Richard Sylvester '01
So many Riordan alumni look back on their time in high school fondly and continue to give back to their alma mater in many meaningful ways. A select few give back by coming back and recreating the same incredible experience for future generations of students. For Richard Sylvester, class of 2001, teaching at Riordan was an early dream that he would quietly keep his eye on for many years.
Before he was a Crusader, Rich was a student at Our Lady of the Visitacion School and followed his older brother, Thomas ‘98, to Riordan. Rich especially remembers his teachers who worked so hard to engage and entertain their students. English and science were some of his favorite subjects and Catcher in the Rye, an early gem. “I’d never read anything like it,” Rich recalls, “and my teacher snuck it in a Hamlet unit of all places.” Unlike Holden Caulfield from Catcher, who dreams of escaping high school, Rich harbored a dream that he might one day pursue teaching.
In the last week of his senior year, during a chem lab, Rich remembers a friend asked their teacher, Mr. Powell, whether he would make a good lawyer. Mr. Powell answered, “Absolutely.” Emboldened, Rich asked a similar question: what do you think I’ll grow up to be? Mr. Powell said, “Anything you want.”
That interaction encouraged Rich to share his dream with other teachers, like Mr. Valdez and Mr. Dalton, who were equally supportive. Mr. Dalton predicted correctly, “You’ll be a future department chair.”
The path back to Riordan, however, was a zigzag voyage of many tracks with stops at UC Berkeley, CCSF, and UC Riverside. “At times it felt like I was moving backwards,” Rich humbly reflects, until he found his purpose and passion as a creative writing major. After his teaching program and 11 years as a teacher and department chair at SFUSD’s Abraham Lincoln High School, a chance encounter with Riordan’s principal at a home football game would kick off the process that brought Rich home to his alma mater.
Asked what advice he had for his students pursuing their own dreams, Rich answered, “If you work really hard and are kind to people, things have a way of working out.”
His kindness and work ethic are well-known among his colleagues. “Kind, humble, and pragmatic: Rich is one of the most exceptional teachers on campus,” remarks Dean of Academics Diana Assereto.
Since returning to Riordan, he also gives yearly to the Riordan Fund and loves to get his students excited about Giving Day. It’s the small things that matter to Rich. “One person doesn’t have to do much, but together we can accomplish a lot.”
At home in Daly City, Rich and his wife are raising two young children and future Crusaders, who doubtless already know, with some hard work, they can pursue their dreams and become anything they want.
