Junior Statesman of America
Captain Mock Trial
Vocal Ensemble
Chamber Ensemble
Theatre

“It sounds cliché but when you actually go to school here, you see that it’s a real thing. Whether we’re all together at a pep rally, cheering on the basketball team or praying together in mass there is a real feeling of brotherhood.”

 

HALLOWED HALLS TO IVY WALLS

In his last year at Bergen Catholic, Allen Delgado ’18 is busy. While as Captain of the Mock Trial team he argues cases in court in competition with other high schools. He can also be found singing solos as part of the school choir and debating as a member of the Junior Statesmen of America. But he wasn’t always comfortable being front and center, not even close. “I was a very shy kid coming in freshman year,” he says. “I didn’t speak to anyone at first, I always sat in the back of class and didn’t interact much.” But through inspiration from teachers as well as his own natural curiosity, Allen has flourished. “Instead of keeping to myself I have been encouraged to express myself with- out being afraid of what people are going to think,” he says. As a result he has thrived as a student and is pleased to be attending Princeton University in the fall. “I am so thankful for all of the opportunities given to me during my four years here and glad that I took full advantage of them,” he says.


Growing up in Fair Lawn as the oldest of three, with two younger sisters, Allen was born to parents who emigrated from Ecuador and is the first in his family to attend college. “In Ecuador, my father graduated from high school but my mother didn’t so they are very proud,” he says. He was drawn to Bergen Catholic because of the sense of brotherhood he felt immedi- ately at the open house that he visited while in middle school. “Many of the schools I looked at emphasized sports and sports isn’t really my thing,” he says. “But at this open house they had the choir sing and the debate team was there. They showed many aspects of the school that were interesting to me.”

Allen is also a member of the BC Men’s Vocal Ensemble and has performed in many musicals, including most recently 42nd Street with Immaculate Conception High School in Lodi. He is also part of the newly formed Chamber Ensemble, directed by alumnus and renowned bassist Charles Dougherty ’05. In Allen’s sophomore year Dougherty encouraged him to learn to play the viola. “I had never played it before then,” says Allen. “But Mr. Dougherty taught me in his free time, gave me pieces to work on and now has me playing in the Ensemble.”

Being part of the Mock Trial team has led Allen to an interest in a career in trial law. “When I joined my freshman year I knew nothing about the law field but once I went to my first competition, held at the courts in Hackensack, I saw how it worked and knew from that day on that I wanted to pursue a degree in law,” he says. Along the way, he and other team members have been supported by Bergen Catholic alumni who are former Mock Trial participants. “They are always reaching out to ask if we want help or advice with preparing cases,” says Allen. Among those alums who have reached out are Nicholas Barile ’14 and James Lowell ’15. “Seeing how they have reached back and helped us inspires me to do the same once I have graduated and am in a position to help out as well,” says Allen.

“It sounds cliché but when you actually go to school here, you see that it’s a real thing. Whether we’re all together at a pep rally, cheering on the basketball team or praying together in mass there is a real feeling of brotherhood.”
Close to the end of his time at Bergen Catholic, Allen reflects on where he was when he started and where he is now and credits his classmates and the culture at the school with his tremendous growth. “In the end we are all part of Bergen Catholic,” he says. “It doesn’t matter what you are involved in at school; we all connect with each other. It sounds cliché but when you actually go to school here, you see that it’s a real thing. Whether we’re all together at a pep rally, cheering on the basketball team or praying together in mass there is a real feeling of brotherhood.”