When as a middle school student, a young David Deramo ’93 was looking for the right private parochial school fit he had two criteria in mind: A school with both a strong academic program and a strong athletic program. It didn’t take long to find one place that fit the bill on both fronts. “I wanted a competitive, high-caliber education and found it at Bergen Catholic,” says the Ridgefield native. After graduating first in his class, as well as enjoying a successful four-year career on the Crusader baseball team, David carried his love of sports to his life’s work as an orthopedic surgeon specializing in sports medicine. In practice for nearly 10 years at Englewood Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Surgery, David partners with his cousin, orthopedic surgeon Robert Doidge, whose sons Rob and Drew are also Bergen Catholic graduates. “Being a former athlete I think helps me in treating young athletes,” he says. “I tell them I was there once, I know how anxious they are to get back on the field or on the court but it’s important to do it the right way, to make sure that 10 years from now they’re not developing a complication from undertreatment or mistreatment. My job as a doctor is to get them back playing, but to do it safely.’”
Currently living in Harrington Park with his wife, Jeannine, and their daughters Ava, 12, Kaitlyn, 9 and Ella, 6, life can be hectic for a doctor and father of three. “We stay busy with our girls’ activities. You’d be surprised how quickly time gets dwindled away when you have sporting events and everything that comes with having three young ladies in the house,” he says. Looking back at his four years at Bergen and considering important life-long influences, one teacher in particular, Brother Jensen, stands out for the way he taught his students, inside of the classroom and out. “Brother Jensen was my math teacher as well as my sophomore baseball coach,” David recounts. “But what he really taught me was about life. He was very ill with kidney disease, but you would never know it, he was such a positive force. He loved us and wanted us to learn. I can’t speak enough about how much he taught me about being a good person,” he says. The call to help others, which he credits to his education at Bergen Catholic, doesn’t stop when his workday ends. “I joke that I’m invited to backyard barbeques with friends in case someone gets hurt,” he says. “But I would never say no to anyone. I see a slew of kids every week right in our kitchen who need an injury to be checked out,” he says. “I’d never turn anyone away… my friends can always depend on me if they need help.” David serves as a Class Chair for the Class of 1993 and is proud to say he remains close to his classmates to this day. “We try to get together when there is a Hall of Fame dinner at Bergen Catholic or a state playoff game. I also make a point to get together for dinner with them every few months and we see each other in the summer at the shore. Without a doubt, to this day, if I needed something the people I would reach out to first would be my friends from Bergen Catholic, and I hope I would be that person to my friends as well.”
