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“The Lord and The Rings”
It’s All About Commitment
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Excerpts from a speech delivered by Jim O’Donnell ’69 to the Juniors of the Class of 1999 and their families on April 28, 1998 at St. Aeden’s Church
“I suppose there are three reasons why we might wear a ring. The first has to do with its function as jewelry. Rings look nice. The second is to recognize achievement, such as for a World Series or Super Bowl ring. That is a small part of what tonight is about: your achievement of making it through three years of a high quality high school.
But tonight is really more about the third reason - more to do with commitment - total, 100%, no-turning-back commitment. Commitment to yourself, commitment to others, and most of all, commitment to God.
Believe me. I know about these rings. Exactly 30 years ago this spring, I received my class ring from Hudson Catholic (holding up his hand). My wedding ring and class ring are the only rings I have ever worn.
I remember receiving my class ring and feeling as if I had become engaged to Hudson Catholic. I was taking that big step. I was ready to become a senior. The actual marriage of me to my school was a quiet one. It was the day I started my senior year.
There’s something unique, almost magical about starting your senior year. For me, it was the time that I saw what I wanted to do with my life. And no mistake about it, my education at Hudson Catholic gave me the tools to live out my dreams to be a writer and a teacher.
As a son of Hudson, it has been an honor each year to have the chance to give back to Hudson.
It’s fitting that the end of my senior year gave me my best memory associated with my Hawk ring. Graduations were at first in the gym, not the church. After graduation you went to your homeroom to turn in your cap and gown and pick up your diploma. Parents and friends waited on the sidewalk outside the gym. When I came down the stairs from the lobby, I looked for my mother, who had raised me alone since age nine, when my dad had died, and I remember looking at my school ring as I felt her joy surge through me.
That is what I was talking about when speaking about commitment. Let your ring remind you of your commitments -- your commitment to work hard, and be a good person; your commitment to your school. And your commitment to others: your parents, friends, classmates, and co-workers.
Finally, let your ring remind you of your commitment to God. That is what a Hudson Catholic class ring is mainly about. That is why we are having the ceremony………here………and not at the Casino in the Park!
In the thirty years since I’ve had this ring, there has been only one constant in my life, and that is God. God was with me when I got my class ring. He has stood by me throughout the years. He is with me now. And He will be with me when my eulogy is given.
Let your ring be a reminder to commit yourself to God……to trust Him…even when you do not like what is going on.
So let your ring be -- first and foremost -- a reminder of your faith….a sign of faith (Signum Fidei). Commit to God….trust Him…. and everything will fall into place…even as you think everything is falling apart.
Then, commit yourself to your family, your friends, your school.
Finally, wear your rings with pride….and, most of all, with commitment. Commit yourself to being one of the best senior classes to come through Hudson Catholic.
Commit yourself to that……… and you will have a senior year rich with meaning.
Editor’s note: Jim O’Donnell still has his class ring 53 years after receiving it.
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'1964'
The Fund for Hudson Catholic
Monthly Update
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Well done, Hawks! We sent out a bit of a distress signal in late January and the response was terrific. We now stand at $102,275 for the July 2021 - June 2022 fiscal year. This is just $14,721 away from last year's full-year Annual Fund total. And we are 41% of the way there against our $250,000 goal. We update everyone here periodically, so we can all keep the welfare of Hudson Catholic ever-present in our minds. No gift is too small, as they say, and we welcome repeat gifts as your situation may allow for it. |
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And You Want a Vote
for the Baseball Hall of Fame?
Jack Curry ’82 has it, as a member of the Baseball Writers of America
Reprinted with the permission of Jack Curry ’82 is his letter explaining his ballot choices for the recently concluded Baseball Hall of Fame Elections that saw ‘Big Papi’ David Ortiz elected to the hallowed halls of Cooperstown.
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Any baseball fan knows how controversial the candidacies of Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens have been over the last decade. Following is a description of one voter’s journey in thought process, recognizing the profound responsibility entrusted to each voter among the Baseball Writers of America.
With the permission of Jack Curry, from the letter he posted to the YES Network site explaining why he changed his mind on this year’s ballot, keep on reading.
“For the last nine years, my Hall of Fame ballot has sat on my desk throughout the month of December. I study it every day and do research every day. It’s my daily routine, a comforting routine. I like having the ballot nearby as I decide who I think is worthy to be in Cooperstown. I have one vote, a vote I take very seriously.
On the last nine ballots, I haven’t checked the box beside Barry Bonds or Roger Clemens. In three decades as a baseball reporter, Bonds and Clemens are the greatest hitter and pitcher I’ve ever covered. Their gaudy statistics meant that both players should have danced into the Hall on their first ballot.
But, because of strong suspicions about their use of performance enhancers, both players have languished on the ballot. This is a situation that Bonds and Clemens have created. No one else. We all make choices. We all know right from wrong. And Bonds and Clemens made decisions that have placed an ominous cloud over their own candidacies.
During the countless hours I’ve spent pondering my vote, I’ve always believed the easiest way to handle Bonds and Clemens would have been to vote for them. We can talk about the recklessness of the Steroid Era and how baseball officials turned a blind eye to what was happening with players. We can say we didn’t know what each player was doing. We could make those valid arguments, vote for Bonds and Clemens and move on. Again, that would be the easiest way to handle this thorny question.
Still, I know what’s already been reported about both players and it’s always been difficult for me to simply ignore the narratives around them. So, while many voters who I respect have voted for Bonds and Clemens, it hasn’t been simple for me to do it.
Well, this year, I finally decided to check the box for Bonds and Clemens. After numerous conversations with former players, managers and coaches, I have chosen to give those two legendary players my vote. I know how incredibly talented they were. I covered the last few weeks of Bonds’s pursuit of Hank Aaron’s all-time home run record and was in San Francisco when he broke it in 2007. Pitchers feared him more than any hitter. I watched Clemens impact the culture around the Yankees with his work ethic and his determination to succeed. Hitters feared him, too.
I didn’t need to be reminded of how remarkable Bonds and Clemens were, but, in my conversations with the men who shared fields and clubhouses with them, I was repeatedly reminded of their elevated status in the game. Eventually, those passionate discussions and the fact that it was their final year on the ballot nudged me into a place I never expected to be: a Bonds and Clemens Hall of Fame voter.
For me, one of the most salient comments came from an ex-player who said that he believes Bonds and Clemens deserve to be in the Hall. But he also believes that they deserve to forever have the 'S' of a scarlet letter attached to them, too, for everything that hovers around them. Even if both players are enshrined, the questions about what they did or didn’t do will persist. In its own way, that’s a punishment for two of the greatest players ever. That’s a fair characterization, one I agree with, and that helped lead me to voting for them. Before this ballot, neither Bonds or Clemens had received more than 62 percent of the vote. They will need a significant boost to reach the required 75 percent to enter the Hall.
Besides Bonds and Clemens, I also voted for Scott Rolen, Todd Helton, Andruw Jones, Jeff Kent, Billy Wagner and Curt Schilling. Regarding the combustible Schilling and his offensive words, I continued to treat his candidacy with more respect than he has treated it. There are other players on the ballot who have been linked to performance enhancers like Gary Sheffield and David Ortiz and players who have been suspended over PEDs like Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez, but I didn’t vote for any of them this time. Now that I have voted for the two players who became the poster boys for the Steroid Era, I will reassess those other candidates next year. This year was about grappling with the dilemma of Bonds and Clemens. I didn’t vote for Sammy Sosa, who is also in his final year on the ballot.
Judged strictly on their career statistics, Bonds and Clemens should have received close to 100 percent of the vote in their first year of eligibility. Both could have beaten Mariano Rivera to becoming the first unanimous selection. But, again, they created doubt. If they don’t make it into the Hall, they will have kept themselves out.
I never had a choreographed plan to make Bonds and Clemens wait until their tenth year on the ballot. In fact, I didn’t even make my decision until two days before my ballot was due. But I’m mostly comfortable with my choice. After a long wait and a lot of lengthy discussions, I checked the two boxes that I’d left blank for nine years, I exhaled, and I mailed my ballot.
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Editor's Afterword: It just so happens that Jack Curry’s next book is heading to market. ‘Swing and a Hit’ is a collaboration between Jack and Paul O’Neill, former Yankees great, which can be pre-ordered on the Barnes & Noble site. O’Neill elaborates on his hitting theories and discusses the players who most influenced him as a hitter, with stories and anecdotes about Pete Rose, Derek Jeter, Don Mattingly, Joe Torre, Bernie Williams, Lou Piniella, and Ted Williams.
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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
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9/11 Observance Video
available for viewing on the School website
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Eagle Eye, Eduardo!
Spots David Lemagne Tribute Shirts in Orlando Airport
As Eduardo Pena ’90 tells it, he was on line to board a flight back home to Newark from Orlando, when he spotted two gents wearing shirts in tribute to our very own 9/11 Hero and Hall of Famer David Lemagne ’91.
Apparently there is a group of Public Safety Professionals, members of the Fourth Watch Motorcycle Club, Hackensack Chapter, formed in March 2011, who ride “to remember and honor our brother and friend, PAPD Officer David P. Lemagne, MICP.” David was beloved wherever he went during his too brief life of public service, as a volunteer, then professional paramedic, and then as a Port Authority Police Officer where he perished in the line of duty.
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Naomi Fernandez, one of our triplets, who yearns to attend Stevens Institute of Technology, saw a financial roadblock to that path posed by the fact that all three siblings are moving on to college and the family is going to be strapped by this incredibly wonderful event.
Our own Rick Roscitt ’69 serves as Vice President of the Board of Trustees at Stevens and took an interest in helping Naomi find the financial aid she would need in order to be able to commit to attending Stevens.
It looks like Naomi is going to be able to realize her goal, as a great deal of aid was found to substantially reduce the Fernandez family’s obligation from the all-in sticker price hovering over $70,000 annually.
This is not just about a Hawk helping another Hawk. Rick is keenly interested in helping Hudson Catholic establish a greater academic pathway for many more Hawk students, especially young women, into engineering studies generally and to Stevens Tech specifically. We’ll have more to report in this regard over time.
Naomi was early-admitted to Stevens Institute, her first choice school, for mechanical engineering, and is very excited about her acceptance. She intends to pursue aerospace or biomedical engineering as a concentration in mechanical engineering. She expressed gratitude in being able to meet an alumnus from both Hudson Catholic and Stevens.
Rick forwarded Naomi's message to Stevens leaders to alert them that she would need substantial help to attend, then offered to stay in touch with Stevens to make sure Naomi received the help that would enable her to enroll.
Rick encouraged Naomi to contact her Stevens Admissions Counselor to start the Financial Aid Appeal Process, as the best avenue to try to secure additional aid. There is an Aid Appeal Committee that would consider Naomi’s financial situation when they recognize the particular stress the family is presented with, having triplets all trying to attend university at the same time!
Rick asked Naomi to keep him informed about her progress, adding: “I know I am biased, but the education and job opportunities for Stevens grads is a tremendous asset to secure this early in your life.”
What incredible, useful input for one of our earliest grads to be able to impart on a member of the upcoming Class of ’22! God bless our Hudson Catholic Alumni who pay it forward!
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Intel-i-Gent. Brian Garcia ’79 is GM at Ultra Intelligence & Communications in Silver Spring, MD
The Retiring Type. Kevin Carpenter ’77 is a retired Captain from the Secaucus Police Department and a retired Chief from the US Navy Reserves. He presently considers himself to be semi-retired while working as a Weichert Realtor.
Great Sport. Katherine ‘Katie’ Boyle ’18 is giving back to alma mater this year as a part-time Substitute Teacher while pursuing her degree in Communications at Rutgers University. While at Hudson, Katie put in the work -- Valedictorian, Girls Varsity Soccer 4 years & Captain, and Boys’ Basketball Team Manager. She has carried her love of sports forward, to managing the Men’s Basketball Team at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, while she aims for a career in Sports Marketing.
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Attention: S/PA Students & Mentors
Student/Partner Alliance
has scheduled a Mentor/Mentee event
March 22nd (mid-day)
This is In Person!
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(First names used for mentees; full names for mentors.)
Front row, L. to R.: Bart, Ethan Chris Dalton, Iyonna, Paloma de Leon, Tim Heine. Row 2: Michael Campoverde, Andrew Baginsky ‘03, Jordan, Ray Bugarin ‘90, Gianfranco, Analicia, Keilah Marville, Isaiah.
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Medical Arts Program
Thriving in Year 2
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Mr. Lou Tatti, Program Consultant, reports that the Medical Arts Program, now in Year 2, includes 17 Sophs and 13 Juniors.
In the classroom, Sophs are studying medical terminology through learning the body systems, while Juniors are learning to take vital signs and focusing on their career interests. They’ve all been regaled by two alumni guest speakers who stopped by to share their experience in their fields. Ray Krajewski '71, EMT, PA-C spoke about his position as a Physicians Assistant and Emergency Medical Technician. He encouraged the students to get involved with their local EMT squads. Jim Doherty ‘70, RN, MSN talked with the students about his career as a pediatric emergency room nurse. He stressed to the students that nursing requires a tremendous need for compassion.
As a result of their academic choices, our students are having many doors opened to them in this three-year tract program. One has enrolled in the Rutgers-NJ Medical School Mini Medical School program, in which students participate in weekly Zoom classes on various medical topics. Several others participated in the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine Lecture Series consisting of monthly Zoom classes, again covering a variety of medical topics. And Junior Carlos Julaj will be attending the National Youth Forum for Medicine this summer at UNC Chapel Hill, where he will have the opportunity to explore the ever-expanding fields of medicine and healthcare.
A big thank you to Mr. Tatti, Classroom instructor Lissa Perez, and our alumni guest speakers for building an enriching program that is bound to pay off in many of our students’ lives, not to mention those of their future patients.
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Senior Juan Teira
earns National Hispanic Recognition Award
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The College Board National Hispanic Recognition Program has honored senior Juan Teira for his academic achievement in school and outstanding performance on the PSAT/NMSQT®.
This organization and its awards create pathways to college for underrepresented students by awarding them academic honors and connecting them with universities across the country. Colleges use these honors to identify students from underrepresented groups who have excelled in classrooms and on the PSAT/NMSQT, the PSAT 10, or AP Exams.
By all accounts, Juan is an outstanding individual who is well respected by faculty & students alike.
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From Frank McGady: "Connor McCall, Ethan Sosa, Juan Teira, and the old gray guy. Connor and Ethan also won Student of the Month awards this year. The “Three Amigos”, as I call them, are among our top seniors." |
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Public Service Announcement
Looking for photos of any kind for the 1984 Hawk Baseball County Championship Team, the very first varsity baseball title team in school history.
If you can share, kindly send digital copies to:
advancement@hudsoncathoilic.org
Readers Respond
The photo of a Varsity jacket in “Be The Hawk” stirred Kevin Farrell ’69 to recall and write to us: “That's my jacket, circa 1965. I donated it for the class of '69's 50th reunion in 2019. My grandmother sewed the hawk on the jacket.” Kevin went on to say he thinks that is the only varsity jacket from the '60s with the Hawk patch. “All the other varsity jackets at that time were either blank on the right side or had varsity letters, so that jacket is truly one of a kind. I'm glad the jacket still serves a purpose 56 years later. Someday, I'll make a pilgrimage back to McGinley Square to check it out.”
Korrections Korner
Our biggest mistake yet appeared in the Annual Fund Update, which was a non-functioning Donate Now button. The reason the button did not work is that we had the same link in the ever-present Donate Now button at the bottom of each issue. Two active links to the same destination in one email is not a viable tactic. Which only goes to show, learning is a lifelong activity! Thanks for bearing with us.
From none other than the corner office: “The Wall of Honor is Friday, April 1st, not the 2nd.” At least we know he is reading!
More like ‘Faux Pas Alley’! None of our Seniors have yet been accepted to any Ivy League school. The information we printed pulled from a roster of Applications, which preceded a roster of Acceptances. ‘Ivy Day’ is not yet set, but generally ranges between the end of March and the beginning of April. Whenever it is, we’ll be there to report the real results.
While Henry Kuzma ’84 is a man, he is not Kuzman. Apologies to you, Henry.
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St. Thomas Aquinas, Patron of Catholic Schools, Pray for Us! |
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The Office of Advancement ~ Gary, Jill & Jenine
201-332-5970 x118
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Special thanks to our sponsors: |
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