Many Opportunities Lead Back to St. John’s for Multifaceted Alumnus

That ethos has served Mr. Cruz well, as he has found success and fulfillment in three disparate careers. He has practiced law for more than three decades, primarily in criminal defense. He also works as a freelance sports photographer, covering all the major college and professional teams in the New York area. He recently came full circle when he returned to St. John’s as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at The Lesley H. and William L. Collins College of Professional Studies.

“All roads lead back to St. John’s,” he stressed. “St. John’s gave me an opportunity to get an education,” he recalled. “Most people who come here are looking for that opportunity. It’s up to you what you do with it.”

A native of the Bronx, NY, Mr. Cruz feels a connection to all five boroughs of New York City, almost all of which he has either lived, worked, or attended school. The middle child from a household with three boys, Mr. Cruz fondly recalled his upbringing. 

“We certainly had our struggles,” he admitted, noting that his family initially lived in a housing project in the Castle Hill section, but eventually rented a house in the same neighborhood several blocks away when he was 11. “The block we lived on was very tight-knit, and we all bonded together.” 

He added that he made some lifelong friends during those formative years. “Our family did all the things you expect families to do. All three of us were involved in Little League, we went to day camps in the summer, and we attended the same Catholic grammar and high schools.” 

During his sophomore year at St. Raymond High School for Boys, Mr. Cruz tragically lost his father to a car accident, leaving his mother to raise their three sons by herself, which he acknowledges “was a handful.”

Neither of Mr. Cruz’s parents attended college, so when the time came to consider higher education, there was no one to help him navigate the process. While in high school, Mr. Cruz was intrigued by St. John’s. 

“I won’t lie—1985 was my sophomore year in high school, and that was the year St. John’s Men’s Basketball team went to the Final Four in the NCAA [National Collegiate Athletic Association] tournament,” he said. 

Mr. Cruz recalled how the city found itself swept up in the enthusiasm surrounding the team. While he stressed that was not the sole reason he considered St. John’s, he felt that excitement made the University resonate with him more strongly at the time. He also considered Rutgers University and Penn State University, among others. 

“Ultimately, the big factor for me was that I didn’t want to leave New York City,” he said, adding that he had yet to experience all the city had to offer.

He visited St. John’s with his mother, which cemented his desire. Upon reflection, Mr. Cruz felt a deeper meaning to that fateful decision. 

“It’s the word ‘opportunity,’” he said. “St. John’s allowed me to demonstrate that I can do this. I can enroll in college, get through it, and I can graduate—and it’s something I never forgot.”

Mr. Cruz stressed that he didn’t jump out of the gate “with flying colors” at St. John’s, but his professors and advisers counseled him wisely. “All I wanted was that opportunity—to prove that I could get where I needed to go regarding my academics.”

Starting as a Business major, Mr. Cruz immediately recognized that was not for him. He switched to Psychology, which held greater appeal but ultimately differed from where he would land. He took a sociology course that introduced him to Criminal Justice. 

“And that’s where I truly felt at home, so I switched a third time [to Criminal Justice]. I felt at home with those professors and eventually made my way to the Dean’s List. After that rough start, I had a real appreciation for what I was learning and what I wanted to do.”

Mr. Cruz initially found his entrée to campus life through his love of the Men’s Basketball team. He started attending games as a first-year student and his enthusiasm for the team remains undimmed. He made several lifelong friends at St. John’s as well.

“I recognized the importance of being immersed in the community beyond simply going to class,” he said, and joined the Criminal Justice Student Association as well. 

Toward the end of his undergraduate career, Mr. Cruz began seriously considering law school but felt a gnawing doubt over whether he was up to the task. He credited Oscar Holt III, Esq. ’73Ed, ’76GEd, ’79L, Retired Associate Professor, Department of Criminal Justice and Homeland Security, as the faculty member who influenced his decision to attend. 

“Oscar Holt is the reason I went to law school. He is why I got through law school,” Mr. Cruz reflected. “When I hesitated, he pulled me aside and gave me the mother of all pep talks. He made me believe I could do it, and referenced some of what he went through. I walked away from that conversation saying there’s no way I’m not going to go after this.”

Ultimately, Mr. Cruz attended Seton Hall University School of Law, and considered a career as  a prosecutor. After passing the bar examination, he interviewed with several district attorneys’ offices throughout the city, but no offers were forthcoming. 

After clearing all those personal hurdles, Mr. Cruz felt enormous gratitude toward all who supported him on the journey. “But I was a little frustrated, and began to think maybe this wasn’t meant to be,” he said. 

He secured a position at a firm specializing primarily in housing court, bankruptcy, matrimonial law, and some criminal defense. It was the latter in which he found his true calling. “I became super passionate about my clients and the process,” he said and began applying to criminal defense organizations.

The Legal Aid Society, the oldest public defense organization in the city, hired Mr. Cruz. “I never looked back and have been doing that ever since,” he said. “I feel that it is a career for which I was destined. It definitely has its challenges, but I look back at all my years doing this work and feel like I am doing what I am meant to do.”

Triage is a word Mr. Cruz uses to describe public defense, especially when he entered the profession. Organizations are often underfunded with intense caseloads. “You always must be mindful of your present clients and what you have down the road. There’s a lot of juggling.”

At Legal Aid, Mr. Cruz worked for their Juvenile Rights Practice in the Bronx, primarily representing juveniles charged with crimes in Family Court. He was eventually promoted to Assistant Attorney In Charge for their Queens Office. 

After almost ten years at Legal Aid Mr. Cruz wanted to transition to representing adult clients and eventually joined New York County Defender Services, practicing in Manhattan Criminal and Supreme Court, and conducting numerous jury trials—an aspect of practice he was passionate about. In 2016, he joined the Center for Family Representation (CFR), a practice devoted to representing parents charged with an offense in Family Court. 

Mr. Cruz is Director of Holistic Practice and is the supervisor for the organization’s Immigration, Civil, and Criminal Defense practice areas. He was hired to develop their criminal defense practice, which he helped to build from the ground up. “I love what I do there,” he said. “It’s gratifying.”

Amid a busy legal career, Mr. Cruz sought to broaden his horizons. “I felt like I had reached a point where I wanted to pick up a hobby.” Little did he know, this hobby would evolve into a second career with roots in his St. John’s experience.

Throughout his life, Mr. Cruz loved photography. “I was always that guy who was taking pictures. I can’t point to any one thing that caused that passion to resurface, but I was a little older and decided to buy a nice camera.” 

He started doing portrait work and landscape photography, but as a passionate sports fan, he felt a strong pull toward sports photography. In addition to basketball, Mr. Cruz passionately followed baseball and football, and both teams for which he rooted (the New York Mets and the New York Giants) won championships during his formative years.

“I thought this was a perfect fit for me,” Mr. Cruz stressed, realizing he needed to develop a portfolio to be taken seriously for jobs. He was a member of Rumble in the Garden, an online community devoted to St. John’s Athletics for years. Mr. Cruz reached out to its editor, offering his services to photograph games or events as an internship of sorts, in turn allowing him to gain experience and showcase his work. 

“The first event I covered was a Men’s Basketball Tip-Off, and, most importantly, I met professional photographers who do this for a living,” he explained.

Eventually, Mr. Cruz was asked to fill in for the site’s regular photographer and he photographed his first event at Madison Square Garden. “I jumped at the opportunity because I never worked there before.” 

Another photographer he met through Rumble in the Garden took Mr. Cruz under his wing and began mentoring him. Unbeknownst to Mr. Cruz, this man recommended him to USA Today Sports, who contacted him to cover a Mets game. 

“I thought someone was playing a joke on me,” he smiled. He’s been working as a freelancer for them ever since, photographing every New York sports team, including St. John’s.

“I love photography,” he said. “It’s hard to put into words how much I enjoy it. I never take it for granted because I started doing it later in life. I’m fortunate that I don’t see practicing law or photography as work.”

Alumni involvement means a great deal to Mr. Cruz, and the passion with which he discusses St. John’s is evident. To that end, he joined the Advisory Board of the Criminal Justice Society a few years ago. During a meeting, he mentioned that he applied for an adjunct position at Hofstra University. 

Antoinette Collarini-Schlossberg, Ph.D., Chairperson and Associate Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice and Homeland Security, told Mr. Cruz there was a position open in The Lesley H. and William L. Collins College of Professional Studies. “The fact that this opportunity was offered to me at St. John’s was something I couldn’t say no to,” he said.

Mr. Cruz is also a member of the Red White Club, The Loughlin Society, and The McCallen Society. “These organizations are so profoundly important to the University,” he noted. 

“I tell my students you may not realize it now, but at some point after you graduate, the fact that you went to St. John’s will come up in some way, shape, or form in your professional field. Maybe every school can say that, but I think that there’s something unique about St. John’s compared to other schools in New York City—the University’s vast, 198,000+ alumni network, for one.”

Ultimately, Mr. Cruz observed that this role is the most rewarding. “It gives me a chance to connect with whom I like to refer to as future alumni. I love being in a position where I can hopefully shape someone’s ability to think analytically or think about what they want to do with their career, goals, and life beyond college. If I can be that Professor Holt to a student, then I’m really paying it forward.”