Humans of Cardinal Hayes

"How did it feel to take part of the Puerto Rican Parade?"

"Being in the parade was a great experience: I got to represent both Hayes and my heritage. What else could you ask for? I love doing things like this, and I would love to keep representing Hayes in anyway that I can. Up Hayes!" - Peter Rivera, '14

"This was my first parade. It was really exciting and energetic! Although I'm not of the same culture, it was a fun experience which I was able to participate and celebrate with my Hayes Brothers and the Puerto Rican community." -Quaylan Barker, '14

"Why did you choose Yale over Harvard, Princeton, and Stanford?"
"I felt more at home at Yale. Plus, I look better in blue than in crimson."

Not many people can say that they passed up an opportunity to go to Harvard, but Jesse Opoku is one of them. Jesse is the Valedictorian of the Class of 2014, and he is currently the President of the National Honor Society. Throughout his academic career, Jesse is the only member of the Senior Class to have achieved and maintained 'Diamond H', the highest academic distinction possible, throughout his four years. During his summers, Jesse interned at the Hearst Corporation along with other Hayesman. As a Senior, Jesse won Best Speech at Hayes' 25th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Speech Night. As a result of his successes, Jesse became one of only 23 students in the nation to be awarded the Questbridge College Match Scholarship to Yale University, where he'll be majoring in Economics and Computer Science - and, yes, he also passed up on Stanford and Princeton, which had the lowest acceptance rates in history this year.

"Alright, Jesus, pretend like you're working for this picture."

"Okay, so like what we always do."

All jokes aside, Jesus Calixto is among the most industrious of Cardinal Hayes students. As a Junior, Jesus contributed to Hayes Soccer's 2012 CHSAA 'B' Championship victory and was awarded the College of the Holy Cross Book Award which is given to only 500 students nationwide. At the moment, he is currently the Vice President of the National Honor Society, and he has the second-highest average in the Class of 2014. As a Senior, Jesus became a content producer for Channel H, and he was co-nominated for the Archdiocese of New York's Eddy Award for Best Interview. As his sweater implies, Jesus will be attending the prestigious Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he will double major in Finance and International Business. and then pursue a Master's Degree in Business Administration.

"How does it feel to know that you'll be playing college baseball next year?"

"They say that only about 9% of the high school players make it to play college baseball. I feel that the Cardinal Hayes' programs have helped me come this far, and the college baseball experience will help me improve even more."

"Why did you pick baseball over basketball, I mean, you're one of the tallest guys at Hayes?"

"Maybe it's because I'm Dominican - I was born into it, but even as I grew taller, so did my passion for baseball."

It's only natural to assume that the 6-foot, 6-inch Richard Villar is a basketball player, but he's not. In addition to being one of Hayes' standout starting pitchers, he's also a phenom in the classroom, balancing AP courses with his athletics. Richard has managed to achieve Cardinal & Gold and First Honors throughout his four years at Cardinal Hayes. Next year, he'll be pitching for the Mercy College Mavericks.

Photo Credit: Marino Castillo

"So how was it to represent Team USA in Germany?"

"It was a great experience to help the team take second place in international play, but I don't really like German food."

Shavar Newkirk didn't start high school at Cardinal Hayes, but after basketball powerhouse Rice High School in Harlem closed its doors in 2011, Shavar decided to transfer to Hayes, which was conveniently located across the river. As a student, Shavar achieved Second Academic Honors while leading the Hayes basketball team to a Top 25 National Ranking. Shavar also broke the 1,000 point barrier, and he has committed to play basketball for the reigning Atlantic-10 Conference Champions: the Saint Joseph's University Hawks.

"So has Hayes changed since you left?"

"Yes and no. People change, wings of the building change, but Hayes - Hayes never changes."

Erle Ladson Jr. graduated from Hayes in 2009, and he was recently signed by the Oakland Raiders. While at Hayes, Erle brought leadership to the Hayes' basketball and football teams, helping the football team break Mount's 27-year Turkey Bowl win streak in 2008.

Hayes has also been a favorite of Cardinal Timothy Dolan; he accompanied Regis Philbin, back in October of 2010, when the auditorium was dedicated to the television personality. Hayes also happened to be the only school from the Archdiocese of New York to attend Dolan's first mass as a Cardinal, which took place in February 2012 at St. Paul's Outside the Walls in Rome, Italy (I know because I was there).

So, it was only natural that he'd visit the Exceptional Children's Program to celebrate the program's 50th Anniversary. However, Dolan didn't come alone as he brought some of the program's first volunteers. I guess it's as they say: "The more things change, the more they stay the same."

Can't say I know what the Cardinal's doing to Marino...

Congratulations to Erle Ladson Jr., Hayes Class of 2009 and University of Delaware Offensive Lineman, on being signed by the Oakland Raiders! If he makes the 53-man roster, he'll play against fellow Hayesman Willie Colon, '01, and the New York Jets in Week 1 at MetLife Stadium.

It was at this moment that Mr. Guevara, the Media Director at Cardinal Hayes, told Regis Philbin, one of the most recognized American television personalities and member of the Hayes Class of 1949, that he was to be mic'd up by Jesus Calixto, '14.

Regis, surprised, looked up to the ceiling, spread his arms out, and said, "Jesus?" The entire room erupted in laughter.

Photo by: Marino Castillo.

In October 2013, Jets Offensive Guard, Super Bowl XLIII Champion, and Hayes alumnus Willie Colon, Class of 2001, visited Cardinal Hayes alongside the New York Times Sports Reporter Ben Shpigel, meaning that Channel H battled for space with the NEW YORK TIMES.

After waiting for two hours, he showed up. He toured the school, met with Mr. Rochford, Principal Lessa, and Father Tierney, and it seemed like the common topic of discussion was detention. "JUG this. JUG that. Is it still called JUG?" They spoke about it so much that Shpigel eventually asked what JUG was, before they all in unison said, 'Justice Under God.'

I took this photo while we were at the Senior Mass at Saint Patrick's Cathedral. This was probably the only good photo that I took since it's pretty difficult to get a picture of Cardinal Dolan when he's a hundred feet away with scaffoldings in the way.

Afterward, Mr. Rochford, the Dean of Discipline, came to me and said, "This is not the time or the place" before he told me to stop taking pictures.

Anyway, say hi, Albert.

The support for this project has been surprising; it’s only been two hours and we've already broken the 50-like milestone. Anyway, for those of you who haven't ‘liked’ the Humans of Cardinal Hayes page, this project is obviously influenced by Brandon Stanton’s highly successful Humans of New York, and it seeks to highlight the diversity that Hayesman are fortunate enough to experience on a day-to-day basis.

For the moment, we'll be focusing on the outgoing Class of 2014 since they won't be around for very long, if we're lucky we might even be able to get some teachers. This project will be accompanied by the Face of Hayes video series that Channel H will be shooting next week, so you can expect our first photos to be going up early next week (think Monday or Tuesday).

In the meantime, we'll be uploading photos of Hayes-related things like this shot of the Varsity Football team before their showdown against Holy Trinity.

- Aaron