In the month since the sudden passing of social studies teacher Joseph Seidel, the Townsend Harris community has come together on multiple occasions and in various ways to commemorate his life and legacy.
Most recently, Mr. Seidel was honored at graduation last Tuesday. Early in the ceremony, Assistant Principal of Social Studies and World Languages Rafal Olechowski described this year’s graduation as both a celebration of 2026 graduates and a tribute to Mr. Seidel’s life.
“This year, we will also commemorate the life and work of our beloved teacher, Joseph Seidel,” said Mr. Olechowski. “For the next two hours, let us fill this room with joy, pride, adoration, and respect for four years of hard work by our graduates, and twenty-two years of dedication by Mr. Seidel.”
Social studies teacher Francis McCaughey gave a speech at graduation detailing important life lessons that Mr. Seidel taught.
For one lesson, he cited the proverb “make hay while the sun shines,” which literally means to dry cut grass into hay while the sun is still shining, and figurally advises people to take advantage of opportunities while they still can.
“This lesson has urged people to make the most of opportunities while they can for thousands of years,” said Mr. McCaughey. “As you move through life, don’t lose your opportunities. Making hay might be an expensive vacation or concert…but it doesn’t have to be. Sometimes it can just be a meal with friends.”
During the speech, he recalled how Mr. Seidel made time for his family and for his own passions, while constantly encouraging students to find time for their own family, friends, and passions.
Directly after Mr. McCaughey’s speech, Senior Class President Mohammad Nasrallah announced that this year’s senior gift will be a bench dedicated to Mr. Seidel.
“In a school filled with students constantly focused on the next assignment, Mr. Seidel reminded us to appreciate the little moments and to never underestimate a simple act of kindness,” said Mohammed. He said that Mr. Seidel taught students to appreciate the “little moments” and that the bench will offer a place where students can “share quiet moments” in between classes to foster the kind of “connection and community” that Mr. Seidel promoted.
In addition to the graduation ceremony, the Public Forum (PF) Debate team, which Mr. Seidel helped start and advise, held a memorial service open to all students.
The memorial, held days after Mr. Seidel’s passing, was announced via an Instagram post that said, “We welcome anyone who would like to come celebrate his life, share memories, or simply sit with us as we remember an incredible teacher, advisor, mentor, and person.”
The memorial was initially scheduled to take place after school in room 435 but had to be moved to rooms 642 and 643 due to high turnout. The memorial lasted for two hours in total because of the sheer number of students and staff who joined to share their memories of Mr. Seidel.
Some students came with prepared remarks and others joined on the spot, encouraged by the thoughts their peers shared.
PF Debate co-captain and junior Methulia Medage opened the memorial and spoke on Mr. Seidel’s involvement in the team. “He was someone who liked to be intricate, especially when it came to sending the debate team halfway up the northeast coast, miles away from home,” she said. “He would worry like a father, calling us every day and sending us off with his signature message of wishing luck: ‘give ‘em hell.’”
“Just last week, we conferred multiple times regarding the [board] election committee. My partner and I were ‘spilling the tea’, (his words, not ours), whilst he patiently listened,” said PF Debate member and freshman Sofia Starcic. “It was then he shared that we reminded him of his daughters and expressed his excitement at having us as his students junior year.”
After students spoke at the memorial, staff who worked closely with Mr. Seidel shared their memories with him, including Mr. McCaughey, Mr. Olechowski, and social studies teacher Eleni Sardiña.
Ms. Sardiña shared how Mr. Seidel encouraged her to make the best of every moment. “He asked me what I was doing every weekend, and he was like, ‘you’re young. You’re not allowed to go halfway. You better be doing something fun’,” she said.
On the same day as the PF Debate Memorial, the Civic Leaders of America (CLA) and Green Team clubs planned to put up tree guards outside of the school in honor of Mr. Seidel.
CLA President and TreeAGE Queens Borough Organizer Lucas Phildor said, “I’m glad that the tree guard event was able to bring Harrisites together after such a tragic event.”
In addition to these memorials, over the past month, Ms. Sardiña tasked her AP Research and APUSH students with making origami cranes to be hung around the 4th floor as a symbol of Mr. Seidel’s impact on THHS.
In room 415, where Mr. Seidel co-taught with dean and social studies teacher Ian Morzan, students have also been contributing messages about Mr. Seidel on a bulletin board that will remain in the classroom.
Mr. Morzan spoke to The Classic about his colleague. “We had a lot of fun. A tremendous amount of fun, whether it was just joking, celebrating our students, or talking about our families,” he said. “He was absolutely the kindest man, and we would bring each other lunch. We were really, really close, and he was just a great friend. He always had my back. I always had his back, and we could count on each other.”
Prior to teaching at THHS, Mr. Seidel taught at Kurt Hahn Expeditionary Learning school in Brooklyn. There, he became close with Mr. McCaughey and Assistant Principal of Pupil Personnel Services Shikira Chang, who shared photos of outings she shared with Mr. Seidel and their families.
In an interview with The Classic, Principal Brian Condon said that Mr. Seidel was initially hesitant about leaving Kurt Hahn to teach at THHS. “I met him six or seven years ago from our first interview. I kept trying to hire him, and eventually he got here,” said Mr. Condon.
“The minute I started talking to him about teaching, [I knew] that he would be a good fit here, and that he would treat kids well,” Mr. Condon said.
In his very first interview with The Classic he said, “With the first eighteen years of my career, it took me a while to become the good teacher that I was. I felt that if I could succeed here, I would prove to myself that I’m a good teacher.”
In the many memorials and reflections shared over the past month, community members from across the school have affirmed that Mr. Seidel met and exceeded his goals at Townsend Harris.
