Updated May 21, 2009, 10:30 a.m., with names of graduates and picture of Class Salutatorian Jonathan Lamano.
Chicago Heights, IL–(ENEWSPF)– Marian Catholic High School held its 48th Commencement Exercises Monday at the Holiday Inn Convention Center in Tinley Park. There were 379 students in the graduating class. The class Valedictorian was Christina Brow of Flossmoor. Jonathan Lamano of Orland Hills was class Salutatorian.
The class has earned more than $15 million in college scholarships.
Following are the names of the Marian Catholic High School Class of 2009:
Karli Abbey, Oluwabunmi Abraham, Shanee’ Adetunji, Carlos Alcantar, Danielle Alexander, Jennifer Ambrosini, Clare Anderson, Daniel Anderson, Joshua Anderson, Allison Angell, Jazmyn Arrington, Zachary Arrington, Rae Ashby, Andre Ashmore, Jonathan Avila, Brian Baliga, Shaun Banicki, Regis Banks, Teresa Banks, Tyler, Banks, Ryann Bardwell, Meagan Barrett, Justin Barron, Sean Barry, Charles Beard, Rhandi Beaty, Nicholas Bender, Michael Benignetti, Emily Binford, Alexander Block, Rebekah Bohlen, Michelle Bond, Ryan Boren, Santina Branch, Amber Brand, Patricia Brazis, Michelle Britt, John Brooks, David Brost, Christina Brow, Kyla Brown, Reahna Bruce, Alex Brzeszkiewicz, Andrea Caffarini, Courtney Carlson, David Carlson, Natalie Carollo, Kyle Carroll, Mia Carta, Jackie Cash, Anna Ceragioli.
Danielle Chiaramonte, Sharita Childs, Mitchell Clark, James Clarke, Caitlin Clough, Nathaniel Coburn, Cory Coleman, Sean Conley, Rebecca Conneen, Margaret Conway, Carlos Coronado, Julie Corradetti, Tavia Crigler, Matthew Crosetto, Walter Cunningham, Danielle D’Arceneaux, Andrew Danek, Rachel Dau, Douglas Davenport, Martin Davis, Fruenze Deadmon Jr, Melissa Dean, Meaghan Dee, Sarah Dejanovich, Lauren Denton, Sandra Denton, Jacqueline DeRidder, Angela Desalle, Michael DeYoung, Laura DiLuia, Michael DiLuia, Parrece Drain, Roseann Drosos, Brittany Ducksworth, Benjamin Dunajeski, DiJon Dunmore, Caleb Dyson, Mario Earnest, Danielle Edgeworth, Brett Edwards, Mallory Eggert, Ashley Eiland, MacArthur Engstrand, Eric Federico, Madelyn Feranec, Bethany File, Jennifer Finlayson, Emily Fitzsimmons, Antonio Fiumara, David Fleming, Adrienne Foresta, Christopher Formosa.
Joshua Forney, Melissa Franco, Gia Franklin, Chantal Freeman, Stephen Fulton II, Joan Furjanic, Christopher Gallagher, Michael Galullo, Sabrina Gamino, Michael Gardner, Kelly Garrity, Michele Gbur-Shapiro, Michael Gergel, Gabriella Giannetti, Michael Giannoni, Jessica Gibbs, Sarah Gliottoni, Matthew Goedke, Bryan Golubski, Jorge Gonzalez, Gregory Gordon, Lindsey Graham, Charnelle Grant, Christina Gray, Jeremy Green, Anthony Gregor, Joseph Gregori, Colin Griffin, Katherine Hackett, Keith Haines, Michelle Hanacek, Matthew Hartl, Christopher Haskin, Kaitlyn Hathhorn, Daisy Hernandez, Joanne Hernandez, Tiffany Hicks, Alexandra Hobby, Cassandra Hohner, David Holliday , Emily Hughes, Olivia Jackson.
Selita Jackson, Tayler Jackson, Neal Jacobsma, Megan Jedrysiak, Melissa Jedrysiak, Keith Jennings, Aja Johnson, Brian Johnson, Dylan Johnson, Janelle Johnson, Donavin Jones, Jaclyn Jones, Mary Jones, Dennis Julliano, Nicholas Kaczmarczyk, Christopher Karlin, Sarah Kasper, Sinead Keaney, Jordan Kelly, Kelly Kent, Chelsea Kershaw, Tiayrra Kirkwood, Ashley Kirner, Robert Kleber, Daniel Klipper, Zachary Klupchak, Matthew Knott, David Knuth, Michael Knuth, Katherine Kohler, Katlyn Komorowski, Kristy Kopman, Molly Kordas, Kara Kremer, Zoe Kronenberg, Michael Kubas, Scott Kucharski, Joseph Kudra III, Dana Kuehr, Lisa Kuersten,, Jonathan Lamano, Ovell Landers III, Diamond Lang, Elias Larson, Falon Lawson.
Alan Ledesma, Gabrielle Lesniak, Kimiya Lewis, Carolyn Liesen, Kelly Liesse, Casey Lilek, Roland Lim III, Kevin Linde, Joel Lopez de Nava, Armando Lopez, Rachel Luehrs, Ariel Lumpkins, Jennifer Lydon, Madeleine Lynch, Jeremy Macklin, Rachyl Madigan, Michael Malizia, Brittany Mallo, Michael Mangerson, Mark Marianovich, Catherine Marijan, Melinda Markert, Jacob Martin Jr, Colleen Marvinac, Langston Matthews, Rachel Matusz, Lindsay Mazza, Ian McAvoy, Sylvia McClinton, Katherine McCormick, Misha McCullough, Samantha McCune, Joanna McDowell, Arielle McFadden, Margaret McGlone, Michelle McNichols, Lauren Mendoza, Amanda Meyer, Christopher Middleton, Jordan Richard Miles, Teronse Miller II.
Grayson Mitchell, Eric Mlcoch, Ahmad Moghadam, Weston Molyneaux, Justice Moore, Matthew Moore, Michael Mulhearn, Michael Mundo, Brendan Murphy, Taryn Muzzo, Taylor Newhuis, Andrew Nicholas, Ashley Nickel, Lauren Nix, Kaitlyn Norris, Kelechi Nwabara, Megan O’Neill, Patrick O’Neill, Erin O’Shea, Paul Obbagy, Enyinnaya Okebugwu, Ashley Orendorff, Hannah Owczarek, Quianna Owens, Alan Paape, Alanna Pacelli, Benjamin Packard, Samantha Paige, Marissa Pallotto, Philip Palmisano, Daniel Panici, James Panozzo, Lidia Panozzo, Michael Panozzo, Natalie Paul, Nicholas Payne, Trevor Pelock, Winston Pennington-Flax, Erika Perez, Jada Perkins, Austin Perry, Chloe Peterson, Jessica Peterson, Jordan Peterson.
Katie Pietraszak, Emily Pochinskas, James Policchio, Julie Popelka, Jordan Porter, Lauren Prusa, Amanda Przybyla, Alicia Pugh, Angela Quatrini, Michael Rago, Erin Reed, Aron Reid, Arthur Riley, Damonte Riley, Ryan Riley, Clayton Robinson, Jewel Robinson, Max Rodriguez, Thomas Roome, Daniel Roque, Andrea Rosandich, Emily Rosandich, Tiffani Rosati, Kandice Rose, Krystal Rose, Gregory Rossbach, Ryan Rudolf, Julie Rzeszutko, Courtney Saenz, Matthew Salasky, David Saucedo, Eric Sauseda, Stephani Savary, Joseph Schaberger, Christopher Schammert, Gabrielle Schmitz, Daniel Schramm, Noeli Serna, Nicholas Sheets, Christofer Skurka, Michael Slimski, Cassandra Smith, Christopher Smith, Erika Smith, Lauraetta Smith, Aubrey Sparrey ,Nicholas Spinozzi, Caitlin Stanley, Reid Steinbach, Mac Stevenson, Patrick Strange, Clare Stuber, Mary Sullivan, Joseph Swanson.
Frank Tambrini, DaNee Terry, Kyle Tilley, Brandon Tilton, Lindsey Todd, Douglas Tolish, Crystal Torres, Emily Torres, Veronica Truby, Jeremy Turner, Kaila Turner, Jacqueline Tuskan, Ryan Ronald Udowitz, Emily Utermark, Alexcia Valdez, Lauren Van, Alexa VanderHye, Teresa Veal, Joseph Vega, Dana Ventre, Robert, Viater, Juan Villasenor, Garrett Von Schaumburg, Whitney Wandland, Nicholas Ward, Jorie Warren, Shannon Washington, Taylor Washington, Michelle Wasil, Evan Watson, Jeanne Weber, Jessica Weiler, Courtney Wesley, Ryan Whitebloom, Alyson Wiley, Ashley Williams, Jae’briel Williams, Jasmine Williams, Jerusha Williams, William Wilson, Andrew Winburn, Julie Windish, Lauren Witczak, Isaiah Woods, Ayana Worthey, Lanie Young, Bryan Zavala, Julie Zielinski.
The following is the Commencement Address of Valedictorian Christina Brow of the class of 2009:
On behalf of the Marian class of 2009, I would like to welcome our family, friends, faculty, and staff to our Commencement Ceremony. In general, graduation is a time of change. As we end our high school career, we begin the next phase of our lives, whether it is college, work, or the military. Although this moment may seem surreal, it is in face a reality. Our hard work and perseverance, coupled most importantly with God’s grace, have enabled us to succeed.
However, I along with my classmates know that this success would have been severely limited had it not been for the support system that we have. For the past four years, we have received help in various forms, whether it is family, teachers, coaches, or friends. There exists the idea that we experience God’s love through our interactions with others. As we reminisce these past four years, we will perceive how contingent our success was on the help of others. I know from first-hand experience how essential family is in life. My loving and steadfast mother always provided the simple, logical perspective that I somehow always failed to see while my crazy yet cerebral father constantly reiterated Robert Browning’s belief that “a man’s reach should exceed his grasp.”
I am sure my classmates also have experienced similar support and encouragement from their parents. Even though we at times fail to recognize it, my classmates and I truly see how dependent we are on our parents. They have given up so much so that we will succeed. This graduation recognizes student accomplishments, yes, but it also acknowledges the parents and their overwhelming sacrifice and love.
I also believe that we would not have reached graduation without the hard work and sacrifice of the teachers. These teachers spent time after school, helping us understand ideas and problems that we failed to comprehend. When we missed a number of days of school, we were given a satisfactory amount of time to finish completing the assignments. The teachers provided us with a stable, safe environment that enabled us to learn to the best of our ability. They challenged us in various ways, whether it was composing a biology poem, creating a poster about the trade of the Silk Road, reading one play, three essays, two short stories, and more than ten books in one year, or learning about a topic as complex and esoteric as Taylor series. I at times wondered whether this knowledge would truly make me a better person; I contemplated the purpose of memorizing the “To be or not to be” soliloquy. However, despite my passing doubts, I know why the teachers continue to challenge us in these ways. They are proponents of the philosophy of Frank McCourt’s teacher, who believed that “the mind is a palace…One must fill it with jewels.” These teachers enriched our lives through knowledge, and we will forever be grateful.
Marian Catholic will forever be with us. Although this may sound trite, it is incredibly true. Marian provided access to so much information, be it Thoreau, Freud, Rutherford, Virgil, or Newton. By teaching us so much, Marian showed us what little we did know. It emphasizes Alexander Pope’s insight that “a little learning is a dangerous thing. Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring; there shallow drafts intoxicate the brain, and drinking largely sobers us again.” By humbling us, Marian encouraged us to continue our quest for knowledge. This is why many of us will attend college: to learn.
Besides the academic realm, Marian is also comprised of the social and service spheres. Students bonded as they attended and participated in sports events. They watched the performing arts and applauded their achievements. By joining different clubs, we met one another and found similar interests. As students participated in the different retreats, they learned to see one another from different perspectives; they realized that everyone has a past. My classmates and I also learned not only about each other but also about the outside world through service. Marian provides us with the opportunity to help others, which ultimately enabled us to see that a world does exist outside of Marian; we are responsible to that world and to those people.
Ultimately, Marian taught us a sense of humility and responsibility. As we graduate today, we will take with us the memories, friendships, and knowledge. I can offer no words of wisdom since I myself am apprehensive about the future. I know that Marian has prepared us well, yet I am also aware that the outside world will not be as understanding and lenient as Marian. Every one of us will be an unknown, and consequently, we will seldom receive the benefit of the doubt. Also, I question if we can truly continue to be scholars with souls in this competitive, materialistic world outside of Marian. As Keith Cleversley says, “it is easy to be a holy man on top of a mountain… where one feels awake, alive, and connected.” Similarly, it is easy to practice one’s faith in a religious school; it is quite another to maintain that faith in a secular atmosphere. However, I believe that the class of 2009 will persevere and continue to be scholars with souls who make up the Body of Christ. By attending Marian, we have been taught to have faith, both in ourselves and in others. As we venture out in the world, we must continue to have faith and believe that we can make a difference. We must follow Gandhi’s advice and “be the change we wish to see in the world.”
With God’s grace, we can make the Kingdom of God a reality in people’s lives. I wish everyone success in their future endeavors. Congratulations Class of 2009 and God bless.
