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Hawk Pride
We are proud of our school's history.
The straight line that runs through it is
top quality education,
traditions built by the student body,
and affinity for 'Hudson' that lasts a lifetime
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Year End Challenge Carries Annual Fund
Across the Finish Line
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Spurred on by a Challenge Match Gift of $15,000, many Hawks and friends answered the call to be generous in helping us soar past our $300,000 goal line for this year's Fund for Hudson Catholic.
At June 30th, we closed out the year with a new record Fund giving total of $365,073! This compares very favorably with last year's record giving total of $321,917.
Much of this giving has gone to resolving outstanding tuition obligations, without which would have resulted in debt write-offs that would otherwise pose a challenge to the balancing of our budget.
This was also very important for total fundraising, which is off from a year ago for the first time in four years. However, the result has a silver lining. Two non-recurring major gifts received a year ago, totaling $189,000, could not be offset in full, but we managed to make up $103,000 of that total with new and increased giving from many members of the Hawk community, meaning that the health of the franchise continues to strengthen. More to come in our annual report in the fall.
At this juncture, we believe it is an appropriate time to stop, count our blessings, and on behalf of our young Hawks, offer a hearty and sincere THANK YOU! to all our Angel Hawks out there!
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In Service to Others
Hawks Step Forward
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In true Lasallian fashion, three alumni have saved the day for six Hawk families whose students will be able to remain enrolled at Hudson Catholic as a result. All of these families have tried, and made tuition payments during the school year, but personal circumstances have kept them from meeting their entire obligations. Their individual stories are of hardships that impact the families well beyond worrying about how to meet tuition obligations. Without this aid, it is safe to say that their students’ continued enrollment might be threatened.
Our first Hawk has donated $5,000 for tuition assistance to cover the remaining obligation for a family who dealt with life altering events that dramatically impacted their ability to meet their financial commitment.
Our second Hawk, by virtue of a prior gift to the Student Emergency Fund, and a new gift of $4,700, has managed to rescue three Hawk families whose collective tuition obligations total $17,700.
Our third Hawk gifted $9,000 from a family foundation to rescue two more Hawk families who have struggled to meet their tuition obligations, and is looking at ongoing support for these students' remaining years.
Sickness, death, employment and financial issues impact lives in a dramatic way. We are truly blessed to have these graduates, whose humility is demonstrated by the anonymity of their gifts, come to the aid of the Hudson Catholic community in times of need. We are Lasallians indeed, in service to others.
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From our issues of ‘Building The Legacy’, we all know the Terry Matthews who is Hudson Catholic’s biggest cheerleader and proponent of the Lasallian Mission. Let’s get to know a little more about him.
BTL: You started as a member of the faculty in the English Department. Did you have a particular book that led you on that road?
TM: I was always a voracious reader. I can’t say a particular book led me to English; rather, books, in general, the written word probably pulled me towards it.
BTL: In any lengthy career at one institution, there comes a point during your tenure when you realize you’ve fallen in love with the place and are committed to going the distance. When was that for you?
TM: Ironically, my father was a life-long public school administrator. Originally, I had a two-year plan to stay at Hudson and then head to public school. But I realized that I really enjoyed what I did, I loved the kids at HC, and the atmosphere allowed a young teacher to try new things and be creative, rather than teaching for a standardized test or a limited curriculum. There was never an AHA! Moment. I just knew.
BTL: Was there one individual any more than others who served as a big influencer to you in your career and tenure here? Perhaps even a mentor?
TM: My father (also Terence) was my biggest influence as an educator, first as a teacher and then as an administrator. He always said that a school can’t run on the personality of its leader. His quote to me was, “I should be able to die in my chair and, if I’ve done my job correctly, the school won’t miss a beat.” That’s why it’s always important to have a first-class Administrative team. Brother Kevin Stanton hired me and I learned a great deal about personal responsibility and accountability from him. Brother Tim Ahern taught me the most valuable lesson that every teacher should learn, that is that every student has a story. A teacher doesn’t know what happened at home, or that morning, or even in general, and a teacher needs to recognize that. No student is disposable. Every one of them matters and your words and actions can have a life-changing impact on a young person.
BTL: 38 years as a teacher and administrator at The Home of The Hawks. Favorite HC memory or moment?
TM: There are so many memories. I think the one that has always stood out for me was back in the late ‘80s. I was probably three years into teaching and I was dating my future wife. I took her to the senior prom where I was a chaperone. One of the boys asked her to dance and told her, “You know, what makes him (me) different is that we know he cares.” It was a moment that has always resonated with me. The reality is that all the information we provide is accessible via the internet. It’s HOW we provide it, the intangibles that go into teaching, that make the difference. We change lives. We spend more time with some students than their parents do. They need to know we care. Even today, when a student leaves my office, I always say “Love ya, kid”. First, because I do, but more important, because I want them to hear it at least once in their day because I don’t know if they’ll hear it again.
BTL: You’ve already realized the dream that Lebron is rooting hard for -- going to work with your son - Liam, who taught at Hudson from 2019 to 2022. What was that like? How did it feel?
TM: I was incredibly proud and blessed. I loved sharing our careers, but it was even better because he was an amazing teacher. He was incredible in and out of the classroom. So much so that this graduating class asked that he attend their ceremony, even though he wasn’t on staff any longer. This may be jealousy talking, but I think he received the biggest compliment a teacher can receive from a student today. A graduating senior told me, “Mr. Matthews, I’m getting a tattoo in honor of Little Matthews. He made a big difference in my life.”
BTL: Your father, your namesake, was revered in Jersey City education circles as a truly venerable high school Principal. How do you feel about carrying forward that legacy?
TM: My father will always be my hero. If I am even half the administrator, the leader, and the father that he was, I’ll be a success.
BTL: Three dinner guests.
TM: Ernest Hemingway (he created an American literary style and was a badass), Bruce Springsteen (he’s The Boss), my dad (I still could use some advice).
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Click on the logo to register and pay, go to https://hudsoncatholic.org/99reunion | |
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4th annual summer get-together in Belmar
at The Friendly Sons of the Shillelagh Club, 16th Avenue -- 3pm
Inflation Buster! Same price since '21; a mere $85 for bar, hot buffet
Click on the logo to register and pay
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Click on the logo to register and pay | |
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Hollander Hotel, St. Petersburg
Same site as last year
Contact Darren Scarpa '80 at djs713@duck.com
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A Pig, a Cat, a Shark, and a Cast of Hawks | |
That is what was found in Mrs. Anna Schreiber's Biology Lab on the last day of classes, as the Hawks wrapped up their year and Anna wrapped up her career, as reported in the June issue of 'BTL'. The lab was open to students to stop in and observe the first three being dissected by the fourth. | | |
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Congratulations are in order to three students who, in the second half of the school year, received financial awards under the Hudson Catholic Scholarship Program. In all three cases, these awards were made possible by the aggregation of multiple donations to the funds from among the Hudson Catholic community -- proof that gifts of any size can and do make a difference for our Hawks.
The Christian Brothers Award, in the amount of $4,000, was granted to Max Hernandez '26.
The Detective Marc Dinardo '87 Police Memorial Award of $1,000 was granted to Kharington Schwindt '26, who is the daughter of Chris Schwindt, a police officer with the Bloomfield Police Force.
And Ariana Tercero '24, who completed the three-year track in the Medical Arts Program, garnered the Medical Arts Award of $1,000. She will be attending Moravian University in the fall to study Nursing.
If you are looking to make a difference in this manner, take a look over the many awards comprised in the Hudson Catholic Scholarship Program at hudsoncatholic.org/hcsp
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Heading to theatre camps this summer are senior Jaden Germany, to DeSales University in Center Valley, PA on scholarship to study filmmaking, and juniors Krystal Council and Julia Ortiz, to the NYC Conservatory to study acting, pictured here with President-Principal Matthews.
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School's Highest Honor Bestowed
on Two Incredible Servants
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Hudson Catholic's Signum Fidei Award is the school's rarest of honors, given on no set schedule or in no set number, at the President's discretion, to individuals in the Hudson Catholic community "who exemplify the Lasallian Spirit of Faith and Zeal in the service of church and society."
In the school's history, the award has been given to 26 individuals among clergy, faculty, staff, community leaders, benefactors, parents, and alumni.
At this year's 57th Hudson Catholic Commencement, President-Principal Terry Matthews bestowed the Signum Fidei Award on two long-serving members of staff who have given a large chunk of their lives in service to Hudson Catholic and its students.
Mrs. Anna Schreiber of Faculty is well-known to the Hudson Catholic community, as is the fact that she has recently retired after 21 years of service as a member of Faculty in the Science Department.
Less well known, perhaps, is a man who has given 40 years of service to our school, and is chiefly responsible for every visitor's ability to exclaim about how well-maintained and clean our entire campus always looks. He is Mr. Victor Perez, who has served on and led our Maintenance Staff for all this time, and to whom we all owe a great debt of gratitude for doing a marvelous job, consistently, for so long, and contributing so much, with such high standards.
We wish our Signum Fidei recipients a well-deserved retirement and thank them for their service to the Hudson Catholic community.
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Kayla Speigel received the Brother Henry Laffey Award at graduation and is headed to Emory and Henry University on a Rugby and Academic scholarship, having been named to the Rugby New Jersey/New York Girls High School All Star Team for the 2024 season. She was joined on the All-State team by Zoe Bozzone, who received the Female Scholar-Athlete Award at Commencement and who is headed to Fairfield University on a Rugby and Academic scholarship. Juniors Amijah Frazier and Sophia Sanchez also earned All-State honors.
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Alumni Spotlight
Leadership, Service, Achievements
(and occasional whimsy)
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Rocketing to Success. Naomi Fernandez '21 is part of a team that wrapped up an aerospace design experiment with NASA's RockSAT-C Program at the Wallops Flight Facility and had their payload successfully launched on a NASA Terrier-Improved Orion Sounding rocket from Wallops Island, VA, reaching an altitude of 117km (70 miles). The payload experiment will collect atmospheric gas samples at set intervals in order to investigate noble gas fractionation, contributing to NASA's Cupid Arrow mission and enhancing the understanding of Venus' atmospheric geochemical signatures.
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The Rugby Advantage. Danielle Acanto '19 is a former Division I student-athlete - Rugby (on scholarship) at Mount St. Mary's -- current MSM MBA candidate, and Operations Specialist at Worksmith in Texas. She says the MSM scholarship would not have been possible without our very own Terry Matthews!
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Reporting on and by Brianna Mackay '19, who has started a new position as a Sports Reporter for the Columbus Dispatch. Brianna is the lead reporter for the Columbus Crew of MLS.
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Words of wisdom. Elizabeth Moyeno '17 is a Student Counselor & Coordinator of the Peer Mentor/Advisor Program at Rutgers University-Newark. She holds a Bachelors Degree in Television & Digital Media, Sports Media & Journalism and a Master's Degree in Higher Education - Educational Leadership, both from Montclair State University, and recently was the Keynote Speaker at the Latin American Student Organization Leadership Conference. Her two core themes, as she spoke about navigating on the road to success: the concepts of "Chasing Your Hero" (Oneself), and "Falling Forward" (as opposed to having something/someone to fall back on). Select comments (and good advice) from her talk: "Show up as the person YOU NEEDED in your life," and "Know your worth + ADD TAX."
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Raring to go. Nick Giordano '16 is looking forward to the opportunities that await, having earned a Master of Science Degree in Finance from St. Peter's University, following a Bachelor's Degree in Finance and Business from St. Anselm's College.
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Trading Places. Kristine Furiel '15 is an Operations Analyst at eTrade from Morgan Stanley. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Accounting from New Jersey City University.
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Check it out. Amit Desai '08 is a Senior Associate in the Washington D.C. office of Marx/Okubo Associates, where he serves as a Mechanical Engineer for pre-construction project reviews, construction monitoring, and property condition assessments. He holds Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Mechanical Engineering from NJIT, where he has also been teaching as an Adjunct Professor since 2016.
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Officer and a Gentleman. Davian Rima '05. Following our Spotlight of Davian in the last issue of BTL, we came upon this rather handsome photo of he and his wife, Alii, on their wedding day. We are sharing because, who wouldn't?
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Because we are leading into our Hall of Fame cycle, we proudly present a recap of our famous Hawks who have been honored with induction into Halls of all kinds. Including our own Hudson Catholic Hall of Fame and Wall of Honor (for athletics), we count 48 different Hawk alumni being individually honored on 66 occasions in 16 different Halls of Fame. 36 have been honored by Hudson Catholic and 21 have been honored in 13 Halls of Fame outside of Hudson Catholic. And then there are 19 Hawks recently inducted as a team into the NJ High School Ice Hockey Hall.
Seven alumni and four coaches are honored in multiple Halls of Fame, for a total of 32 honors. Three alumni, Jim Spanarkel '75, Mike O'Koren '76, and the late John Nagel '77 are the most honored Hawks, each in four Halls. And three coaches, Paul Lenczuk, John Cruitt, and Cory Robinson, have been inducted into three Halls. Five others are two time Hall of Famers - Rocky Pope, Al Long '73, Jack Curry '82, Dwayne Sabb '87, and Brian Ellerson '98.
With the exception of the Hudson Catholic Hall of Fame, nearly all other inductions represent athletic-related achievements. The two exceptions are the late Detective Marc DiNardo '89 in the New Jersey Hall of Fame, and Dennis Danilewicz '71 in the American Payroll Association HOF; two quasi-exceptions are writers in athletic Halls -- Wayne Witkowski '71, in the NJ Boxing Hall of Fame -- for sportswriting, and Jack Curry '82 in the Irish-American Baseball HOF -- for sports journalism. The first Hawk ever to be honored with enshrinement is former Jersey City Mayor Gerald McCann '68, in the St. Peter's College Athletic Hall of Fame (Track) in 1983. Fifteen inductions have followed in the '90s, 20 in the '00s, 26 in the '10s, and 19 in the '20s.
The first Hawk alum of the '80s to earn an induction was Matt Hogan '86, into the SPC Athletic Hall of Fame (1997); the first from the '90s was Chris Heger '93 to the HC Wall of Honor (in 2007); the first from the '00s was Joe Aliseo '01 into the NJ High School Ice Hockey Hall (in 2016); and, the first of the '10s, who is also the first female Hawk Hall of Famer, was Katria Stewart '15 who entered the HC Wall of Honor (in 2022). All told, among enshrined alumni, the '60s produced 5, the '70s produced 27, the '80s have 17, the '90s have 11, the '00s have 2, and the '10s have 4.
The most common Hall of Fame memberships outside of Hudson Catholic are the Hudson County Sports Hall of Fame and the St. Peter's University Athletic Hall of Fame, each with 6.
While we could not mention all Hawk Hall of Famers in this article, we think we have all of our famous Hawks covered. Please tell us if you think we do not. And send any questions about our detail to advancement@hudsoncatholic.org and we'll do our best to answer them. And we'll try to publish the full list in a future issue.
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Faith Eatman '26 is the daughter of Cleveland Eatman '82. And she is the third Hawk in the family. Her brother Paul '09 preceded her at The Nest. The Eatman Family joins eight other Hawk Legacy families in producing multiple Hawks who succeeded their parent at Hudson Catholic. Other multi-Hawk Legacy families include the Guerras, Pearsons, Bells, Kahles (Joseph '76 and Francis '79), O'Connells (Kevin '77), Sumowskis, and Thybulles.
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Class of 1970 Hawks recently huddled at LouCas Restaurant in Edison, NJ. Around the table from the left are Vito Massa, Jim Doherty, Joe Barrow, Joe Pompeo, Bob Cangelosi, Bill Venezia, Joe Fazio, Larry DiStefano, Tom Orrico, and their favorite History teacher and legal counsel, Mr. Jake O'Halleran.
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Seen at the 30th Annual Alumni Association Golf Outing | |
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Pioneer Hawks showed up! They are, front L-R: Steve Honsinger ’69, Tim O'Connell ’69, Tom Bender ’69, Bob Gironda ’68. Back L-R: Bob Stroebel '69, Bob Shipman ’69, Tony Polcari ’69, George Gilcher ’68.
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Denizens of the '80s were out in force! They are, standing L-R, Tim Lockwood ‘84, Tom Coburn, FOHC, Mike Winstanley ‘83, Kaz Sculz ‘84; sitting L-R, Vin Russo ‘83, Hall of Famer Brother Tim Ahern, FSC, Bobby England ‘83, and Tom Tornatore ‘85.
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We featured these three Hawks of 1990 in BTL Issue #104, but recently unearthed this photo, which should make every Hawk proud -- a very public demonstration of their Lasallian heritage. John Carroll, Eduardo Pena, and Nick Marinelli -- Nice shirt!
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We believe this relic, in its original box!, was unearthed from a drawer that went unopened or un-ransacked for some time in the home of Joe 'Club' Slota '72. Who wasn't proud to acquire one of these late in junior year?
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Brian Fitzgerald ’92 was tabbed as the ‘mystery’ Hawk on the far right who went unidentified in the Career Day 2018 photo in BTL #103.
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You can help Hudson Catholic
with 'likes' & 'shares' of our posts to your networks, from
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No Hawk Left Behind
We lose touch with some of our graduates who move around, go off to college, start careers, get married, etc. In some cases, they retire, having used their work email to receive ' BTL', and forget to notify us of a personal email address. 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.
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Richard Gorman ‘69
Walter Vogel ‘69
Joseph Cairone ‘70
Thomas Long ‘70
Ray Cantelmo '71
James Dischler '71
Gerard Fagley ‘71
Gerard Malcolm '72
Gary Sumowski '72
Joseph Korzonek ‘73
Ralph Di Lucci ‘74
Thomas Ebert ‘74
James Moran ‘74
Richard Quirk ‘74
Phil Zacche ‘74
John Bacigalupo ‘75
Jose de la Rosa ‘75
Joseph Cavallo ‘76
Gerard Conklin ‘76
Matthew Dolan ‘77
Douglas Graul ‘77
Kevin Leonard ‘77
Thomas Meluso ‘77
Brian Ashmore ‘78
Perry Buchicchio ‘78
Francis Connaughton ‘79
Frederick Contini ‘79
Mark Ruby ‘79
Robert Zachowski ‘79
Ed Johnson '80
Joseph Lee '80
John Martucci ‘80
Rob McCombs '80
Rudy Schuele '80
John Warlikowski ‘80
Daniel Backus ‘81
Raymond Connolly ‘81
James Early ‘81
David Ortmann ‘82
Joseph Potter ‘82
Lawrence Quish ‘82
William Texas ‘82
Timothy Firtion ‘83
Alan Herrel ‘83
Robert Jarmolinski ‘83
James Carton ‘84
John Castrovinci ‘84
Phil Chianetta '84
Joe Curcio '84
Andy Gegenfurtner '84
Martin Bouteloupt ‘85
Steve Nowtkowski ‘85
Vin Rosa ‘85
Mike Celebrano '86
John Curtis ‘86
Alexander Kuzma ‘86
Anthony Maimone ‘86
Michael Brown '87
James Do ‘87
Sal Nostrame ‘87
Paul Taglieri ‘87
Roehl Aninipot ‘88
Gianni Miccoli ‘88
Ron Barretto ‘89
Michael Maffei ‘89
Roger Aviles ‘90
Jose Colon ‘90
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Henry Esquerra ‘90
Vito LaBruno ‘90
Ron Tredo ‘90
Eric Amador-Mays '91
Maged Hanna ‘91
Michael Kennedy ‘91
George Mercurio ‘92
Ronald Miltner ‘92
Brian Greene ‘93
David Korzun ‘93
Michael Lang ‘93
Tim Calabrese ‘94
Onyekachi Enyinna ‘94
Joseph Greiner ‘94
Christopher Harrison ‘94
August Joy ‘94
Louis Libitz '95
Ed Macauley ‘95
Jason Pasculli ‘95
Chris Caporale ‘96
Lester Hernandez ‘96
Sal Sellitto ‘97
Brian Tullock ‘97
Ryan Coghlan '98
Anthony Diaz ‘98
Jose Galvez ‘98
Ramon Aponte ‘99
Steven Dombrowski ‘99
Ryan Friend ‘99
Daniel O'Connell '99
Justin Fahey ‘00
Michael O’Leary ‘00
Nuno Cunha '01
Patrick Walsh ‘01
Jonathan Ward ‘01
Joseph Taglieri ‘03
Frank Flynn ‘04
Chris Lugo '04
Rob Zapata '04
Max Dubane ‘05
Ryan O’Flaherty ‘05
Jaime Ramos ‘06
Christopher Williams ‘06
Matthew Watson ‘07
Michael Pearson '08
Brian Procel ‘08
John Wasielewski ‘08
Michael Kelly '09
Julian McCall '09
Jesse Castellano ‘11
Drew Grapstul ‘11
Melissa Rosales '11
Anthony Cerbone ‘12
Marc Lavelle ‘12
Joshu Adriano ‘13
Daniel Amonte ‘13
Daniel Darasz ‘14
Mike Falotico ‘14
Elaine Reyes ‘15
Nick Sorrentino '15
Mariah Fresse ‘16
Michael Kiel ‘16
Alexander Ortiz ‘17
Miyoksi Suarez ‘17
Joshua Marcano ‘18
Ryan Webb '18
Craig Smith '21
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FYI
Notes:
If any link in this issue is not clickable,
please copy and paste the 'link' into your browser's address window
If your version of BTL cuts off mid-length in your browser,
be sure to click on the note at page bottom to bring up the remainder of BTL
advancement@hudsoncatholic.org to:
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Do you have a newsworthy item or something from the present or past to share with the Hawk community?
· Landed your first job? Taken a new one?
· Received a promotion or honor?
· Gotten engaged or married?
· Celebrated a milestone anniversary?
· Welcomed a child or grandchild?
· Reminisced with fellow Hawks recently?
· Relocated?
· Retired from your last job?
Hudson Catholic welcomes any and all news about your career, education, family life, and reconnecting with other alumni.
Submit a note and share photos with the Hudson Catholic community at
advancement@hudsoncatholic.org
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"Never underestimate the power that a cultural ambassador (or assassin) can have on your organization's recruitment.”
-- Bryan Price, Leadership & Mental Performance Coach
"My identity is in Jesus. That comes before anything else."
-- Joe Mazzulla, Head Coach of the NBA Champion Boston Celtics
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Requiescant in Pace
Vita Mutatur Non Tollitur
(Life is changed, not ended)
_______________________________
Mrs. Carol Luistro, wife of Lloyd Luistro '94
___________________________________________
Will be remembered in the annual
Alumni Mass of Remembrance
on November 3rd, 2024
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We Thank
Our Alumni Sponsors
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