LEADERSHIP & LEGACY: Another Sit-Down With Newark Academy’s Trustees

Newark Academy’s Board of Trustees (BOT) is a group of dedicated community members with key leadership roles who share an enduring passion for the school, its mission and its ethos. The NA trustees volunteer their time to help safeguard the school’s values, while providing strategic and financial oversight and guidance. In continuation of this LUMEN series launched in Fall 2022, we invite you to learn more about Newark Academy’s trustees, their backgrounds and their commitment to the NA community. LUMEN sat down with current NA trustees Lawrence “Larry” Cetrulo ’67 and Lauren Hedvat ’01 — both of whom are “NA lifers,” having come to the school in the sixth grade — to learn more about their personal lives, their lifelong connections to Newark Academy and their experiences on the Board.

Larry Cetrulo ’67

Larry Cetrulo’s NA education began at the school’s previous location at First Street in Newark and continued through the school’s move to the Livingston campus in 1964, when he began his sophomore year. Up until his graduation in 1967 from what was then an all-boys’ school, Larry was a three-sport athlete who delighted in Minutemen fencing, football and baseball. He is a member of the Newark Academy Athletic Hall of Fame and received NA’s Alumni Achievement Award in 2017 in recognition of his success in the field of law. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Harvard College and a master’s in education management from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education, and a J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law.

Larry joined the NA Board of Trustees in 2012. He serves as the board secretary, chair of the Advancement Committee, and member of the Headship and Trusteeship Committees. In addition to his service to NA, Larry is a corporator emeritus at Northeastern University, a member of the elected Board of Harvard Varsity Club, and a former member of the Board of Advisors for the New England Center for Children, Tufts

University School of Medicine, and a corporator for The Cambridge Homes. Larry is the founding partner of Cetrulo LLP, a Boston law firm. He and his wife, Lynn, reside in Cambridge and Truro, Massachusetts, and are the parents of four adult children, and 10 grandchildren.

A Debt of Gratitude

Ask any of Larry’s close circle of friends what he is known for, and they will tell you that he is a lover of sports and has had an impressive law career spanning 47 years. While you can often find Larry playing a round on any number of challenging golf courses, lately he has spent more of his days visiting his 10 grandchildren in Florida, California and Seattle.

“I’m very happy in the law and in my law firm, and I am deeply involved in planning a transition of the firm to the next generation,” Larry says. “I’m not worried about filling my time!”

Larry lives his life following the mantra of having “an attitude of gratitude.” Before arriving at NA, he recalls being uninspired by his previous school experiences and seeking inspiration by cutting classes. He thanks his parents for making financial sacrifices in order to place him in what he discovered was a more stimulating environment.

“During my years at Newark Academy, my father supported my brother at [Columbia University] and then in medical school,” Larry says. “It was a big sacrifice to have me in a private school, but [my parents] made that sacrifice and I’m forever grateful that they did.”

At NA, Larry found what he had been missing: a love of academic rigor and athletics. The Cetrulo family has a legacy in fencing that goes back to the early 1900s in Italy, so when Larry joined the NA team he also added to his family’s third generation of fencers.

“My family came to the United States without much except the clothes on their back and the will to succeed,” Larry says. “My debt of gratitude is almost limitless to Newark Academy. I loved the academics, the discipline and the rigor of it and the friends I made. Of course, I loved the athletics. I loved all of that about Newark Academy.”

Lifelong Connections and Service

When asked to serve on the NA BOT, Larry made the decision to serve the school in order to offer both a perspective from NA’s history and support current students. He encourages others who have the time and resources to volunteer and make philanthropy a top priority.

“I think that there’s a lot to offer in Board service. It’s very gratifying and uplifting,” Larry says. “Giving back creates a virtuous cycle that sustains the school.”

Larry knows the importance of this cycle firsthand. More than 90 years ago, his family established the Dr. Gerald I. Cetrulo Memorial Fencing Tournament, the oldest and most prestigious high school fencing championship for boys in the U.S. They also funded NA’s renovation of the Cetrulo Family Fencing Center as a way of enhancing and maintaining their family’s and NA’s fencing legacies. The upgraded facility, one of the finest fencing centers in the United States, opened in 2020 prior to a historic season for the Minutemen boys’ varsity team, which brought home its first-ever state championship banner during the winter of that year.

“Cetrulos have been fencing at Newark Academy since 1954,” Larry says. “I thought it was important to support the sport of fencing at Newark Academy because it meant so much to us. We wanted to make sure that the sport had a secure home and a state-of-the-art facility in which to excel.”

While Larry is passionate about NA Athletics, he also holds cherished memories and admiration for several former NA faculty members. He counts longtime NA teachers Robert “Bob” Hendrickson and Blackwood “Blackie” Parlin within this group and among the reasons why he remains connected to the school.

“Bob Hendrickson was a great mentor of mine,” Larry says. “He was my football and baseball coach. He was like a father figure to me and one of my heroes growing up. He was certainly an inspiration in my life. He meant the world to me, and I honor his memory and legacy.”

Of Blackie, Larry says, “Learning history from him was the most fun I’ve ever had in a classroom. Since then, I’ve had a lifelong interest in history.”

Hopes For NA’s Next 250 Years

As Newark Academy approaches its 250th anniversary during the 20232024 school year, Larry looks to the distant future. He aspires to have NA successfully celebrate a 500th anniversary in which the school is still upholding its standard of excellence, continuing to be recognized as a premier academic institution and having enhanced its ties to the city of Newark.

“Even though we’re out in Livingston now, we can’t and shouldn’t forget our legacy in the city of Newark,” Larry says. “When I retire, I will keep my involvement ongoing with Newark Academy. I see ways that we can improve an already outstanding experience, so I want to be part of that.”