Riordan has its fair share of alumni teachers. However, this is most prevalent amongst the male English teachers: Michael Vezzali-Pascual ’88, Richard Sylvester ’01, Brian Kosewic ’16 and Kevin Estrada ’00. As a team and individually they embody the family spirit that is fostered amongst the Crusader community.
Estrada said, “Riordan is a second home to me, and what I got out of Riordan is some of the most important foundation in my life.”
Estrada emphasized that a lot of what he preaches and lives by comes from Riordan and he exemplifies true Riordan spirit by coming back and teaching.
He also stated, “The reason the English Department has the most teacher alumni is because we are the coolest teachers in the school.”
Estrada’s sense of humor shows how well the English Department gets along together. There is something about the alumni teachers being inspired by their own English teachers as Estrada eventually stated, by saying, “Seeing how smart they were, how intelligent and knowledgeable about the world and people, they were always there to talk to.”
Sometimes it takes a while for people to realize what they are truly passionate about and what they want in the future. Sylvester made a drastic change in his life in college. He stated, “As a chemistry major, when I realized English was still my favorite class, I realized it was time to make a change. So at that point, I knew I wanted to be a high school English teacher, and to come back to Riordan at some point.”
Being a Riordan Crusader had a huge impact on his life, and he chose to come back and have a greater impact on his own students.
Tory Lu ’24, who had all four as teachers, said, “I think it’s cool to haveallofmyEnglishteachersbe alumni. They came in as students, and now they are teachers educating a new generation.”
