Our School

by Michael Gauthier '24 

For the National Eating Disorder Awareness Week (February 27th-March 3rd), Holy Cross High School invited three representative mental health therapists, Michelle Santos, Hellen St. Germain, and Felicia Lewis, from Community Mental Health Associates (CMHA). Students and faculty members participated in a NEDAW discussion where the three therapists explained how to be mindful in approaching a personal or a companion’s eating disorder. 

The honoring of NEDAW was made possible thanks to the Holy Cross club “Helping Hands,” which strives to make Holy Cross, along with the Greater Waterbury Area, a better and more comforting place for all. 

Mrs. Jodie LaCava McGarrity ’93, the advisor of Helping Hands, explained that the club wanted to pursue the honoring of NEDAW so the school could recognize it as an all-inclusive topic – an issue that both males and females undergo – and that there are open resources within and outside of Holy Cross for people who are enduring the disorder.

Student leaders who organized the conference, notably Sal Caruso ’23 and Mary Grace Washburn ’24, both had something to share on the topic.

“For me, it means spreading awareness and having people know that this is a time for learning and growth,” said Mary Grace. Mary Grace also believes that through Holy Cross’s commemoration of this week, the school has become more open to the subject. This is something the students are more proud of since the school recognizes and acknowledges the disorder while taking steps to address it and help those who are battling in silence. 

Sal Caruso felt the need to address the topic with the intent of reaching students and educating them about the importance of acknowledging the subject. “The truth is that most people do not understand the depths of eating disorders and how they can develop to dangerous levels, dangerously fast,” he explained when asked about his intentions for why he wanted to reach the students. Sal elaborated by saying, “being a male who has recovered was the most difficult time in my life… It was embarrassing because I didn’t feel valid as a guy with such a struggle.” 

Sal’s personal account of living with the disorder reveals how people you least expect can be struggling with an eating disorder; for not only Sal, an outgoing student both academically and sociably, is not the only person who has been struggling, but many other well-known athletes and celebrities have fought eating disorders and overcame their struggles just by reaching out and talking to someone about their battles.