Mr. Mark Salvatore Pitifer likes to tell people he’s a Geneva guy. It’s where he grew up, it’s where he went to school, and he has even coached there. When you look back on the 40 years that Mr. Pitifer gave to Waterloo Central School District, however, there’s no question that he bleeds Waterloo Orange and Black. 

“I got attached to these kids and this school,” he said. “It was a hard decision to leave. People really don’t know the emotions I’m dealing with.” 

Mr. Pitifer is leaving Waterloo to bring Project H.O.P.E to the students at his alma mater Geneva City School District, four decades later than he thought he would. Project HOPE exists to support at risk students en route to graduation from Waterloo Central School. 

“When I started Project H.O.P.E we had a growing number of students who were dropping out, and who had issues with engagement,” Mr. Pitifer explained. “I came up with the idea: why not take the most troubled kids and see them every day?” 

Project HOPE became a class where students would meet with Mr. Pitifer, share their stories, bond with others, and even shoot some hoops if there was time. He estimates that it has successfully supported around 300 students over the past 14 years. His office walls were filled with mementos from Project H.O.P.E alumni, from newspaper clippings to family photographs and everything in between. There’s also a Wall of Fame in the middle school’s eastern corridor, with pictures of Project H.O.P.E graduates in their caps and gowns. Everyone is smiling. 

Mr. Pitifer is not afraid to hide from his own past. He uses it as an example to build up others. 

“When I meet with a student who’s struggling, I compare what they’re doing with where I was in grade school,” he explained. “I was failing every subject except physical education, and not doing my homework. I can look at even the most troubled students and say ‘hey, at least you’re higher up the mountain than I was. All we’ve gotta do is tweak what you’re doing now.’” 

“Mr. Pitifer is a father figure to every student he works with,” said Thomas Castiglione, a 2020 graduate of Waterloo Central School and a Project H.O.P.E alumnus. “It didn’t matter what kind of student you were. If you didn’t know how to let your light shine, he was there to help.” 

Mr. Pitifer’s guidance has inspired Castiglione’s own journey towards being a guidance counselor. He is taking online classes with Southern New Hampshire University while working full-time, and hopes to do the kind of work Mr. Pitifer does someday. 

“He knew where my heart and mindset should be, and he inspired me to take the mantle,” Castiglione said. 

Mr. Pitifer can connect with any student who comes to him, but he admits his favorite students to work with are at-risk middle schoolers.  

“If you put me in a high school doing high school counseling, getting kids into college, you're wasting my skills,” he said. “It's like asking Michael Jordan to play baseball. Give me the kids who are downtrodden, or see no hope in their lives.” 

He’s seen it all in his career: students with broken homes, problems with substance abuse, and deep emotional issues. For these students and many more, his presence was the guiding light they needed. Scotty Knowlton, a 2017 graduate of Waterloo Central School, admits he doesn’t know where he would be if it weren’t for Mr. Pitifer. 

“I was in the principal’s office every day,” Knowlton admits. “Whether it was because I was being the class clown or getting in fights, I just couldn’t stay out of trouble.” 

As he got older, his behavioral issues meshed with more personal demons. In his sophomore year, Knowlton faced expulsion from the school. It was Mr. Pitifer who went to bat for him. 

“He put his career on the line for me, just so I could graduate,” Knowlton said. But even after he graduated, life was still complicated. It only felt like he got back on track a few years ago. 

“[Mark] was there for me through all of the ups and downs,” Knowlton said. Like Castiglione, Knowlton has been able to share the light Mr. Pitifer gave him. “I’ve attended AA meetings throughout Seneca County, telling people about my experiences.” 

There are countless stories of Project H.O.P.E alumni benefiting from Mr. Pitifer’s guidance, from their middle school years all the way into adulthood.  

“Working in guidance is all about making connections,” Mr. Pitifer says. “All kids want is someone who will listen to them, and who can tell them ‘I’m here for you.’ 

“This is such a beautiful community,” he said about Waterloo. “There’s a lot of faith here. I don’t think it would be possible to give kids that feeling of faith in themselves if Waterloo wasn’t that way.” 

Although it breaks his heart to leave Waterloo behind, the opportunity to spread hope to another district is one Mr. Pitifer can’t pass up. 

“I am one of the luckiest people alive,” Mr. Pitifer said. “I never would've felt this way if I didn't pass through little Waterloo, NY. It’s been a wonderful ride.”