29-05-2025
Principal Retires After Spending Over 50 Years Working at Same High School: 'Lucky and Blessed'
Bill Lessa began his career at New York City's Cardinal Hayes High School in 1971 as a social studies teacher and worked his way up to principal by 2008
Nearly 54 years after he began his career at the school, he was honored by students, faculty and alumni at a retirement ceremony
'The success that I had in shaping and influencing young men was extremely rewarding and I would not change a single moment," Lessa saidA beloved New York City educator who spent more than 50 years working at the same high school — first as a social studies teacher and later as a principal — has called it a day.
On Thursday, May 22, students, faculty and alumni of Cardinal Hayes High School paid tribute to Principal Bill Lessa, 75, at a retirement celebration held at the all-boys Catholic institution in the Bronx.
'We honored a Hayes Icon for the countless Hayesmen he's mentored and guided through the halls of Cardinal Hayes!' the school — whose famous alumni include Regis Philibin and Martin Scorsese — said in an announcement shared with PEOPLE.
According to the Archdiocese of New York, Lessa, who received a standing ovation at the beginning and end of his retirement celebration, is the longest-serving educator at a single Catholic institution in the Bronx, the New York Post reported.
'I am lucky and blessed to have been able to serve my Church and our community for 54 years in a role that I enjoyed each day,' Lessa said in his remarks at the event last week. 'A role that rewarded me many times with the knowledge that I was making a difference in the world.'
'The success that I had in shaping and influencing young men was extremely rewarding and I would not change a single moment that I spent in the service of the young men I worked with at Cardinal Hayes High School,' he continued.
Born in East Harlem, Lessa's relationship with the school began in September 1971 after his own graduation from Iona College, according to a biography shared with PEOPLE by the school.
He first taught social studies and religion until 1974, when he was appointed a freshman counselor for Cardinal Hayes' guidance department. Two years later, he became a college advisor who helped the school's seniors and their parents navigate through the college admissions process.
In 1978, he began acting as Cardinal Hayes' director of guidance, a role he held until 2014, during which time he also served as both assistant principal (a job he held from 2004-2008) and principal.
Although Lessa said that he had other opportunities to work somewhere else, he decided to stay because of the appreciation he received from the school community.
"These kids are the only kids I ever wanted to be with, the only kids I wanted to work with,' Lessa told the Post.
Lessa's work in education also extends to his family. His wife Mary Anne previously served in the Rye City School District, and the couple's two children, Bill Jr. and Jaime, work as a guidance director and a third-grade teacher respectively.
Additionally, a scholarship at the school has been named after Lessa.
'I thank all the wonderful teachers that I worked with and the leaders that I served with and of course everyone else that labored in this great school,' Lessa concluded his remarks at his retirement celebration last week.
Read the original article on People
