Guadalupe luncheon boasts Hall of Fame coach

Intermountain Catholic

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Bob Hurley accepts a thank-you gift from a student at Guadalupe Schools.

SALT LAKE CITY — Hall of Fame Coach Bob Hurley was the guest speaker at the Guadalupe Schools’ annual luncheon at Little America Hotel April 5.

Hurley also was invited to come to Salt Lake City by the Guadalupe Schools’ advisory board to put on a basketball clinic. He accepted the invitation as a Lenten service project for the kindergarten through fourth-grade school. Hurley has been working with students for 44 years as a head basketball coach at St. Anthony High School, a small Catholic school in Jersey City, N.J.

"Although my high school has become very well known for its basketball program, what we are most proud of is in a city where only one-third of the seniors graduate from high school, for the past 17 straight years we have had 100 percent of our senior class accepted into colleges," said Hurley. "The values they receive from their Catholic education and the standards that they are held to are a big component of their success. We don’t have a library or a gym, but we have people who make a difference in the lives of these young people."

The teachers at Guadalupe Schools have made a difference in the lives of Kandi Velarde, a former Guadalupe student, currently a junior at the University of Utah, and Laura Guererro, who has been involved in the Guadalupe Voluntary Improvement Program (VIP) since 2007.

Velarde finds it hard to put into words how much gratitude she has for her experience at Guadalupe Schools. "I truly feel that without them, I wouldn’t be where I am today," she said. "I began in the infant program when I was 2 years old. The teachers were always kind and made me feel comfortable. I never felt less privileged than others. I thought I was one of the luckiest kids to go to a school like that; it was like a home away from home."

Velarde went on to Our Lady of Lourdes School and was a straight-A-honor student. She graduated with honors from Judge Memorial Catholic High School, the second in her family to graduate from high school and one of the few in her extended family to graduate. "The education I received from these three schools was the best I could have ever had," Velarde said. "The discipline and instruction the teachers taught me was what I needed to succeed in life."

Guererro came to Utah from Mexico 14 years ago. "The students at the Guadalupe Schools are so important to the teachers and staff," said Guererro. "They make sure the students get the best possible education. I now understand English and am not afraid to go anywhere because of the English-as-a-Second Language classes I took."

Guererro said she has gained confidence and success from the one-on-one interaction she receives from her teachers.

The VIP for adult basic education program developed out of the Guadalupe Mission that was founded by Father Jerald Merrill in 1966, located at 346 W. 100 South in Salt Lake City. The center included a credit union, Westside Family Cooperative, family market, Utah Non-profit Housing Corporation, Spanish-speaking Organization for Community, and other social programs. LaMorena Café was opened to provide seed money for these programs and later became the principal source of revenue for the center. The Diocese of Salt Lake City acquired the building but in 1984 sold it to the Triad America Corporation. LaMorena Café moved into the center, but closed in 1986. The Guadalupe Schools now lease the former Bishop Glass School from the Diocese of Salt Lake City.