As an incoming freshman, Michael Weikum walked through a door at Saint Joseph High School in Metuchen, where he would spend the next four years taking advantage of seemingly every opportunity to open a new one.
“Michael got involved in anything and everything he could at St. Joe’s,” said Miguel Cabrita, the high school’s director of admissions and head volleyball coach who would eventually name Weikum captain of his reigning conference tournament championship team.
“He truly welcomed and took advantage of all that St. Joe’s had to offer. If there was something going on at St. Joe’s, Michael’s name was attached to it. It got to a point where you don’t even know how he can fit it all in.”
In addition to maintaining a 4.5 cumulative grade point average amid mostly advanced placement and honors classes, Weikum was involved in more than a dozen in-school clubs and activities, honored an inordinate number of out-of-school commitments, and somehow found time to dedicate himself to community service.
The recently graduated senior, who is the recipient of a Marisa Tufaro Foundation Greater Middlesex Conference Student-Athlete Scholarship, achieved success while overcoming illness and adversity.
Weikum lived two years with progressively evolving and initially undiagnosed Hypothyroidism, a condition in which one’s thyroid gland doesn’t produce enough certain crucial hormones. The illness left him incredibly fatigued, zapping Weikum of the seemingly boundless energy he currently possesses.
During trying economic times and while his father dealt with health issues of his own, Weikum and his mother also assumed increased responsibilities at home.
A car accident and complications from a blood disorder nearly claimed the life on separate occasions of Weikum’s father, who emigrated with his wife from Poland and worked tirelessly to provide a better future for his family.
“I owe everything to my parents,” said Weikum, noting devout Catholic faith enabled his family to navigate adversity. “Unfortunate luck is a part of life. Inevitably, we all have to respond to it.”
Grateful for what he had and wanting to do for others, Weikum said he started taking “baby steps” at a young age “to try to leave the world a better place than it was before.”
Weikum volunteered as a tutor, performed community service at St. Vincent De Paul Pantry in Perth Amboy, and volunteered at Hands of Hope for the Community in Edison.
Involved in the high school’s Campus Ministry, he took part in its Cardboard City Sleep Out for Covenant House, helped make more than 2,000 sandwiches for food banks and soup kitchens, volunteered at a home for sexually abused children and adults, and participated in Falcons and Friends to connect Saint Joseph students with children and adults who have developmental disabilities.
“Any time there is any need he is the first to volunteer,” said Tracey Coudriet, Saint Joseph’s director of campus ministry. “He is the first to say, ‘Hey do you need help with that.’ He’s just an all-around great kid.”
Those initial baby steps of Weikum’s to make the world a better place eventually turned into large globe-trotting bounds.
Weikum expanded his charitable endeavors out of state to West Virginia, where he helped provide food for more than 600 families in a rural town. He traveled out of the country to Costa Rica, where he served as a youth sports activity director and English teacher, putting his Spanish-speaking skills (Weikum also speaks Polish) to use.
Congressman Frank Pallone Jr., who represents New Jersey’s 6th Legislative District, took note of the community-minded and civically engaged student, accepting Weikum to serve on his Congressional Youth Advisory Council.
The council provides a forum for high school students to share their insights with Pallone’s office and staff. Students also learn about the role of Congress and current issues in their community.
Weikum scored service points (pun intended) outside his community involvement, setting school records last month for aces in a season and in a career with the Saint Joseph volleyball program, which has a storied history.
The senior earned first-team All-Greater Middlesex Conference honors, helping the Falcons finish with a 32-6 overall record including an unblemished 14-0 regular-season league mark. The team’s season came to an end with a loss in the Central Jersey final to longtime rival Old Bridge, which went on to win its fourth consecutive state title.
Weikum entered his final year of high school as the recipient of a prestigious Jerome J. Reso Jr. Scholarship, which the Brothers of the Sacred Heart annually awards to a single student among its 11 schools nationwide and in two other countries.
The scholarship covered Weikum’s full senior year tuition at Saint Joseph, a blessing for his family, especially with college commencing in the fall at the University of Rochester, where the precocious and ambitious student will once again be opening new doors.
“I have watched Michael mature and develop into a remarkable young man, poised to transform our world into a better place,” Cabrita said, noting Michael gave back to his classmates and teammates as a peer mentor and team leader.
“He is a young man that is mature beyond his years and who is selfless in his actions. I am looking forward to seeing the impact Michael will have in all that he does in the future.”