Five local students will be attending Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School in Brooklyn in the new school year, thanks to a big helping hand from a notable alum—Big Dan Tubridy.
Come this September, Madison Foster, Jaylen George, Jonathan Monzun Guzman, Ashia Williams, and Melchi Vilbert Senat will be part of the Class of 2030, where, as the school’s motto says, they’ll “Enter to learn; learn to serve.”
Sixty years ago, Tubridy graduated from that very school at a time it was a popular, more affordable choice among Rockaway and Broad Channel students looking to pursue a continued Catholic school education. “It was instrumental in my being who I am,” Tubridy told The Rockaway Times. “It changed my life.”
And Tubridy took that school motto to heart. He learned to serve his community as a staunch activist on important matters like fighting for Broad Channel residents to own the rights to their land and challenging the Cross Bay Bridge tolls, and as a successful businessman, as owner of Dingy Dans and then Pier 92. But he also learned to serve the place that helped shape him into that man—Bishop Loughlin.
Twenty-five years ago, Tubridy decided to start paying it forward to the school and established an endowment, The Brother Raphael Scholarship Fund, named in honor of an influential guidance counselor who guided him through to college, with the hopes that future Rockaway and Broad Channel students would again start to see the value in the school among more popular Catholic school choices nowadays. Now, as a promise to his late friend, Jack Levithan, who died of pancreatic cancer, the scholarship continues in his honor. “At some point, I wrote Jack a letter saying all of these kids, I’m gonna let them know he is part of it. He was very education-oriented, and this is now part of his legacy,” Tubridy explained.
The only issue was in recent years, not many kids had taken the offer, as students opted for other schools, and many weren’t aware that the funding for Rockaway and Broad Channel students existed. That was, until recently, when Tubridy received a call from the admissions director in November, telling him that four kids, most from St. Rose of Lima and P.S. 114, had selected Loughlin among their choices. “That was great. I had only had one other kid use it in the last couple years,” Tubridy said. Soon after, he called the parents of the students to let them know about the endowment that would help toward tuition costs, advising them to give him a return call.
“I met with one over Christmas with her daughter. Over the next three months, when parents realized their child absolutely wanted to go to Bishop Loughlin, they started calling me back and I advised them on what to do. They all received some money to help reduce tuition,” Tubridy said. And shortly after that, after another parent of a St. Rose student explained that her child wound up having to transfer to public school, but was interested in continuing Catholic education, Tubridy was able to help make it happen.
On Saturday, July 25, all five of those students and their families were treated to a luncheon at Bungalow Bar, where they got to meet each other, Dan Tubridy, new St. Rose of Lima Principal Peter Vercessi, and some of the staff at Bishop Loughlin. As they walked in, they were greeted with a big welcome and a table full of Bishop Loughlin merch to choose from to help them start the school year.
Among the guests was Bishop Loughlin President Dennis Cronin, FSC. Cronin expressed excitement over having students attend from the peninsula again, with the help of Tubridy’s endowment. “It’s a great effort. Historically, Loughlin would draw kids from the Rockaways, and then as school systems contracted, when St. Mary Star of the Sea and St. Camillus closed, we began to get fewer students from Rockaway. So, it’s great to be able to claim a more significant number of kids coming from the peninsula,” Cronin said. “It’s just a great opportunity for them. It’s a good school and it’s got some great programs. I think Loughlin is one of the places that I’ve been too often told is the best kept secret, and it shouldn’t be a secret.”
For the five scholarship recipients, the secret is out and Loughlin was their number one choice. Imani Sutton-Foster, mother of Madison Foster, is excited to see her daughter continue her education at Loughlin and is grateful for the additional funding that came at just the right time, as her father, and Madison’s grandfather, recently died. “That took a toll on my family, so I’m just so grateful,” Sutton-Foster said. “Madison will have an experience like none other. The school has already embraced us and treated us like family. All I wanted for my daughter was an environment where she will feel comfortable to be herself, to learn and be happy.” Madison Foster, who had attended St. Rose and then P.S. 114, said, “I really fell in love with Loughlin. I’m looking forward to the community and the way they teach students.” Receiving the scholarship is deeply meaningful. “It feels really good inside because it shows that I have potential,” she said.
Ashia Williams, who graduated from St. Rose, was drawn to Loughlin for its performing arts programs, after hearing from two cousins who had a great experience while attending the school. “I think attending will help me fulfill my dreams,” Williams said. She too, was grateful for the funding to help make it possible. “It means a lot that someone sees the potential in me,” she said.
Jonathan Monzon Guzman, who also graduated from St. Rose, learned about the scholarship opportunity from his priest at St. Mary Star of the Sea. He shared he got to experience Loughlin for two weeks over the summer, getting to take some preview classes, visit a nearby park and the church, and made some new friends. He’s looking forward to the PLTW science classes that Loughlin offers, as well as joining the weightlifting and anime clubs. For Guzman, receiving the scholarship funds means he gets to continue his religious studies. “I was very excited because I was given an opportunity to go to a better school,” Guzman said. “I was originally going to Channel View, but now I’m able to go to Bishop Loughlin, a Catholic school, where I can keep learning about my own faith.”
For Tubridy, helping to make those kids’ dreams come true, is what it’s all about. “This is the first new crop, and I’m just overwhelmed with joy. We’re passing the legacy on. That’s what we do.,” Tubridy said “It’s fabulous.”
Tubridy’s wish is that more students become aware of The Brother Raphael (and Jack Levithan) Scholarship Fund, so they too, can experience the “life changing” Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School.
