Trenton Catholic Academy sophomore Richmond Aririguzoh excels in sports and academics
Trenton Catholic Academy sophomore Richmond Aririguzoh is number one in his class, won the Mr. TCA contest as a freshman, is fluent in English and Italian and sings in the choir.
The 6-foot-8 Ewing resident plays on the Iron Mikes’ basketball team, hurdles and throws discus for the track team, serves on student council and has already received phone calls from Princeton University and Northwestern University.
Not bad for someone who moved to Ewing from Italy three years ago and spoke only his native language when he first arrived.
He and his family came to the United States after relatives spoke of more opportunities, but Aririguzoh was initially unhappy about the move.
“I didn’t really know why we were moving,” he said. “They tried to explain it to me, but I didn’t want to listen. But I came here, and it was different from what I thought. The point of maturity, I think, is to be able to bend to a situation.”
Aririguzoh knew limited English when he moved. He said English is taught in Italy similarly to the way Spanish is taught here.
Others were sympathetic to his situation, and Aririguzoh started socializing more with his peers at Incarnation-St. James. He was comfortable with his surroundings by the time he reached high school. This is a process that, for some, can take decades, he said.
“I never really felt like an outsider,” he said. “We really managed to settle in well. It was way better than other situations. There are still people who have been here for years, and people still treat them like outcasts. It was different for me, and I didn’t appreciate the speed at which it happened until I learned about other people who came here and weren’t so successful.”
He got involved with sports and other extracurriculars early on in his high school career.
Aririguzoh played basketball in Italy and wanted to continue playing here, but said he was not as developed as other players his age. The sport is not as common in his home country, so there weren’t many chances to play competitively and hone his skills.
“It was actually tougher because all of these people are definitely more skilled than this age group in Italy,” he said. “It made me want to work harder to get to that level. I still wanted to be competitive.”
He had a lot of work to do. He came to TCA at 6-foot-3 and growing, and athletic trainer and track coach Gary Zottoli said he was uncoordinated on the court at first.
“His body is so big, and he went from never playing to trying everything he could,” Zottoli said. “He was not exceptionally athletic, but he’s been working on getting better. He’s going to be a beast next year.”
He has spent hours working with Zottoli and head coach Fred Falchi on drills, endurance and the technical aspects of the game and, as a result, has seen a good amount of playing time this season and is a sometimes starter for the Iron Mikes, something Aririguzoh never foresaw.
“It’s actually a great testament to a year and a half of hard work,” he said. “When I came here, I wouldn’t have ever believed that next year I would be playing varsity for Trenton Catholic Academy. That realization is just mind-blowing because I was nowhere close to what I am now. They showed me the notion that with hard work, you can always get better, no matter how far you are from your competitors.”
Zottoli sees that same dedication during track season. Aririguzoh hurdles and throws discus, two things he’d never done before going out for track. Zottoli didn’t have to do much convincing.
“I knew it was fun, but then I also knew it could help me on the basketball court,” Aririguzoh said. “It could make me faster, give me more endurance, more coordination, all of that. Most great athletes, at some point in their lives, they try their hand at track. That’s why I knew that track was a good choice.”
Zottoli knew he would benefit from training as a hurdler.
“The hurdles are all about the quick step and jumping,” he said. “It’s all about coordination. He’s a great learner and listener. He just picks everything up so easy, and it comes easy to him, but it’s hard because he’s so big.”
Zottoli and the other coaches keep an eye on Aririguzoh as far as growing pains and stiff knees go. He rests when he needs it, and get regular checkups.
He struggled at first, but Zottoli said he’s a “tremendous” hurdler now.
“It was hard,” Aririguzoh said. “The whole mechanics that go into hurdles, it’s a whole different thing. It requires an incredible level of coordination. When you get good at it, it may look easy, but when you first get started, it’s extremely challenging.”
Zottoli is not surprised that he persisted.
“Everything he does, he makes a marked improvement,” he said. “He always wants to learn and try everything he can. He’s such a hard worker. I really can’t give enough good adjectives.”
He’s the same in the classroom. Mike Radaszkiewicz, who taught Aririguzoh in Algebra I and currently has him in a Java programming class, said he’s incredibly open to learning.
“He’s got a good, eager brain,” he said. “I don’t think there’s enough knowledge that could make him satisfied. He’s got enough drive to want to learn more and do more. If you find out how to clone him, let me know.”
Radaszkiewicz recalls a moment from Aririguzoh’s freshman year that was particularly impressive. The class took a diocese-mandated final that included concepts it hadn’t covered yet.
“At the end of the test, Richmond came up to me and said, ‘Uh, I didn’t really know how to do this problem, so I did this. Is it right?,’” he said. “He didn’t know how to do that because it was our next chapter. We hadn’t gotten there yet. It was factoring polynomials. He taught it to himself during the test. I asked him if he’d ever thought about a math career. He has a really good math brain.”
He sees the same thing in his Java class this year.
“Most students struggle with it,” he said. “He struggled with it in the beginning, but once the lightbulb went off, he really ran with it. He experiments. Unfortunately, with some people in programming, what they want to do is not possible with their knowledge. He’s hitting that point. It’s frustrating for him, but it’s been great to see him figure out what he can and can’t do.”
English teacher and basketball study hall advisor Christine McCarthy agreed. She said Aririguzoh reminds her of TCA alum and current Drexel basketball standout Frantz Massenat.
“In study hall, Richmond, like Frantz, is the first one in here,” she said. “He gets right to work. When students are struggling, I don’t even ask, and he goes over to help, particularly with the freshmen. Same with Frantz. They were always the last ones to leave. They make sure the room is back to good order after having 20 or 25 boys in the classroom.”
McCarthy said Aririguzoh is the first and last to leave basketball practice, too.
“Richmond is always the first one in the gym,” she said. “He’s the last one to leave study hall. The kids go out to eat and do all kinds of things, but he never does that. He stays here, eats a snack here while he’s doing his work, and then goes straight to the gym so he’s the first one there. He’s shooting or doing his drills before practice begins.”
He works hard, she said, because he sets small goals for himself in both academics and extracurriculars. This keeps him motivated and constantly moving towards his next objective.
“He’s incredibly mature when it comes to seeing where he wants to be and what he has to do to get there,” McCarthy said. “He goal sets continually. He’s constantly changing how to approach that goal. He takes extra feedback, and he never sees it as correction. He always sees it as ‘If I want to get there, tell me what I need to do.’ “He does it and then he does it again and again until he accomplishes the small tasks. Then he can build on those tasks. He approaches problems in a very mature manner.”
That is why, McCarthy said, he’s such an effective leader.
“His selflessness when it comes to leadership at this school, with the boys who are struggling, on student council is wonderful,” she said. “His service to this school is remarkable.”
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