June 1, 2018

St. Mary High School graduates express gratitude, hope for future

REGIONAL
Story and photos by Sharon Roulier

 

 

WESTFIELD – For Danielle Bovat, graduation day from St. Mary High School was “bittersweet.”

The valedictorian for the Class of 2018 had been a student at the parish school since kindergarten. Bovat joined her fellow graduates for the 115th Baccalaureate Mass and Commencement Exercises June 1 at St. Mary Church, here. She is one of 20 graduating seniors from the Catholic high school.

“It’s an exciting day,” Bovat said in an interview with Catholic Communications. “We’re moving on to the next chapter of our lives, but it’s also sad to be leaving this place we’ve called home for so many years.”

The valedictorian from Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament Parish will be attending Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio, majoring in education. In her commencement speech she reflected on the many accomplishments of her fellow classmates while expressing gratitude for the sacrifices that their parents and family members have made to ensure they had a Catholic education.

“We would not be here today without the support, guidance and love you have given us along our journey to discovering who we are and who the Lord created us to be,” said Bovat.

Springfield Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski was the principal celebrant for the 6 p.m. Mass, concelebrated by Father Frank Lawlor, pastor of St. Mary’s, Father Ryan Sliwa, parochial vicar of St. Mary’s, Father Daniel Pacholec, pastor of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament in Westfield, and Father Brian McGrath, pastor of St. Mary Parish in Lee. Also serving on the altar were Deacons Roger Carrier and Pedro Rivera.

Bishop Rozanski praised the graduates for their commitment to education and urged them to go out into the world to bring “the presence of Christ to others.”

The bishop said in an interview following the commencement exercises that it was important for the graduates to “be ambassadors for the Lord Jesus in the world, taking their education and using it so wisely because they have received a great gift.”

Salutatorian Kevin Rockwal, also a parishioner of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament in Westfield,  attended public elementary schools in Westfield and came to St. Mary’s in ninth grade. He said he was grateful for his high school education.

“They really pushed me academically but also just beyond academics to be a leader,” said Rockwal. “I think that’s really important going into college to be self-driven and I think that’s what St. Mary’s preached here, to do it yourself and work hard and you’ll get results.”

Rockwal will be attending Providence College in Rhode Island this fall, majoring in finance with a minor in history.

Kathleen Hogan-Friguglietti, principal of St. Mary’s since January, told Catholic Communications that it was a “dream come true as an administrator to work with such wonderful children.”

Hogan-Friguglietti, who had been a retired Westfield Public Schools administrator, was serving temporarily following the departure of principal Nichole Nietche. Father Frank Lawlor, pastor of St. Mary’s, has announced that Westfield native Matthew Collins has accepted the position of principal of the high school for the 2018-19 academic year.

Hogan-Friguglietti said the graduating seniors were “exemplary in so many ways — in scholarship, in athleticism, in their service components.”

“We have twenty wonderful ‘Saints’ leaving us, but we hope this is the beginning of another one hundred years here for St. Mary’s,” she said.

The high school was faced with closure in March of this year due to declining enrollment and financial challenges, with a total of 83 students enrolled and nine enrolled for the next year’s freshman class. However, a $300,000 one-year nonrenewable grant from the Springfield Diocese has given the school community an opportunity to build enrollment and raise funds to ensure a future for the high school.

Among the stipulations of the diocesan grant are that the incoming freshman class have an enrollment of 20 students and that all future incoming freshman classes meet or exceed an enrollment of 30 students. The diocese also requested that the school reconstitute its school board and address unpaid lay employee pension contributions.

In addressing the graduates during the commencement exercises, Father Lawlor said that the day was “one of those great highs.”

“It is an opportunity for all of you who have refused to back down,” he said. “Today is a great day of hope.”