Edison High School student newspaper honors beloved ‘Doc’ Peterson with donation in his memory to Marisa Tufaro Foundation

Devam Mondal and Alvin Wu handled the delicate subject material with such precocious skill and sensitivity that no incentive may have been needed to increase readership of their story.

The young journalists for The Eagle’s Eye, Edison High School’s online student newspaper, covered a memorial service in August 2021 at the Frank N. Cangelosi Gymnasium for the late Bob “Doc” Peterson, a beloved former athletic trainer who passed away four months earlier.

Their story, posted in early September as students and faculty returned to school, generated an unprecedented 2,235 page views, largely due to the quality of their reporting and the immensely popular figure they memorialized.

With the newspaper shifting to a different digital platform, however, faculty advisors Diane Frey and Mike Glackin, who wanted to expose readers to a new layout, talked with staff about incentivizing The Eagle’s Eye’s back-to-school content.

The concept was simple: If the story Mondal and Wu authored exceeded a certain number of page views, The Eagle’s Eye would make a charitable contribution to one of the beneficiaries to which Peterson’s family recommended donations be made in lieu of flowers at the time of “Doc’s passing.

The Eagle’s Eye selected from the list The Marisa Tufaro Foundation, whose mission is to assist children in need throughout the greater Middlesex County area and whose namesake would have graduated last year from Edison High School.

The Marisa Tufaro Foundation’s leadership recently received a generous donation from the school newspaper with an accompanying letter stating in part, “The Eagle’s Eye is proud to follow through on our promise, supporting journalism and a good cause along the way.”

Marisa Tufaro survived six open-heart surgeries and a heart transplant before succumbing to a rare form of cancer in 2017 following a valiant battle.

Despite being hospitalized for more than two years and maintaining hundreds of doctor’s appointments, Marisa was an honor roll student involved in myriad extracurricular activities who lived a vibrant life that inspired.

Since its inception five years ago, the nonprofit bearing her name has donated a quarter of a million dollars to fulfill its mission.

The Marisa Tufaro Foundation has also donated thousands of toys, nonperishable food items, winter jackets, baby supplies and other items upon which it has placed no monetary value.

The nonprofit has awarded $26,500 in academic scholarships to 38 Middlesex County high school graduates, including six Edison alumni.

“We liked the idea of community service and giving back,” said Frey, adding the story about Peterson connected the newspaper to readers outside the high school through promotion of the page views incentive on social media and via email. “It was a great way to get the kids connected and starting to feel like a community.”

The article from Mondal and Wu was critically acclaimed, with the comments section of the story including feedback from Edison Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Bernard Bragen and Peterson’s widow, Mary Ann, paying the authors high praise.

“Thank you for this article about my husband,” Mary Ann wrote. “To remember him in the EHS newspaper is a special honor. Thank you for your kindness and professionalism.”

Mary Ann’s compliment resonated with the faculty advisors. Frey and Glackin received positive feedback after the memorial service that their cub reporters, who were rising sophomores at the time, conducted themselves in exemplary fashion.

“The two of them are fantastic young men,” Glackin said. “They’ve got natural journalism skills. They just get it.”

Among 125 students who contributed or were part of the school newspaper last year, Mondal is one of five editors-in-chief, while Wu is one of two sports editors.

“They are a very dynamic duo,” Glackin said. “When they get together on a project you know something good is coming.”

Glackin said Mondal and Wu came to him and Frey asking to write a story about Peterson, who they realized “was a huge presence in the history of Edison High School.”

“They wrote this piece that was completely heartfelt. I said, ‘You guys really hit it out of the park with this one.’ It was a great example of them being the dynamic duo.”

Their reporting contained insightful quotes, revealing anecdotes, fond remembrances, and detailed background. An Edison High School alumnus (Class of ’69), Peterson worked at his alma mater from 1972 through 2004 and inspired students to succeed “in both the classroom and on the field.”

Mondal and Wu are representative of the great strides The Eagle’s Eye has made since it first published online four years ago.

“We are so proud of the work we have done in a few short years,” Frey said. “We’ve definitely grown. We are going to continue to do some readership incentives. We want to make (newspaper staff) a little bit more connected to the larger world.”

The Garden State Press Association honored The Eagle’s Eye for opinion writing last year with a second-place award and the previous year with a first-place award.

While Mondal and Wu’s article entitled “Legendary EHS Trainer ‘Doc’ Peterson Fixed More Than Injuries” may not have garnered an award, it claimed something greater.

The school newspaper’s most widely read story honored a local legend, helped a grieving widow take solace, and aided a local charity that helps children in need.