On May 18, South Philadelphia High School will honor its newest class of Hall of Fame inductees. Six graduates — Anthony Fasolo, Carol Hecht Serotta, Eugene VanArsdale, Freddie Reaux, Gregory A. Harris and Jennifer Scuderi — will be inducted during a celebration at the IATSE Ballroom on Swanson Street in South Philadelphia.
Tickets are $60 (children under 12 are $20). For tickets, call Liz Olivieri at 267-278-2837 or visit www.sphsalumni.com. Food choices are chicken parmigiana, crab cakes or pasta primavera. To place an ad ($25-100), email SPHSadbook@gmail.com.
Anthony V. Fasolo (Class of 1955) graduated from Temple University’s College of Education in 1959 with an education degree, a Pennsylvania teaching certificate and a commission in the U.S. Army as a 2LT (Temple’s ROTC program).
He spent the next 20 years serving in the Army as an officer with a one-year break to teach at the Childs School in South Philadelphia.
After completing Infantry Officer Leaders’ Course at Fort Benning, he was assigned to Germany as an armored rifle battalion platoon leader. He met and married Anna Flick while in Germany in 1961 and served nine years in the Army, in Germany, Italy, Korea and Vietnam. During this time, he also earned two master’s degrees, an M.S. in Education from Boston University (Stuttgart, Germany campus) and a master’s in public administration from Penn State University (Harrisburg campus). He retired with the rank of Lt. Colonel in 1980.
Fasolo spent four years as a regional director for loss prevention for a region of Marriott hotels and two years as director of services at the five-star Bethesda Marriott hotel. In 1987, he returned to the Army as a civilian and completed four years of service as a Department of the Army Civilian near Pisa, Italy, followed by three years as the executive officer of the 282nd Base Support battalion at Hohenfels, Germany. He then served as a program analyst and as speechwriter in the headquarters of the Military Traffic Management Command in Virginia. He was then assigned to the Pentagon and the Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management, responsible for the collection and analysis of data for use in the army’s budget for all installations worldwide. Fasolo is a 9/11 survivor who was onsite when terrorists attacked the Pentagon.
He completed his time in the civil service and left the Pentagon in 2002. Since then, he has been a substitute teacher in the Loudoun County Public School System, taught Leadership and Management classes for the University of Phoenix and has volunteered in the community. Currently a Commonwealth of Virginia Election Officer and the chair of Loudoun County’s Commission On Aging, he has received many awards including Distinguished Military Graduate, Bronze Star for Service in Vietnam, Meritorious Service Medal and Army Commendation Medal, and several Superior Civilian Service awards. Anthony and his wife of 63 years, Anna, live in Leesburg, Virginia and have three children and four grandchildren.
Carol Hecht Serotta (Class of 1963) played four varsity sports in the three years she was at Southern High School, captaining the volleyball, badminton and bowling team for three years and the tennis team for two years.
While she competed in her athletic pursuits, she managed to be one of best students ever to attend Southern, excelling in every subject area and graduated at the top of her class.
Hecht Serotta received numerous awards, including a full scholarship to the University of Pennsylvania where she was a member of the Pi Mu Epsilon, the Mathematics Honor Society, a member of the Greek Society and the president of her college sorority and later as an adviser to the sorority after graduation. She also mentored future math majors for a time and was an officer of the Education Honor Society.
She was acknowledged by Penn’s 100th year on the Women’s Athletics Committee. Upon graduating with honors with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, she was granted a full scholarship to a new program in the Graduate School of Education. She received her master’s degree in mathematics education a year later and eventually was an adjunct instructor at Penn.
Carol participated in sports at the University of Pennsylvania and Cabrini College/University, including varsity club volleyball, varsity bowling and varsity badminton.
While she was a graduate student, she became chair of the Education Department and a full-time tenured mathematics professor, serving as the department chair for almost 20 years. Since then, she has volunteered in Cabrini’s math lab and tutoring programs and taught several courses as an adjunct and was chosen as the Lindback Professor of the Year. After her years at Cabrini, she was awarded the status of Professor Emerita and is chair of the Faculty Retirees Committee. Her proudest achievements are her family: Howard, her husband; her sons and daughters; and her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Eugene VanArsdale (Class of 1977) attributes being the man he is today to his family and Mr. Yates, who was not only his choir director but his mentor. After graduation he attended Drexel University’s LeBow School of Business and later developed a relationship with Keeler, an international company specializing in optometry and ophthalmic supplies. He rose through the ranks to his present position of Vice President of Business and Channel Manager. He is also ambassador to Orbis International’s vision, which includes a flying eye hospital that travels the world to teach doctors how to perform eye surgery.
VanArsdale holds two patents including one for a face mask doctors use to change the color of their product. The second patent is called Vantage Plus Patent, which allows eye doctors to view the back of the eye and decide what treatment is needed. This device is used globally to save vision.
VanArsdale is also an adviser to Lensrxlab, the first Philadelphia-based Black American and Service-Disabled Veteran-owned ophthalmic goods manufacturer located in North Philadelphia.
Locally, VanArsdale is a member of Annunciation Parish. In 2006, he came up with the idea and the design of the city’s first rosary-prayer garden.
VanArsdale and wife Donna have three children and recently welcomed their first grandchild into the family. A second grandchild is expected soon.
Freddie Reaux (Class of 1972) was a member of the orchestra, marching band, choir and dance club. During his senior year, Reaux was cast as Bernardo in West Side Story and he credits that experience to pursuing a career in theater.
Reaux attended Point Park University as a dance major, performed with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and, during summers, performed with Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera.
After his sophomore year, Reaux moved to New York and attended Harkness House for Ballet Arts before joining the George Faison Universal Dance Experience, which was founded by the Tony Award-winning choreographer of the hit Broadway musical The Wiz.
Reaux (theatrically known by his middle name Roumel) has worked in the entertainment industry for more than 50 years as a dancer/singer/actor, assistant director/choreographer, dance captain and/or stage manager on numerous Broadway productions, including Bob Fosse’s Dancin’, Bob Fosse’s Big Deal, Crucifer of Blood and The Wiz; Five Guys Named Moe and Radio City Music Hall’s Porgy and Bess. Off Broadway, regional theater, national and international touring productions include Blackbirds Of Broadway, Three Mo’ Tenors, Church & State, Cookin’ At The Cookery and Fuerza Bruta. He toured with Harry Belafonte in concert as a featured vocalist.
As a teacher, Reaux has taught dance at schools such as the Alvin Ailey School (NYC), Baltimore High School of the Performing Arts, Duke Ellington School of the Performing Arts (D.C.), Marygrove College (Detroit), Lehman College (NYC) and directed the Friends of Carter Barron Annual Summer Youth Musical in D.C.
In 1991, he choreographed and played the on-camera choreographer on one of the most popular episodes of television’s “Fresh Prince of Bel Air”. He is also one of the dancers on the 1982 music video of the Grammy-nominated dance hit “It’s Raining Men.”
Reaux is co-writer/composer/director of MyPlate! The Food Guide Musical Program, a nutrition program teaching nutrition and exercise through educational theater. It is being implemented in public elementary schools in NYC and Los Angeles.
Gregory A. Harris (Class of 1964) lettered in basketball (co-captain), football and track and field (shot put). After graduating, he went to Cheyney State College where he graduated with a degree in Education with a Mathematics major, receiving a Pennsylvania Teachers certification in mathematics.
While at Cheyney he played football and threw the shot put, becoming the first Cheyney student to receive a medal (bronze) in the shot put as a freshman in the Pennsylvania College Athletic Association. After Cheyney, he played for the Brooklyn Knights, a semi-pro football team out of Brooklyn, during the 1972-75 seasons and is now a member of the Cheyney Athletic Hall of Fame.
After graduating Cheyney he attended graduate school for computer science. Upon teaching for the Philadelphia school district, he was assigned to opening computer labs in schools that had no qualified teachers. He taught science and mathematics in these schools. He did this in several high schools and middle schools going to a new school each year. Gregory served 22 years in the school district. In 2004 Greg was the line coach of the Southern varsity football team in which his first son Jalil was the starting quarterback and received the Jimmy Bowen trophy awarded on the field on Thanksgiving Day for most valuable player in a win over Neuman.
During employment with the school district Gregory also coached several Public League high school teams, including Central, West Philadelphia, South Philadelphia and Furness as a line coach. He coached second son Nadim. In addition, he was head coach at Communications Technology for two years. Lastly, he was the line coach at Cheyney for one year. He now competes in the shot put in the age 75-79 division.
Jennifer Scuderi (Class of 1991) started on the Southern High School junior varsity softball team as a freshman, playing only a few games when varsity coach Mr. Masloff “borrowed her” for a game and then kept her on his varsity team until she graduated.
Scuderi played several positions including center field, third base and pitcher, throwing no-hitter against Simon Gratz High School in a 20-0 victory. Scuderi was awarded the most valuable player all four years while on the softball team.
She assisted Ms. Thompson for the boys cross country/track team and also participated in the sport for three years with coaches Mr. Anderson and Ms. Kramer. Scuderi was on student government her senior year, serving as treasurer.
Scuderi said coaches always motivated and encouraged her to do better. She attributes her successful four years of softball to them and helping to mold her to become the successful, responsible woman she is today.
Jennifer resides with her parents in South Philadelphia. After graduating from high school, she attended community college where she received an associate’s degree in general studies. She then received a certification in engineering technology from the McCarrie School of Allied Health Sciences and Technology. She worked at St. Agnes Hospital for three years followed by 23 years at Staples. Scuderi was then hired by Nelson’s Auto Tags as a notary for auto tags and titles. She remained at Nelson’s until after the pandemic when the South Philadelphia office closed permanently. Scuderi was the first person hired at the South Philadelphia office of AAA to have both retail and tag and title experience and is still employed there today.
