Bishop McGann-Mercy

Life after Mercy: How students are moving on after school’s closing

Paul Schmidt 

Grade: Senior

School: Riverhead High School

Paul Schmidt was a junior at McGann-Mercy when it was announced the school was closing. He is now a senior at Riverhead. (Courtesy photo)

Paul Schmidt, 18, of Wading River had to decide whether to follow many of his friends to St. John the Baptist Diocesan High School or start fresh at Riverhead High School. Ultimately, he chose the latter.

“I had friends that I grew up with, family friends that went to Riverhead to help me through the process,” he said. “Definitely leaving was rough because I went to school with kids at Mercy for 10 or more years.”

He started his final year of high school in Riverhead in September, but was missing his lifelong friend.

“My best friend went to St. John the Baptist in West Islip, so it was tough not going to school with him because we’ve been going to school since kindergarten,” Paul said.

When he first realized the school was closing, he remembers the entire Mercy community becoming extremely saddened by the news.

“It was the talk of the school the whole second half of the year, about how our school was closing,” Paul said. “It was like walking into a wake when Mercy closed.”

The long distance from his home to the nearest Catholic school was a key factor in his decision.

He led an active career at Bishop McGann-Mercy, playing football and baseball. He was also in the Red Cross club, weightlifting club and cycling club. At Riverhead, he didn’t join any clubs but hopes to join the baseball team this spring. He opted not to join the football team since his part-time job kept him occupied.

The biggest culture shock was the sheer size of the school and number of students inside.

“There is just a lot more people and the hallways are a lot more crowded,” he said. “Everyone’s really nice to me though. All the teachers were asking me how I was doing and they helped me a lot.”

“At Mercy, everybody knew each other and it was kind of like a family, and that’s the way I liked it,” Paul added.

At Riverhead, he meets new people every day. “That’s great too, though,” he said.