There are some people whose charisma, friendliness, welcoming personality or hardworking attitude resonates with others and leads to long-lasting impressions or friendships.
Angelina Porchetta describes her son, Rocco Rodden, as having had all those qualities. In the year since his death, she has heard the phrase “I feel like I have known Rocco my whole life” time and time again.
Rodden was born in Summit and was a lifelong resident of Warren Township. He was a junior at Saint Joseph Regional High School in Montvale, where he was a passionate member of the football team. His mother said he was a charismatic kid who worked hard, had countless friends and treated everybody like family.
Others who knew him well described Rodden as authentic, kind, extroverted and wise beyond his years, with a larger-than-life personality and an infectious smile. They said he treated everyone like a cousin or a true brother.
Last year, during the early morning hours on Thanksgiving, Rodden was fatally stabbed at the address of an ax-throwing establishment in Tribeca.
The next day, 19-year-old Gianluca Bordone was charged with manslaughter and assault. He was arraigned on an indictment by a grand jury in July and released on a $1 million bond. As of late November, the case was still pending, with the next court date scheduled for January 2025.
In the year since his death, Rodden’s mother, other family members and people who knew and loved him have built a foundation in his honor. It originally set out to raise money in his name for Saint Joseph, but it has grown into the massive Rocco Rodden Memorial Scholarship Fund, which aims to honor local students who embody the person Rodden was.
“I think for me, talking about him is very healing, and giving out these scholarships to all these different schools is just a testament to what Rocco really is and who he was,” Porchetta said. “He was friends to everyone. He always made everyone feel welcome. He made everyone feel like family.”
This year alone, the foundation will be giving out $50,000 to $60,000 in scholarships to students at several local schools, all of it raised through donations and fundraisers. The group plans to honor the schools where Rodden had a lot of familiarity and close relationships, on and off the football team.
The foundation’s largest fundraiser to date was called “A Knight to Remember” and was held at The Venetian in Garfield. Over 600 people attended the Oct. 16 event, which included dinner, speakers, an auction and more.
Several area schools were represented at the fundraiser, said Porchetta, who emphasized the fact that many different people and communities came together in honor of Rodden.
Allyson Barbieri, treasurer, board member and the mother of one of Rodden’s best friends, echoed the sentiment, saying, “His legacy really brought all of these schools together … As a parent and as a parent of a player at one of these schools, the outpouring of love and generosity, it just gives me chills.”
She continued, “It’s just been absolutely nothing short of amazing. Everyone came together. All these schools, the heads of the schools, the kids in the schools, the coaches, they have all been so amazing, and everyone just bonded and came together because of Rocco. That is a testament to who he was, because he was like that. He brought everybody together, was family to everybody.”
The board, which is made up of several people who had close connections with Rodden and each bring something different to the table, intends to make “A Knight to Remember” an annual event. More fundraisers will be held throughout the year.
Since the foundation’s creation in March, other fundraisers have taken place in the form of merchandise sales, including specific merchandise created for a memorial game in Rodden’s honor at Saint Joseph.
All of the money raised has gone toward the scholarship fund, and that will continue.
“We expected to raise a couple dollars to give out to these schools, and it superseded anything we could have ever imagined,” Porchetta said. “He really impacted a lot of people, and I always knew that about my son, but I really know it now because it is just so apparent.”
