, 50 Hawk alumni (there are many more who we would like to hear from, particularly between the years of 1986 and 2015, at advancement@hudsoncatholic.org) ventured to Hoboken for their university studies, all the way to Stevens Institute of Technology. Here are a few of their stories.

Engineering Great Minds. Professor Joe Miles ’70, one of nine Hudson Hawks to arrive on the Stevens Campus following their graduation, earned a BE in Electrical Engineering, an MS in Management Science/Operations Research and another MS in Computer Science/Mathematics. Living in Hoboken, he walks just five blocks to work as an Associate Professor of Engineering at Stevens Tech in the School of Engineering & Science, Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engineering.

For 18 years, he taught interdisciplinary laboratory courses in Electrical Engineering (EE) and Mechanical Engineering and, last year, transitioned to an EE lecture course for freshman and sophomores. In his spare time he runs a rocketry project called Rock-SAT-C (a national NASA program). He has taught courses in Robotics, Truss Design & Construction, Operational Amplifiers, Digitizing Systems with Analog Circuits, and Building a Weather Station.

Professor Miles offers some pointers aimed at readying high schoolers for engineering school. First, as Stevens now accepts students in the same SAT range as Princeton, taking one or two SAT prep courses is strongly recommended. “Why high schools do not hire someone to do that after school for everyone, I don’t know.” Second, teach high school seniors how to use EXCEL, because “no one knows it when they arrive at Stevens, but we use it all the time. Third, take an introductory level course in C++."

Even Stevens. Bill McGrath ’79 is a graduate of Stevens Tech, and so are our most recent Hawk-Duck combos, Bryant Truong ‘19 and Jarvis Dizon Pineda IV ’19, seen in a photo together, previously published in the Stevens Indicator alumni magazine in the fall of 2019; they received their Duck degrees in May.

Molding the Techies of Tomorrow. Steven Terlizzi '82 / Stevens Tech ’86 is Director Of Corporate Partnerships for Cristo Rey San José Jesuit High School since 2021. He heads up a unique Corporate Work Study Program in which students work in over 100+ Silicon Valley companies, government organizations, and nonprofits.

Hall of Famer Rick Roscitt '69 /'73 went on the Sloan School of Management at MIT, before embarking on an illustrious career in the burgeoning deregulated telecommunications industry, rising to the C-suite and multiple CEO positions. Rick presently serves as Vice President on the Stevens Board of Trustees and is proud to have Stevens providing pathways for future Hawks into the ranks of engineering and technology.

Other Hawk-Duck alumni include Tom Critelli '69, Phil Myers '69, John Aceti '73, Tom Bloomer '73, Michael Grant '73, Tom Mullarney '73, Ted Natoli '73, Michael Wernicki '73, Brian Farrell '74, Vic Pianese '75, Dino Favetta '76 (dec.), John Mulkeen '79, Michael Madden '80, Joe Trainor '80, John Murphy '81, John DiGiacinto '83, Jim O'Neill '83, Stan Pietrowicz '86, Eric Blanco '96, Adam Chodaba '10, George Amabile '15, Nick Sorrentino '15, and John Suarez '19. Hawk alumni currently on campus: Naomi Fernandez '22 and Diego Velentanga '23.

If we missed you, send a note to advancement@hudsoncatholic.org

Let's hear from all our Stevens Institute of Technology grads out there! Something about your experience and benefits of this education that will resonate with our STEM students. Send notes to advancement@hudsoncatholic.org

Hawk Get-Togethers

Among this throng of 50-year celebrants of the Class of '73 at St. Nicholas Grammar School in the JC Heights, try and find '77 Hawks Henry Weidmuller, Mike Tully, and Steve Dzitko. We promise, they are in there.

We won't even bother to ask what this means. If you get it, you're older, if you don't, you're young, although if you are young and get it, then you are pretty well aware of the world around you. We have a Subway shop at McGinley Square, but you'll have to make the trip there to determine whether this is their wall or not.

Korrections Korner

As we are apt to do from time to time, we make some of our alums older in print than in real life. To wit, Chris Balesteri is '78, not '77, and Darren Scarpa is ’80, not ‘79, both as reported erroneously in the last issue. Regrets, Chris and Darren.

When we wrote the article in our last issue about classmates lost during their school days, our fact checker was absent(minded). We referenced the 1966 passing of our Gym Teacher incorrectly. As per Larry Basinski, a freshman that year, our late faculty member's name was Mr. Anthony Guerrieri.

Turn Your Brothers and Sisters In!

(We Need Their Email Addresses)

We lose touch with some of our graduates who move around, go off to college, start careers, get married, etc. Help us find them again and make it harder for us to lose touch. Many on this list have siblings who are Hawk alumni, so turn them in at advancement@hudsoncatholic.org or send them to hudsoncatholic.org/stay-connected to update their contact info.

PSA

Join the Army

-- the ‘Stay Connected Army’

When we go looking for Hawks, principally for their email addresses so we can ‘stay connected’, often you write to say that they are on Facebook. That is quite well meaning, but you can imagine that with such a small complement in the Office of Advancement, we are unable to follow up on every lead.

So, we might wish to recruit you for the ‘Stay Connected Army’, and ask you to reach out to those who you see on our list and you know who are on Facebook, and IM them to suggest reconnecting with The Nest at hudsoncatholic.org/stay-connected.

We’d be very grateful for your service to alma mater.

We Remember

So that we may continue to acknowledge the passings of alumni and immediate family members, and include families in invitations to our annual Alumni Mass of Remembrance traditionally held on the weekend following All Souls Day, please pass along obituary notices to the school at advancement@hudsoncatholic.org and to the Alumni Association at info@hawkalumni.org

FYI

Note:

If any link in this issue is not clickable,

please copy and paste the 'link' into your browser's address window

advancement@hudsoncatholic.org to:

Advertise your business card here for $25 per issue

Plan a visit back to the Hawks Nest

Obtain or donate a yearbook through The Yearbook Exchange

Convey an obituary notice

Purchase Hawk gear online at:

https://sideline.bsnsports.com/schools/newjersey/jerseycity/hudson-catholic-high-school

For Hawk Chatter on Social Media:

Facebook: Hudson Catholic Regional High School Friends, a private group with 1,300 members and climbing.

Linkedin: Hudson Catholic Regional High School page, with 400+ followers at https://www.linkedin.com/school/27080137/admin/feed/posts/

“Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups."

-- George Carlin, American comedian

Requiescant in Pace

Vita Mutatur Non Tollitur

(Life is changed, not ended)



Robert Lempa ‘72

Maria Lekas, mother of Theoharis ‘Harry’ Lekas ‘89

______________________________________________

They will be remembered in our annual

Alumni Mass of Remembrance

on November 5th

Michael Skea '74

Your Trusted Real Estate Advisor at the Jersey Shore 

Ajay Hathiwala '09