Anthony Albano, Vivienne Bersig, Michael Bonura, Nolan Brown, Rachel Canfield, Andrew Cracolici, Vincenzo Cracolici, Riley Crysler, Shalin Damacharla, Isaiah Davis, Tomas Esparra, Amelia Gatt, Honoree Goncalves, Sean Hinspeter, Sebastian Lagrosse, Yeva Iievleva, Genesis Laucer, Nevaeh Mercado, Julianna Minos, Inviol Obiero, Sophia Pacheco, Shane Petrollese, Chase Piotrowski, Maeve Prendergast, Julian Ramos, Elias Rios, Sebastian Rodriguez, Tomas Sargios, Shailah (Loren) Simmons, Kyle Sommers, McKayla Sukeena and Cristian Velez completed their academic journey at Bishop Dunn Memorial School [BDMS] on Friday, June 16.

As this chapter of their lives has closed, each of these graduates now look forward to their individual high school journeys they are about to embark on.

For several BDMS students prior to the ceremony, they each shared thoughts and feelings of nervousness as they now make their ways into high school. Though they may not see each other each day anymore, many of them will continue to remain close and look forward to what the future holds for them and remember the lessons that they have learned along the way while at Bishop Dunn.

“I’m excited and I’m excited for the summer and also for high school,” said Velez. “Thank you for everything, for forming me into the person I am now.”

“I’m very excited. It’s like a new journey in life and we got to start off fresh and see what happens,” said Sargios. “You should never doubt yourself and always be confident. If you feel confident, then you’re gonna strive and push yourself to go to better places.”

“I’m not nervous about losing contact with my friends, because I think my friendship with everyone is really strong,” said Simmons. “Use your voice, God gave you a voice and that’s something you should use.” “Friendship is key. We should always find people that are good to you,” said Sommers. “I’m ready to leave and have a new beginning. I’m gonna miss the whole entire seventh grade year because that was really like the year that I became close with everybody” said Obiero. “If you have confidence, then you can really have a good relationship with other people.” “You should surround yourself with good people, and even good teachers” said Sukeena. “Live in the present.”

On Friday morning, the graduating class of Bishop Dunn began with a celebratory mass in the Chapel of the Most Holy Rosary in the Dominican Center at Mount Saint Mary College, offered and led by Father Gregoire Fluet, chaplain of the Mount.

Following the celebration of mass, Nancy Benfer, Principal of BDMS, offered remarks to the class reflecting on the athletic events, school events, students’ various quirks and even the period of unknown during the COVID pandemic, which interrupted in-person instruction. Despite all the challenges and all the memories, this group of students have completed their academic journey and are now ready to pursue other ventures heading into high school.

In the later part of the ceremony, several awards were bestowed upon the graduates for their academic and personal achievements during their time at Bishop Dunn. Several of these awards were given to selected students who met the requirements of the honor. The New York State Comptroller Students Achievement Award, an award given to students who demonstrated outstanding academic and leadership performance in middle school, was awarded to Inviol Obiero and Genesis Laucer. The Service Award, an award given to a student who has demonstrated continuous service to the school, whether during traditional school hours or even after school, was awarded to several students that included Anthony Albano, Micheal Bonura, Isaiah Davis, Andrew Cracolici, Tomas Sargios, Vivienne Bersig, Vincenzo Cracolici, Sean Hinspeter, Genesis Laucer, Maeve Prendergast, and Cristian Velez. The New York State Attorney General’s Triple “C” Award, given to students who demonstrated commitment, character, and courage, was awarded to Yeva Iievleva and Sean Hinspeter.

The President’s Education Award for Academic Achievement, an award given to students who have demonstrated a high level of achievement in academics, athletics, and/or their artistic abilities, was awarded to Anthony Albano, Vivienne Bersig, Rachel Canfield, Andrew Cracolici, Vincenzo Cracolici, Shalin Damacharla, Isaiah Davis, Tomas Esparra, Honoree Goncalves, Amelia Gatt, Sean Hinspeter. Genesis Laucer, Inviol Obiero, Sophia Pacheco, Chase Piotrowski, Maeve Prendergast, Kyle Sommers, Mckayla Sukeena.The President’s Education Award for Academic Excellence, an award given to students who have demonstrated academic excellence throughout their 8th-grade year by maintaining an overall average of 95 or higher and no class grade lower than 90, were awarded to Michael Bonura, Tomas Sargios, and Cristian Velez. The Susan Trieste Catholic Education Award, an award given to a student who is continuing their commitment to Catholic Education by attending a Catholic High School and who upholds all of the core values of the Catholic Church, was awarded to Sean Hinspeter.

The Jena Cassalina Awards for Courage, Individuality, and Perseverance were awarded to Anthony Albano for Courage, Shailah (Loren) Simmons for Individuality and Tomas Sargios for Perseverance. This award at Bishop Dunn was created in honor and remembrance of Jena Cassalina, who was a student of the school. Teacher Brigid Killelea, who also taught Jena, shared that she was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis and passed away during her eighth grade year. Holding back tears, Killelea was joined by Eric Cassalina, brother of Jena, to present the award to the student. Eric was also a student of Killelea’s when he attended many years prior.

The BDMS Academic All-Star, formerly known as the Principal’s Award, was an award given to the student who has maintained the highest overall grade point average throughout the 2022 eighth grade year. This year’s recipients were Michael Bonura and Christian Velez. The final award, the Bishop Dunn Award, given by the faculty of Bishop Dunn to a student who demonstrates strong faith, respect for others, and genuine kindness, was awarded to siblings Andrew and Vincenzo Cracolici.

As the ceremony concluded, the graduates made their way out of the Dominican Center and took one last group photo on the steps and proceeded to Aquinas Hall for refreshments.

The middle school teacher also wished their students the best in their endeavors with a special message on the program. “Congratulations on achieving this momentous milestone in your middle school journey! We are very proud of all your achievements. We thank the parents for their unwavering support throughout the year and for celebrating this special day with us.”