Dear Alumnae,

It's a joy to connect with so many of you, whether on my travels around the country or on your visits to your dear alma mater. We're proud of your achievements and the impact you continue to make in your communities. You are the vibrant realization of the promise of a Holy Names education. 

Because I have spoken with so many of you and have heard your accounts of the transformative experience you had here, I speak with great confidence to prospective families of the gift of a Holy Names education. I am pleased to share that more and more girls are benefiting from this gift. Enrollment is up thirteen percent this year and we are expecting another substantial increase next year, with several daughters and granddaughters of alumnae among those calling Holy Names their second home.

Holy Names remains a beacon of inspiration, and your ongoing support is the foundation of our success. I hope to see some of you at the upcoming Gala and at other alumnae events. Let's continue to foster connections, celebrate accomplishments, and empower future generations of leaders.

Stay connected, stay inspired, and keep shining brightly.

Warm regards,

Marty Kilbridge

President

The Mount Rushmore of beloved figures at Holy Names is so extensive, you’d need more than one range to include them all. This year’s recipient of the John H. Farrell “Building the Future” Award is surely among them.

Helen Caulfield Spiro ’78 is a Holy Names lifer. Her mother is an alumna. So are her sisters and her niece.

That’s why she had no problem taking Sr. Constance Casey up on her offer to teach Chemistry. “She said ‘try it for a year, and if you don’t like it, you don’t have to do it again.’ I ended up staying for eight years.”

Join us on Friday, May 3 for our Spring Gala!

6:00 p.m. Cocktail Reception with Open Bar

7:30 p.m. Dinner and Program

9:00 p.m. Dessert, DJ and Dancing

Help us celebrate our 140 years-strong legacy of empowering young women to pursue their passions, develop their potential, and live a life of purpose.

Helen Caulfield Spiro ‘78 will be honored with the John Henry Farrell Building the Future Award for her service and dedication to Holy Names. Her commitment to the school and our student body has helped in AHN’s growth and development, leaving a lifelong imprint on our campus, families, and students.

Holy Names Education Offers Perfect Prescription for Tackes

Going straight from high school to pharmacy school can be a bit jarring, but not for Dr. Courtney Caimano Tackes ’08. She says she was well-prepared thanks to her Holy Names education.



“Many students struggle academically when they first start this program, but I had already taken rigorous classes at AHN and developed great study skills that I was able to use from the start of pharmacy school. I was able to become involved in extracurriculars on campus much sooner because of this, which helped develop my interpersonal skills and become a well-rounded student.”

The late scientist Dr. Carl Sagan once said, “you have to know the past to understand the present.”

That’s the drive that’s kept the story of Academy of the Holy Names – in all its iterations – alive, and it’s been a passion project for Holy Names Archives Coordinator Mary Ellen Scally Conboy ’61, and Dick Kernan, a former 39-year IT employee of Albany Medical Center.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. That’s been the experience of Maureen Baillargeon Aumand ’64, who says while the years and the technology may have advanced over the decades, the values of AHN continue to hold strong.

“My most cherished memories from my AHN years besides a strong sense of tradition and camaraderie have to do with Glee Club and exposure to the arts in many forms,” says Aumand.

There’s nothing quite like finding out you’re going to be a Panther!

Congratulations to Evelyn on her acceptance to Holy Names! Evelyn, daughter of Andrea DiDio ‘99, will be joining AHN as a sixth-grader in the fall.

Three cheers for Reagan '31, on her decision to come to Holy Names, just like her mom, Trisha McLean '01. We love to see everyone in their AHN swag!

You never know where you’ll see a Holy Names alumna! Admissions Director Ann Rento ‘81 attended the KIPP Tech Valley Schools High School Fair and bumped into alumna Rhianna Francine Potocki ‘14 who teaches Middle School there.

AHN was on the move in Naples, Florida.

Thank you to the Murray family (John, Kelly '77, and Mary Kate '12) for opening their home for an alumnae gathering, which included an appearance from Dr. Kilbridge and Kristin Vivian, Director of Institutional Advancement.

Please share your news & notes with us, including wedding and/or birth announcements (with pictures if possible) and make sure your contact information is current to be kept up to date on alumnae news and events. 

We remember our alumnae who have passed away between December 14, 2023 and April 12, 2024 and ask you to keep their families in your prayers.

Kathleen Gallivan Casazza ’66

Katherine Burns Gorruso ’66

Mary Birch Fenn ’61

Susan Barbone ’60

Mary Margaret Riccardi Maloney ’57

Mary Ellen Hogarty Kiernan ’53

Marion Frank Harwick ’54

Jeanne McCarroll Black ’52

Agnes DiTrapano Franco ’51

Matilda Tarzia Duncan ’47

Margaret Mary McCabe Smitas ’47

Rosemary Dyda Chonski ’46

Join fellow AHN alumnae and friends for Brunch at The Rail at the 1863 Club

Sunday, July 28 at 11:00 a.m.

$100 for AHN alumnae

$125 for guests

Includes entry fee, buffet brunch, coffee, tea, soda, tax & gratuity and first drink from the bar. 

Registration will be live the week of May 6!