Two Croton-Harmon Alumni Join Hall of Distinguished Graduates

From Croton-Harmon School District: Croton-Harmon High School welcomed back two alumni on Nov. 21 in a special ceremony to recognize their accomplishments since graduating.

Jonathan Henes, Class of ’87, and Jason Newman, Class of ’96, started the day by introducing themselves at a schoolwide assembly and then visiting several classes with student guides. At the end of the day, Henes and Newman were formally inducted into the school’s Hall of Distinguished Graduates during a brief ceremony.

“We had a wonderful day today with our graduates,” said Assistant Principal Mark Maxam in the ceremony’s opening remarks.

Senior Laura Vallejo introduced Henes, a former CHHS three-sport varsity athlete and male athlete of the year, and current partner at the law firm Kirkland and Ellis, where he specializes in complex corporate restructurings.

Henes graduated from Union College with a Bachelor of Arts in history in 1991 and went on to obtain his law degree from Benjamin Cardozo Law School, where he graduated cum laude. He is currently regarded as one of the top restructuring lawyers in the nation and has written extensively and contributed to numerous media sites, including CNBC, CNN and Bloomberg. In addition, he has lectured at Harvard Business School, The Wharton School and New York University.

Henes emphasized to the students the importance of giving back. He serves on the board of directors of nonprofit organization CaringKind and is the co-founder and a board member of the Foundation for Education in Honduras.

“This is really an amazing honor – very humbling,” said Henes, who commented on how much the school has changed and praised the students for asking interesting questions. “Find your passion and follow it. Do good and give back.”

Madeleine Camillieri, a senior, introduced Newman, who recalled being one of the school’s earliest participants in the C.H.O.O.S.E. program. After graduating from CHHS, Newman obtained a Bachelor of Arts in both literature and rhetoric and philosophy, politics and law from SUNY Binghamton.

Since then, he went into writing and editing; his article on the gay hip-hop scene for URB Magazine garnered him a GLAAD Media Award nomination. Later, as a senior writer and associate news editor for Fuse, he created “Crate Diggers,” an online video series delving into artists’ record collections. He has been senior news editor at Rolling Stone for the past three years and in 2004 co-founded Hip Hop Karaoke Inc., the country’s first and biggest hip-hop karaoke event that has since spawned 15 affiliates worldwide.

Newman said he was “blown away” by some of the course offerings at the high school, such as animal physiology and Mandarin Chinese.

“Thank you for introducing these diverse classes to students,” he said in gratitude to the school’s administrators and teachers. “Like the C.H.O.O.S.E. program, what you learn here and what you don’t even think you are interested in really does progress for the rest of your life.”

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Edward R. Fuhrman Jr. thanked the two alumni for giving current students a perspective of their potential.

“What we try to be here in Croton is a place where kids can learn and experience and figure out a direction,” he said to them. “To actually see what can happen and what’s possible – it shows you what is out there in this world. We are thrilled to have you come back and share with our students. They really appreciate the models that you have set.”

Photo courtesy of the Croton-Harmon Schools: Jason Newman, Croton-Harmon High School Class of ’96 (left), and Jonathan Henes, Class of ’87, were formally inducted into the school’s Hall of Distinguished Graduates on Nov. 21.