The Commentator | On 21, May 2025

I haven’t written for the Commentator in a while.

I’ll confess that.

When considering joining the Commentator, I assumed that I’ll be writing as if I’m already in the New York Times or CNN or Vogue or some legacy news source.

Now, I’m thankful that wasn’t the case.

It’s not that I hated the Commentator but sometimes you really underestimate how busy your life will get.

I don’t think my freshman self, still adjusting to social life after spending 8th grade on Google Meets, will believe I joined the National Honors Society, found my group of people, and even got a college degree at the same time of graduating Hudson Catholic.

He would be more scared at all the work I would be assigned, both at Hudson and Saint Peter’s. Yet he still would have time for the STEM Club.

More importantly, he would groan when he learns that he would still be on babysitter duty at his home until senior year.

My contribution to the Commentator? Two Photography Club trip summaries, the first food review in the newspaper, and reorganizing the website a bit (adding “Hawk Pop”). 

But now, it’s time to turn the Commentator to next year’s graduates.

A word of advice: enjoy the rest of your time here, but don’t let yourself get into too many places at once.

But I believe the next Hawks after me will take the Commentator’s potential and perhaps turn it into one of the, if not the most-respected school newspaper in all of Hudson County. Or maybe even in all of Jersey. All of America, I admit, is a stretch. 

You already have a knowledgeable and very accommodating English faculty here at Hudson to help achieve your goals with the Commentator, along with faculty that’s more than happy to sit for an interview. Jersey City provides everything possible to write about. Literally whatever you can’t find in the City just hop on the PATH to NYC to find your subject.

That means it’s all up to you guys now. I’m not saying you should ignore keeping grades up, studying for a high SAT/ACT score, or keep breaking the dress code to anger Mr. Romano, but journaling for the school to see can give you Hawks the wings to succeed academically (e.g. better writing skills) and socially (e.g. working with others, keeping deadlines, and interviewing others).

I know you got this. Just don’t be lazy and don’t leave it to rot, like I kind of was. Admittedly.

Sincerely,

Andrei Fernandez

Vice-President of the Commentator, 2024-2025