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End of an era
Mercy Sisterhood
By Joseph Zuloaga ’23
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When the Class of 2023 walks across the graduation stage on Mayer Family Field on May 20, the last memories of the Riordan Brotherhood will depart, as the seniors are the final class to experience the all boys era at Riordan before the co-ed change.
“It’ll feel accomplishing in a way,” said Alex Robinson ’23. “Being a part of the last class to have known what an all boys Riordan was like means I’m part of an aspect of history. We’re the last to carry that with us and I’m just very thankful I landed where I did.”
Aside from this, arguably the biggest impact on the seniors was the pandemic. During the second semester of freshman year, a “three day weekend” turned into the lockdown that forced their first year at Riordan to end online.
Oscar Hernandez ’23 reminisced, “It made me more appreciative of the friends I made, who I consider brothers. We experienced a lot of change and I believe it has made us all more resilient young men.”
Please see “Riordan Brotherhood” on page 7
By Hoorain Farooq ’25
In 2019, with Mercy High School in San Francisco, an all girls school, shutting down, Archbishop Riordan High School, an all boys school, opened its doors for female students.
Welcoming the female transfers, primarily from the soon to be closed Mercy High School, Riordan faced a transition into coeducation.
This year, the graduating Class of 2023 includes members of the last class of Mercy girls who transferred to Riordan and experienced the progression as it adjusted to a co-education.
As it comes time for these girls to bid farewell, they reminisced back on their journey as transfers and throughout their years at Riordan.
Odalis Alvarez ’23 shared how it still feels unreal to be at Riordan. “I always imagined I would stay at Mercy and continue my special programs. She included, “I was super excited to be the first coed sophomore class in the school’s history.”
Leslie Nunez ’23 stated, “It was comforting being able to transfer with the majority of the Mercy class because we all knew each other and it wasn’t like we were doing it all alone, we had each other as support.”
Please see “Mercy Sisterhood” on page 7
