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

We wanted to headline this issue, not with an ‘ask’, but with our thanks, for all you do for Hudson Catholic, and for always responding when we do ask. The process of supporting Hudson Catholic year in and year out is not an easy one. But whether we are asking or you are giving, we all do it out of love for Hudson Catholic, our Lasallian heritage, and devotion to our young Hawks.

We constantly try to put those young hawks on display in these digital pages, for you to see the multitude of great outcomes that we, together with a talented team of administrators and an ever-dedicated faculty, help to produce in students who are aspirational, motivated, and driven to achieve.

Last year’s annual theme was ‘Continue the Greatness’. We certainly accomplished that in 2022-2023. As we begin our new year of operation, let’s all recommit to polishing that ‘Shining School on a Hill’ that we have built from our days inside it, to current times looking in on it. 2023-2024 promises to be another truly great year at McGinley Square.

WE ARE…………HUDSON CATHOLIC!! THE HOME OF THE HAWKS!!

A Message From the President

This issue of BTL includes a piece about the Student/Partner Alliance. Just this past year, the SPA provided $126,000 in scholarship aid for our students. More importantly, they provide men and women who serve as mentors to the scholarship recipients.  I was privileged to be one of the keynote speakers at their annual gala this past May and thought I would share the text of my speech with you: 

Thank you all for coming tonight to support the Student/Partner Alliance. Your presence tonight is indicative of your belief in the mission of Catholic education and your continued support through time, treasure and talent is daily proof of that commitment.  First the bad news. Catholic education is under attack, and urban Catholic education is under siege. In a society that often seems to resent the facts that Catholic Education is rooted in the teachings of Christ and that Catholic schools welcome non-practicing and non-Catholic families, just as the Catholic Church does, Catholic schools struggle to stay afloat. We all can see the shrinking number of Catholic schools, especially in our urban centers, as well as the challenges that face those families that remain committed to securing a Catholic education for their children.

Now the good news. The Student/Partner Alliance, and its donors and mentors, exist.  And they exist because the need for a Catholic, values-based education has become more obvious every day over the past 30 years. And because they exist, access to Catholic education will continue, especially for those who would least likely be able to afford it without them.  

Hudson Catholic Regional High School is a perfect example of the role the S/PA plays in the health of a school. Fourteen years ago, Hudson Catholic was on the brink of closing. In debt with a shrinking student enrollment, our all-male school was targeted for closure. With a solid fiscal plan, a focus on academic rigor and expanded extracurricular opportunities, and a transition to become a co-ed high school, we have grown from 340 students to 522 students and a balance of 57% male to 43% female. We will graduate 128 seniors on June 3^rd and are on track for another freshman class of 125-130.

But the circle only remains unbroken because of men and women who see the need for a Catholic, values-based education in Hudson County and beyond, and through their generosity, are enabling our young men and women to experience it.  

Our reality is that almost 80% of our students receive some type of academic or financial grant in aid. It is obvious that our patrons will be needed now more than ever if we are to continue our unprecedented growth and success. We believe that education is a gift to be shared with all children, regardless of socioeconomic background; a gift that should be bestowed on the basis of a child’s willingness and ability to learn. Because of the SPA, we are able to provide access to exceptional academic opportunities. We have a Dual Enrollment Program with St. Peter’s University where a student can graduate high school with 60 college credits and an Associate Degree. 

We have a 24-credit Media Arts certificate program with New Jersey City University. We are a STEM partner with Stevens Institute of Technology and we just finalized an agreement with The Maurice R. Greenberg School of Risk Management, Insurance, and Actuarial Science at St. John’s University to create a path to study Actuarial Science, opening doors to the lucrative Insurance Industry which Is woefully underrepresented by minorities and women. The program’s proposal has already brought interest from AEGIS Insurance and Zurich to partner with internship opportunities. 

Am I bragging?  You’re damn right I’m bragging!  

But my brag is your brag because without the S/PA, I quite literally don’t have the students to take advantage of these opportunities. That is the difference the S/PA makes. The Student/Partner Alliance is people who live their lives in service to others, appreciating that beyond their own personal situations, they feel compelled to help young people in need.

Finally, the beauty of the S/PA is that there is an amazing return on your investment. My apologies to the cat and dog lovers here, but donate to the ASPCA and you get a poorly-sized t-shirt and a sad Sarah McLaughlin song with video. Support most other organizations and it’s a mug, magnet or sticker.  The S/PA creates futures! That’s correct, FUTURES.  Just look at where my group of S/PA seniors is heading: 

Rutgers University, Morehouse College, Morgan State University, New Jersey City University, Montclair State, St. Elizabeth College, and Stevens Institute of Technology.  

In order to get there, they first had to get through Hudson Catholic. We are honored to have the S/PA as a true partner in every sense of the word. You are doing God’s work for God’s favorite creations…children. I know that our recipients will pay it forward when their time comes. Here’s looking at the next 30 years. Thank you.

EVENT SCHEDULE

July 22nd

At our Usual Place

Friendly Sons of the Shillelagh Club - 16th Ave, Belmar

3-6pm / buffet and open bar / $85

Open to all Hawks and friends

Register at hudsoncatholic.org/HATS

What will this year's swag be?

September 28th

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

November 5th

30th Annual Alumni Mass of Remembrance

November 11th

In St. Petersburg, Florida

Contact: Emil 'Rocco' Filerino at filerino@gmail.com or Darren Scarpa '79 at djs713@duck.com

One of Hudson Catholic’s greatest benefactors,

The Student/Partner Alliance Reports

The 2023 Student/Partner Alliance annual report highlights three very important numbers: 100%, 100%, and 2,350. They are the percentage of partner contributions that go toward student scholarship support; the percentage of scholarship recipients that gain admission to post-secondary education (excluding entry to the armed services), and the number of scholarships issued by S/PA to private school students over the past 30 years!

Hudson Catholic is one of five urban New Jersey high schools at which the S/PA chooses to support students with tuition assistance and mentoring activities.

The names to remember are these drivers of the Student/Partner Alliance: co-Founders Tom Cash and Sheila Klem, President Emmett Daly, and Executive Director, Margaret Momber (in her 12^th year leading the program). Among S/PA Board members are our very own Quincy Slay ’19 and Director of Enrollment, Jaime DeLeon.

Student/Partner Alliance Leadership

Both Quincy (a past mentee) and HC President-Principal Terry Matthews were invited guest speakers at the organization’s recent 30^th Anniversary Gala. And our nine ’23 S/PA Hawk graduates were all featured in the S/PA annual report.

Alumni Spotlight on

High Flying Hawks

That we know of, four Hawk alumni truly spread their wings to enter the realm of flying for a career.

Steve Bulwicz ’70 commenced training at the Teterboro School of Aeronautics in 1972 in a Cessna 150L, then enlisted in the U.S. Navy as A Naval Aviation Reserve Officer Candidate in 1973, deciding to let the Navy pick up his flight training bill. Upon his successful solo flight in the T34-B, he received his commission as an Ensign, and was selected for jet training, qualifying aboard the USS Lexington aircraft carrier. He was awarded his Naval Aviation Wings in 1976, shortly thereafter attaining his complimentary FAA Commercial Pilot certificate

In Steve's 21 years of U.S. Navy service, he piloted the T-2C Buckeye, the TA-4J Skyhawk, the A-6 Attack Squadron jet, the A-7B Corsair II, the EA-6B Prowler Electronic Attack jet, the F-4J Phantom, F-15B Eagle, F/A-18 Classic Hornet, and the SH-3D Sea King. His record includes 534 carrier landings aboard the USS Lexington, Coral Sea, Ranger, Kitty Hawk, Constellation, Carl Vinson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln carriers.

Steve also served as a Naval Aviation Safety School Mishap Investigation Instructor, an EA-6B Flight Instructor, and an EA-6B Prowler Safety Officer. He retired from active service in 1994, transitioning to commercial flying as a First Officer for Horizon Air, then on to Northwest Airlines in the same role on a DC-9, MD-80, and B-757, then Captain on the Airbus 320. Following the merger into Delta Airlines, Steve captained the MD-888/90 and B-757/767, up to his mandatory retirement in 2017, capping 23 years of commercial aviation service.

Steve is a recipient of the Federal Aviation Administration’s prestigious Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award, bestowed for his 50 years of accident and incident free flying.

Christopher Balesteri ’77 started flying the CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter while in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1985. He spent two six-month tours in the Mediterranean aboard the USS Inchon and the USS Guam. In 1990, he transferred to the KC-130 aircraft, which is used as a refueler in the USMC; he flew and instructed on it for 10 years, taking him to over 20 countries on 5 continents. The time he invested in this aircraft allowed him to acquire the license required to fly in commercial airlines. 

In 2000, Chris joined a little Texas airline called Southwest. He states that Southwest was a great career, and he flew for 20 years before retiring in 2020. During summer of 2022, Chris assisted in drone operations at the Atlantic City airport. He reports that drone operations are more complex than you'd expect, and the capabilities are just beginning.

Chris would like to pass along to Hudson Catholic students and alumni that aviation is a very rewarding career, including air traffic control, maintenance, airport management, and Unmanned Aerial Systems (drones). Specific schools exist for these careers. but the military is another track to obtain the experience requirements. 



Warren Bildstein ’79 is presently the Delta Air Lines A350 Chief Standards Captain, a role in which he continues to fly the big birds and also manages the training and checking that occurs in Delta’s fleet of Airbus A350 airplanes. He attended Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and became a flight instructor in 1983, before moving on to his first flying role with Precision Airlines in 1984. In 1986, he joined Delta Air Lines and, 37 years later, we think he is making a career out of it!

Like Warren Bildstein, Ken De Pasquale ’86, of the Hawk DePasquale Brothers, attended Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, FL, and became a Flight Instructor in 1993 for various single and multi-engine Cessna and Piper aircraft. In 1996, Ken became a First Officer for six years, moving among a USAirways Beechcraft 1900D CommutAir express commuter plane, the De Havilland Dash 7 and Dash 8 for Piedmont Airlines, a DC-9 for AirTran Airlines, and a Boeing 757/767 for TWA (along with a Flight Engineer role for TWA's Boeing 727).

In 2004, Ken went private, to captain a Gulfstream V and Gulfstream GVI for the Hess Corporation, until 2016. Since 2016, Ken is a Captain of the Boeing 737 at American Airlines, where he continues to fly.

Remembering Young Hawks

Lost During Their School Days

Mike Dunne ’77 recently wrote to say something that bears repeating and emphasis. “Our HCHS community celebrates and honors many of our alumni for various well-deserved reasons and, if I may suggest, I think Bill Mayer, Class of ‘77 who died during his junior year, deserves to be honored and remembered in a similar way.

This article will focus on a number of Hawks who went to their eternal reward too soon, during their student years.

Dunne added: “This is a sad memory to share, but it has stayed with me over the years, and it is intended in tribute. I was fortunate to have been a cross-country teammate and casual friend of classmate Bill Mayer. Bill was one of the better runners on our team; I was not, but I remember him being encouraging and supportive, not critical. In my view, Bill was an ideal teammate, and a soft-spoken, nice guy.

I didn’t see it happen, but one day (October 18, 1975), while running in a separate pace group at practice, we learned that Bill had been hit by a car when crossing the road in Lincoln Park. Shortly after, we learned that Bill had died. “How could it be? We were just with him.” At that age, you don’t think something like that can happen to you or to any of your friends, teammates or classmates.

These days, when lacking motivation to go out for a run, I sometimes think of Bill encouraging me. And when our local high school runners go flying by, I can imagine them wondering why that old guy back there was warning them to be careful when crossing the road.”

Bill Mayer was remembered by his schoolmates in a photo on page 7 of their ‘77 Yearbook, with dedication written by our teammate, friend and classmate, John Nagel. 

Edward Hogan III, a sophomore in the Class of ’69, died at age 15 on December 22, 1966, marking the first such occasion of a Hawk in the student body passing away. Eddie was a talented drummer at an early age and led the local rock ‘n’ roll group, the ‘Frantic Five’, that played at dances and proms. Eddie Hogan was remembered by his classmates with an In Memoriam tribute on page 9 of the 1968 Hawk Yearbook.

Classmate Tom Bender recalls that he and Eddie had the exact schedule, “so we were somewhat close from homeroom throughout the day. I was in basketball practice when Br. Bernard Gresh came into the gym to get me and inform me Eddie was gravely Ill in Bayonne Hospital with acute leukemia. His condition worsened rapidly and he died after a short time. A requiem Mass was celebrated at St. Vincent’s in Bayonne just before Christmas. The church was packed. Br. Bernard and I went to the burial, I in my role as Class President. A sad day, indeed. A quiet guy with an infectious smile, his death was felt throughout the school -- a jolt for 200+ 15 year-old boys who were not prepared to lose a classmate. To this day his passing is still vivid to me.”

Classmate Brian Neary recalls that time. “Not long after Eddie’s passing, we also lost our Gym Teacher, Mr. Tony Guarino, who died in the gym of all places. For a bunch of 15 year old kids, who had not experienced much if any loss by that age, to experience the loss of a classmate and a teacher within the span of a couple of months, forget the shock, of course, but it was a time of great confusion among the student body, following which there developed a sense of unity.

Thomas Minervini of the Class of ’70 died at 16 years old at the very beginning of his junior year on September 25, 1968. He had suffered from a heart condition since age 5. Classmate Steve Williams recalls Tom as a close friend, very funny, having the same offbeat sense of humor. “He loved music. He was very popular, very friendly. He had a hole in his heart. I remember at his wake kneeling at his coffin.”

Eric Carroll, Class of ’92, died at age 16 on July 26, 1991 after completing his junior year at Hudson. His older brother, John Carroll, had graduated in the Class of ’90. Eric was a Peer Minister during his student days, as well as a prolific artist, whose work appeared in the Hawk Yearbook.

David Wagner, Class of ’14 was a 15 year-old Freshman and member of the Hawk Drama Society when he died suddenly and inexplicably on April 15, 2011. Rob Astudillo ’06 and the Director of the Drama Society at that time, described David as hardworking, charismatic, and energetic. David had been cast as the main Oompa Loompa in the Drama Society’s approiaching production of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Fellow students made wristbands with his initials and they decorated his locker with tributes, poems and songs. The Class of 2014 dedicated its Hawk Yearbook to the dear classmate.

A classmate’s death, at such a young age, is always deeply disturbing to the school community. As we look back on our days in school and the lives we have built since that time, let us remember those who were not granted the opportunity to build their lives beside us. And offer special prayers for their life everlasting in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Hawk Get-Together -- Nice Shirts!

Mike Silva '04 recently returned to his native Portugal to visit Praia Da Barra, which is his LBI, the beach he and his family went to when he was a kid, before coming to the U.S. While there, he was met by his friend and classmate, Rob Schumann, who traveled over from Stuttgart, Germany. Look close! Might those be Hawks at the Shore collectors items shirts?

From there, Mike traveled on to Fatima, to conduct a personal pilgrimage where his family took him each year when they lived in Portugal. Mike kept his pledge to Our Lady of Fatima to perform the pilgrimage on his knees, slowly, while praying the rosary, a quarter-mile on the pathway to the chapel, then all the way around the chapel, ripping up his knees in the process (they healed nicely).

Having had ample time for many intentions, Mike prayed for all of the Hudson Catholic community, that it remain strong and live on to help fine young men and women to better themselves and the lives of others. Thank you, Mike!

One Summer

When the Stars Shined in Jersey City

As reported in The Jersey Journal on July 6^th, 1978, the Jersey City Recreation Summer Basketball League produced some great watching of future national collegiate champions and NBA professionals. As the accompanying article reports, JC Rec Directors Bob Hurley and Ed Ford brought the action to the Pershing Field Ice Rink, where 1,500 fans crammed in to watch the likes of Duke’s Jim Spanarkel ’75, Notre Dame’s Kelly Tripuka, Marquette’s Jim Boylan and Butch Lee, former William & Mary star Jim McDonough ’73, former JC State standout Mike Mangini, and St. Peter’s Kevin Bannon, who was overheard to say that the attendance was greater than at the St. Peter’s games. In reference made by Coach Hurley as to how hard the players competed, particularly thanking Butch Lee who had just been drafted by the Atlanta Hawks and came as a favor to Boylan, the quote of the day came from Spanarkel: “There were a lot of people here, and I didn’t come to goof off.”

Korrections Korner

The late Hudson Catholic Hall of Famer Brother Patrick King's 33 years of service at Hudson Catholic places him second only to the 34 years of service by fellow Hall of Famer Brother Raymond Murphy.

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.

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 remember to 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/

“One of the greatest values of mentors is the ability to see ahead what others cannot see and to help others navigate a course to their destination.”

-- John C. Maxwell, American author, speaker, and pastor

Requiescant in Pace

Vita Mutatur Non Tollitur

(Life is changed, not ended)



David Iglesias '69 ( March 14, 2022)

Rick Niechwiadowicz '69 (February 11, 2022)

William Outwater, Jr. '70, brother of John '78

Teresa Buchicchio, mother of Anthony ’79 and Jamie ’80,

aunt of Perry ’78, Rich ’83, and the late Michael Scarpa ’79; cousin to Jeffrey DeLeo ‘82

______________________________________________

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