On Wednesday, May 22nd, Oakland Catholic held its 24th Commencement ceremony at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall. The 162 members of the Class of 2013 were present to accept their diplomas and celebrate with family, friends and members of the Oakland Catholic community as they said goodbye to Oakland Catholic and moved on to the next chapters of their lives. President Katherine D. Freyvogel offered opening remarks before Salutatorian Danielle Harrington delivered her address. Danielle, who will attend Boston College in the fall, spoke of the incredible community that her class became during their four years together, learning to contribute their respective gifts and talents in order to succeed. Danielle explained:

"Albus Dumbledore once wisely reflected, 'We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided.' I think I speak for the entire school when I say that we have a truly extraordinary class. The incredible outpouring of encouragement and respect we have received from the faculty, administration, and underclassman stand as a testimony to the mark we have made on the Oakland Catholic community in our four short years here. I believe that what enables our class to be so successful is not only the wide variety of talent present in the members of our class, but our ability to utilize that talent as one cohesive group. ...During the last four years, Oakland Catholic has provided us with a firm academic and spiritual foundation. Our class has been able to use that intellectual and spiritual basis to understand how to work as one to reach our goals."

Commencement Speaker Marie Milie Jones, founding partner of the law firm JonesPassodelis, P.L.L.C., followed Danielle's Salutatory Speech with her Commencement Address. Ms. Jones congratulated the Class of 2013 on their many achievements while at Oakland Catholic and assured them that their time in high school has prepared them for whatever they may be faced with in the future, especially with faith and spirituality on their side:

"You will have many big decisions in life. Oakland Catholic has taught you about this too. The education you received included a critical component beyond the definition of a French word or the calculation of a physics equation. It is more than improving your writing skills or learning the periodic table of elements. Your education at Oakland Catholic reminded you every day that there is a higher reason for everything that you do or should do. It provided an academic basis with fundamentals of what it means to be a good person. Oakland Catholic preaches that you can learn a skill set but you must utilize that skill set with a heart. This background, this undercurrent of faith and religion will allow you to make important decisions in life and to do so with comfort. You will realize as you have to make more of those life decisions that this comfort is critical."

Following the Commencement Address, Assistant Principal Sharyn Zalno presented the graduates and Principal Dr. Maureen Marsteller conferred the diplomas. After each graduate had received her diploma, Valedictorian Kate Girdhar, who will be attending the University of Notre Dame, gave her address, noting the strong foundation that an Oakland Catholic education has provided the Class of 2013:

"We are about to embark on journeys that will become stories of our own. And where will we be led? No one can say for certain. But along the way, our actions will be defined by the foundations we have laid, in our days at Oakland Catholic. We are rooted in spirituality, scholarship, and service - strong, deep roots - and with this foundation, we are prepared to face the many challenges that may come our way. We have found, in faith, a safe haven and home. We know and have confronted the challenge of academic rigors. We recognize the value of each other and understand our responsibility to serve others with our lives."

The ceremony concluded with Dr. Marsteller's closing remarks in which she commended the Class of 2013 for their strength of school spirit and community and sent them off into the world as the newest graduates of Oakland Catholic High School. Congratulations to the Class of 2013!

Salutatorian Danielle Harrington and Valedictorian Kate Girdhar.

Commencement Speaker Marie Milie Jones.




Administration with National Merit Scholarship Finalist, Andie Seabrooke.

The crew team recently raised money to purchase a new boat, which they deemed the St. Catherine of Siena, named for the Saint and for Oakland Catholic President Katherine D. Freyvogel. A Blessing and Dedication of the new boat was held on Thursday, May 16th at the Millvale Boat House. The crew team and their families as well as Oakland Catholic Administration were all present at the Dedication ceremony. Very Reverend Lawrence A. DiNardo, Vice Chair of the Oakland Catholic Board of Directors, was also in attendance to perform the Blessing Ceremony. Even before the Dedication Ceremony, the St. Catherine of Siena was making headlines by becoming the first boat in the history of Oakland Catholic crew to earn a Varsity 8+ Midwest championship medal. The team's third place medal was earned at the Scholastic Rowing Association National Championships which took place in New Jersey during Memorial Day weekend. Congratulations to the crew team on the dedication of their new boat and on all of their accomplishments this season! Good luck for a successful 2013-2014 year!

Congratulations to the eighteen women who have been selected as the 2013 Leading Ladies and who will be recognized at the Leading Ladies X Gala on October 3, 2013 at the Westin Convention Center-Hotel Pittsburgh. These women were chosen because of their achievements in their professional fields and their contributions to the community. We are grateful to all of our Leading Ladies for accepting their nominations and supporting the mission and advancement of our school. Their personal and professional accomplishments are inspirational to everyone in the Oakland Catholic community.

Mia Bocella-Hartle   

Filmmaker, Bocella  Productions  

Senior Manager, Marketing Operations & Charitable Giving, UPMC Health Plan

Meg Cheever

President & CEO, Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy







 

Sr. Rosemary, Donley, SC, PhD, APRN, FAAN Professor, Duquesne University School of Nursing

Mary Ann Dunham, Esq.
Shareholder, Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC







 

Mary Lee Gannon

President, St. Margaret Foundation

 

Christy Gross  

Owner/Commercial-Residential Outside Sales-Unity Electrical Sales Inc. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    

Mary Anne Hanna

Community Volunteer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bonnell Irvin   

Vice President, Provider Contracting & Relations, Highmark BlueCrossBlueShield  

 
 

 

  

 

 

    

 

Beth Marcello    

Women's Business Development Marketing Manager, PNC Financial Services Group

 

 

Meredith McDonough    

News Anchor, WESH 2 News, Oakland Catholic High School Alumna

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sr. Cecilia L. Murphy, RSM 

Former Academic Dean of Saint Vincent Seminary, Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, Pittsburgh Regional Community  

 

 

Rona Nebit, CPA    

Chief Financial Officer, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

Susan Rauscher  

Executive Director, Catholic Charities of Pittsburgh  

 

Jean Ann Streiff

Chair, English Department, Oakland Catholic High School

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kathleen A. Sullivan, PhD, RN 

Chair, Division of Education and Nursing, Professor, LaRoche College  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Charena R. Swann, PhD 

Licensed Psychologist, Cygnet Clinical Services

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kristen Ifft Wells, Esq. 

Partner, Reed Smith LLP

 

Terri & Mike Clark   

Honorary Chairs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 2013 Leading Ladies joined the Oakland Catholic Administration, Advancement Office and past Gala Chairs for a luncheon on Tuesday, May 14, 2013 at Fox Chapel Golf Club. During the luncheon, which serves as a kickoff to the Gala in October, Leading Ladies were given the opportunity to meet one another and the Oakland Catholic staff while learning a bit more about our school and its mission. Guests also met Event Chair Colleen Totten and heard remarks from President Katherine Freyvogel and Honorary Chairs Mike & Terri Clark. The luncheon was a wonderful way to bring the 2013 Leading Ladies together and to build excitement and support for the Gala that is now just a few months away!

Rising senior Stephanie Franciscus had the opportunity of a lifetime when she was chosen to dance in CLO's production of 42nd Street,which ran from May 31st-June 9th at the Benedum Center. Stephanie dances at Carpelz Center for the Arts and was notified by her teacher, Heather Goelz-Carpenter, of the invite-only audition. After auditioning in February, the CLO contacted Stephanie in April and offered her a spot as one of twelve tap dancers in the teen ensemble which joins the main ensemble on stage for the opening number. Stephanie performed in all twelve shows that ran at the Benedum from May 31st-June 9th and worked with many amazing actors, dancers and singers, not to mention Joey Fatone, who played Bert Berry in the show! Not even halfway through her twelve show run, Stephanie shared her feelings about the experience and what it meant to her: "I never stop smiling. No matter how out of breath I am from all the tap dancing, I have the time of my life up on the stage. I am so blessed and thankful for this incredible opportunity and when I arrive for call time, it just feels like a dream to me. The whole cast is absolutely so nice, sweet, and humble, and Joey Fatone is hilarious! Again, I am so honored to be apart of this musical and get to share my talent and passion with a bigger audience." Congratulations on this amazing opportunity, Stephanie!    

The Oakland Catholic Fund Commitment Form 

Educational Improvement Tax Credit, commonly referred to as EITC, is a Pennsylvania state program that gives business owners and corporations the opportunity to receive credits on their state taxes which can then be designated to Oakland Catholic High School for tuition assistance. 

Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit, commonly referred to as OSTC, is a Pennsylvania state program that provides tax credits to eligible businesses contributing to an Opportunity Scholarship Organization. Business contributions are then used by Opportunity Scholarship Organizations to provide tuition assistance in the form of scholarships to eligible students residing within the boundaries of a low-achieving school to attend another public school outside of their district or nonpublic school. A low-achieving school is defined as a public elementary or secondary school ranking in the bottom 15 percent of their designation as an elementary or secondary school based upon combined math and reading Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) scores.  

Please contact our Director of Alumnae Relations and Annual Fund, Caitlin O'Brien-Rice, at 412.682.6633 x263 or email cobrienrice@oaklandcatholic.org with any questions!  

Please email 25years@oaklandcatholic.org or call Betsy in the Advancement Office at 412.682.6884 with any questions.

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