WARWICK — Independence. Friendship. Education. These things matter more to Stephen Baker than the certificate he earned at Villanova University through the VUnited Scholars Program. The two years he spent there taught him academics but brought so much more to the 23-year-old. This spring, Baker became the first student who came through the Brother Thomas Leto Options Program at Bishop Hendricken High School to also graduate from a Catholic university.
When asked how he felt at graduation, the young man ran a finger down his cheek, indicating his sadness at leaving the school that had left such a mark on him, not to mention the friends he made along the way.
The journey, however, began years earlier, in 2016, when he was preparing to enter high school. His mother, Kerry, shared how she began searching outside the public schools for something “a little more faith-based, community-based.” So, when she drove by Bishop Hendricken in Warwick one day and stopped on a whim, she said, “I could feel the Holy Spirit. I just knew as soon as I walked through there; I had this deep feeling of peace.”
In her mind, she had expected only to stop in and pick up information about the Options Program, “but God had other plans.” She ended up meeting with the principal, who spoke to her about the program and even stayed to watch the Unified basketball team play a game in the gym. Stephen loves sports, Kerry said, and between watching the Options students paired with their mentors and the prayer before the game, she knew he belonged at Bishop Hendricken.
That day, she also met Martha Murray, the driving force behind the Options Program.
“She was my guiding light and my angel that day,” Kerry remarked. As the meeting drew to a close, Murray embraced Kerry and, from one special needs mother to another, assured her that she understood, and that Stephen would become a Hawk.
Months later, a benefactor sponsored a large portion of Stephen’s tuition. Neither benefactor nor Baker family realized their connection at the time – they sat near each other at St. Kevin Church in Warwick when the Baker boys were young.
At the end of 2019, Stephen began to take ill and by the following spring was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma. Kerry spoke about the “wonderful support system” Stephen had at Bishop Hendricken and a video the other students sent him while he was in the hospital.
“The outpouring of love and care was beyond human words,” she stated.
Treatment delayed his entry into the VUnited Program, but the program was delayed due to COVID, so Stephen began the year after its inception. According to Kerry, he learned more independent living skills and made more friends than he could have if he’d remained at home.
“I can’t believe how quickly the time passed and what a significant difference that we had seen, even when he’d come home for breaks,” Kerry said. “Every time he came home, you could notice very significant differences, especially at the end of two years, just the way he held himself, the content of what he was talking about and even communication on the phone.
“I never set his limits on where he could grow, but it was just a great opportunity for him to reach levels that he was capable of going and I think he’s got a lot of gas left in him.”
Stephen agrees. He enjoyed the college experience, being independent and socializing with others. During his time at Villanova, he interned at the ASPCA and the Camden Aquarium nearby, both of which fit his interest in animals – Stephen loves to fish – and worked with the men’s and women’s basketball teams. He plans to return to Villanova for Fall Fest, to “see my friends, talk to them, see how they’re doing,” he said.
Murray noted that even with both the Options and VUnited Scholars programs, “We’re not going to change the world,” but added that: “if you just see those pictures of our graduates and what they’ve brought to Villanova and what the students at Hendricken have brought” to their peer mentors and other students, one might just see a spark of hope and promise for those with disabilities in the Church.
