Friday the Thirteenth turned out to be a lucky day indeed for the Class of 2011. That afternoon, all Academy high school students convened in the Brady Center to celebrate accomplishments of the graduating class at the annual Senior Honors Convocation. Suspense built throughout the program as the audience awaited the announcement of the cherished “final awards” that represent the culmination of four years at Academy.
The first final award went to Hannah McNamara , who was named by her classmates as the most outstanding member of the Class of 2011 for her service as Student Council President, school spirit, and personality. Katie Martin received the American Legion Award for outstanding character, scholarship, leadership, and service. The winner of the Mother Marie-Rose Durocher Alumnae Award was Caitlin Vaka, who “possessed the qualities fostered by Mother Marie-Rose, including character, service to others, and dedication to the AHN community.”
The Dads Club presented its School Achievement Award to scholar-athlete Lindsey Hahn, who stole the show by winning multiple awards. Last, Meredith Zingale earned the Mothers Association Award as the graduate who is “most representative of the school in character, leadership, school spirit, dependability and responsibility.”
The afternoon of awards began with Senior Class President Meredith Zingale’s traditional opening address by the class leader. Thanking parents, friends, and faculty, she said, “As we move to the next phase of our lives, let us keep in mind these simple, yet profound words about character: ‘We must adjust to an ever changing road while holding onto our unchanging principles.'”
The distribution of honors then began as Principal Mrs. Camille Jowanna, Assistant Principal Mr. Jack Mullarkey, College Counselor Ms. Kerry Keegan, and Senior Coordinator Mrs. Amy Kafantaris proclaimed the various accomplishments of the Class of 2011 as Student Council President Hannah McNamara and Vice President Derecia Timmons handed out awards.
The ceremony commenced with the naming of subject-specific academic honors and the distinction of club officers. Faculty members then distinguished those seniors who had gone above and beyond requirements for community service, demonstrating a basic principle of Blessed Mother Marie Rose in service to others; Meredith Zingale, Lindsey Martinez, and Alexandra Davila accumulated the top amounts of service hours, with 575, 609, and 633 hours, respectively.
Next Zingale returned to the lectern once more to present the check for Senior Endowment. On behalf of the Class of 2011, she proudly handed Mrs. Patti Bohannon a check for $91,391.09, the largest endowment contribution of a senior class in the Academy’s 130-year history. This moment represented the culmination of the tireless work of the graduates, who united to become one of the closest and most persevering classes in recent years.
The final announcement of college choices was then delivered by Ms. Keegan. As each senior’s name was called, accompanied by her selected college or university, she stood to be recognized by the entire audience. Many girls decided to stay close to home, with forty-three of the seventy-six members attending schools in Florida, while some chose to pursue educational opportunities across the nation as far away as New York and California.
Others had hard decisions to make when they received multiple acceptances from universities with competitive admissions criteria, often turning down schools such as Georgetown and University of Virginia, to attend schools such as Duke University, the University of Notre Dame, Vanderbilt University, Boston College, and Georgia Tech.
Scholarships for earned achievement included Samantha Seal’s Bailey Family Foundation Scholarship and Lindsey Hahn’s National Merit Scholarship to attend Georgia Tech. Mrs. Jowanna then announced the highest academic honors of the class with Hahn as Valedictorian and Lindsey Backman as Salutatorian.
The audience applauded every senior for her achievements at Academy, even giving a standing ovation at the end of the convocation. Ms. Emily Humphries Wise, Director of Communications, summarized the seniors’ outstanding efforts, stating, “The class earned over $6 million in scholarships; served over 17,000 community service hours; 100% of the class is college bound; they were accepted into 105 colleges/universities; 38% of the class are members of the National Honor Society; and 61% graduated with honors.”
