Commencement Exercises for the Class of 2021

On Saturday, May 15, 477 Saint Anselm students triumphantly crossed the stage in front of Alumni Hall, as part of the college’s 128th commencement exercises. After a year and a half of living with the pandemic, the Saint Anselm College Class of 2021 celebrated their many accomplishments in the first large-scale event on the college campus since February 2020. 

College President Joseph A. Favazza, Ph.D., reflected on the contrasting emotions of sadness and excitement that the Class of 2021’s final event brought about, explaining that commencement is not the end, but the beginning.

Ready or not, the exploration now commences. And guess what? No one knows where the exploring will end. Just as the monks have discovered their forever home on this Hilltop and vowed never to leave it, you have discovered your forever home and, I hope, vow to never leave it behind."

— Joseph A. Favazza, Ph.D.

Video: Class of 2021 Commencement Ceremony Highlights

Video: Commencement Exercises for the Class of 2021 (Livestream Recording)

Video: Celebration of Commencement for the Class of 2020 (Livestream Recording)

Video: 2021 Nurse Pinning Ceremony (Livestream Recording)

Video: 2021 Baccalaureate Mass (Livestream Recording)

Video: Time-lapse: Commencement 2021 Prep

Photos: Class of 2021 Commencement Photo Gallery

Photos: Class of 2021 Nursing Pinning Ceremony Photo Gallery

Speeches and Remarks

President Favazza, Abbot Mark, the Benedictine community, faculty and staff, friends and families, and my fellow classmates of the class of 2021. Good morning.

If you attended the A360 retreat freshman year you received one of these (hold up key chain). An A360 key chain with the emblem of a compass on it. Now, if you are like me, you have carried this key chain with you for a significant amount of time around the Hilltop. Think about the different points on this compass and the many different directions it possesses. Every compass has a north point. This part of a compass is its true north, and it is a fixed point because it never moves. It is stable and reliable. The true north in many of our lives is right here. Saint Anselm College.

Now think about how you ended up where you are right now. What got you here? Maybe for you it wasn’t this key chain I have with me here today or anything to do with a compass, but whatever it is remember it, because it brought you here. Being from California myself was an added challenge when I first arrived on campus. Nonetheless, I persisted and found my place here on the Hilltop. What got me here and kept me in the place I call my home away from home was the outward love I felt when someone would hold a door for me, listening to Fr. Mathias’s homilies at Wednesday night masses, seeing a smile on a prospective student’s face while giving a campus tour, sharing laughs with fellow classmates in the Student Engagement office, reflecting with friends in campus ministry, and so much more. This all can be summed up into one word for me: community.

Over these four years I have come to understand the nature of this pilgrimage we all have journeyed on. When thinking about a moment that got me where I am today, I think of an impactful experience I had at this year’s senior retreat. About 30 seniors gathered in the lower church and listened to a reflection given by campus minister, Joycelin Raho. Joycelin started this reflection by having us close our eyes and told us to picture ourselves going on a hike on a beautiful summer day through the woods. She said that during the hike the well-groomed and well-marked path suddenly became rockier and more difficult slowing us down.

As Joycelin read this I began to look back on times of trial and doubt I have experienced here at Saint A’s, and I invite you to do the same: maybe it was that exam you did poorly on even after endless hours of studying in the library, maybe it was running out of Dav money before the end of the semester, maybe it was the sports injury you suffered that ended your season, maybe it was losing a loved one or a personal struggle with family and friends, the social and racial injustice that the entirety of this world has been confronted with this past year, or maybe it was our perseverance as an entire Saint Anselm College community through the COVID-19 pandemic and needless to say COVID-19 brought much pain and suffering to this community and communities throughout the world. Even if you have had an easier year, the suffering the world has endured is tumultuous.

Personally, my doubt stemmed from a night I shared with a few friends in Brady Hall during our sophomore year. I walked into my friends room and they knew something was not sitting well with me. We all proceeded to sit in a circle on the floor and share how anxious we were about our futures. I remember being so lost and thinking I had no direction in this moment. Nothing to guide me or point me in the right direction. Except maybe this (hold up compass). With the help of my friends, I was able to rediscover where my true north was.

After the rocky path and steep incline, Joycelin assured us in her meditation we would eventually make it to the peak of our climb. The peak of the climb is comfortable, clear, and more beautiful than we could have ever imagined, much like it is here on the Hilltop. As she said this I pictured the countless memories from these past four years: battling for that last cup of frosting at the annual gingerbread house contest, the unbelievably amazing Christmas feast dinner, Ingrid from Davison putting a smile on your face after a long day, watching friends walk 130 miles in honor of 9 charities from Lewiston, Maine to campus, ketchup dispensers magically disappearing from Coffee Shop, Service and Solidarity trips: where students travel throughout the U.S. in search of love, companionship and kinship with different communities, all-nighters filled with buffalo chicken calzones and Coffee Shop ranch, wobbling with fellow orientation leaders, Relay For Life, and our own personal and unforgettable memories we have made with roommates and friends.

This morning my fellow classmates we are on the Hilltop. It’s comfortable. It’s stable. The view from where I am standing is beautiful. In a few hours we must leave the peak of our climb and begin our descent down. And on the way down we will stumble and worry over which path we should take. Will we take that job or internship? What institution will we pick for grad school? Or will we take on the challenge of doing a year of service? Where does your compass point? Hesitant and unsure, we will take the path that we feel called to. The path may bring us to the comfort of familiar shade or to greater uncertainty, just like when we began our journey towards Saint Anselm.

My hope for all of us is that rays of sunshine come through the trees and land on all our shoulders; that familiar voices of friends we laughed and cried with remain with us, reminding us of the joy we experienced here on the Hilltop. And that we encounter new voices and faces we never imagined. If there is anything that these past four years have taught me it is this: the journey is difficult and at times uncertain, but it in the end it is worth every mile.

Thank you to faculty and staff who supported us in our educational dreams, thank you to the monks for opening your home and showing us the meaning of hospitality. Thank you all for reminding us where true north is. And thank you to family members for showing us constant love and support and thank you to my fellow friends and classmates for showing me what it means to be a part of an Anselmian family.

There are 460 paths that came into Saint Anselm College and 460 paths will lead away from campus this afternoon, 460 journeys that will make an impact on the world that stands before us. As we begin the start to our new adventure let us remember the direction and path that Saint Anselm has led us in and the foundational values that make us so wonderfully prepared to leave our imprint on this world. May we be guided by the footsteps of past Anselmians to help us find our new home. (hold up compass) And may we always carry a compass that leads us back to the Hilltop. All my blessings and Godspeed in your next adventure class of 2021. Thank you. 

Honor Societies & Department Awards

The following seniors have been inducted into Tau Chapter, Delta Epsilon Sigma, National Scholastic Honor Society:

Oleta M. Andros
Abigail S. Borroto
Nichole D. Bourque
Ashley M. Budd
Theresa R. Castro
Casey S. Cavanaugh
Isabella M. Cipriano
Emily M. Coderre
Emily D. Cormier
Julianna M. Corsetto
Brodie S. Deshaies
Meghan H. Donohue
Meagan N. Dubois
Janelle E. Fassi
Jessica M. Georato
Sarah M. Geraghty
Meghan E. Greeley
Grace D. Guachione
Reegan K. Hussey
Katherine E. King
Kerry A. McGillicuddy
Marissa L. Moorhead
Hannah M. Mullane
Rachael K. Nelson
Connor L. O’Brien
Maggie R. Parisi
Ashley Pimentel
Joseph W. Venuti
Jacob A. Yanski

 

The following seniors have been inducted into Alpha Lambda Delta, National Honor Society for First-Year Success:

Luke Anastasiades
Oleta M. Andros
Sara E. Anoli
Hannah C. Beaudry
Nicole T. Blathras
Nichole D. Bourque
Emma G. Browall
Alexa M. Carpenter
Isabelle H. Carr
Casey S. Cavanaugh
Isabella M. Cipriano
Emily M. Coderre
Emily D. Cormier
Julianna M. Corsetto
Zachary T. Covelle
Kelsey J. Czarnota
Abigail J. Donnellan
Meghan H. Donohue
Colleen M. Enestvedt
Janelle E. Fassi
Sophia M. Forte
Emily R. Gaumond
Grace D. Guachione
Jacob M. Halterman
Stephen K. Hanabergh
Skyler R. Hickey
Gisselle P. Howe
Reegan K. Hussey
Allison A. Irish
Declan R. Kiley
Julia J. Laenen
Erica A. Lazarek
Maddison R. Leite
Audrey M. McDonough
Christopher P. Millett
Victoria E. Mirabito
Marissa L. Moorhead
Jenna D. Morrison
Hannah M. Mullane
Rachael K. Nelson
Abigail R. Paci
Jennifer C. Peel
Parker A. Petruney
Joseph W. Pollard
Ian A. Read
Alyssa D. Redington
Madison R. Rennie
Elizabeth S. Rizk
Brayden H. Rollins
Nicole H. Sherwood
William A. Small
Ashley N. Stewart
Jillian E. Sweeney
Katherine L. Warth
Olivia M. Whalen
Nicholas J. Whitney
Grace Q.Q. Wirein

 

The following seniors have been inducted into Sigma Alpha Pi, the National Society of Leadership and Success:

Luke Anastasiades
Rileigh C. Armstrong
Nichole D. Bourque
Trent E. Briggs
Caroline M. Butts
Abigail A. Campbell
Theresa R. Castro
Casey S. Cavanaugh
Isabella M. Cipriano
Madelyn J. Cleary
Bailey C. Conti
Julianna M. Corsetto
Meredyth C. Curtis
Victoria N. DeFabritiis
Abigail J. Donnellan
Meghan H. Donohue
Phillip J. Dragone
Meghan E. Greeley
Cathryn P. Griffin
Grace D. Guachione
James M. Hanron
Skyler R. Hickey
Reegan K. Hussey
Katherine E. King
Andrew J. Martone
Meaghan S. McCabe
Victoria E. Mirabito
Quinn P. Mitchell
Rachael K. Nelson
Kelly A. Quirk
Ian A. Read
Elizabeth S. Rizk
Caroline M. Rohan
Eva-Maria H. Rudler
Nicole H. Sherwood
Joseph W. Venuti
Bentley P. Warren
Olivia M. Whalen
Lindsay R. Yurek
Caroline A. Zacharchuk

 

The following seniors have been inducted into Alpha Chapter, Chi Alpha Sigma, National College Athlete Honor Society:

Grace D. Guachione
Allison A. Irish
Beanie A. Luttig
Abigail P. Murrell
Payton Wildrick

 

The following seniors have been inducted into Chi Zeta Chapter, Beta Beta Beta, National Biological Honor Society:

Abigail S. Borroto
Isabelle H. Carr
Isabella M. Cipriano
Lili H. Gately
Reegan K. Hussey
Katherine E. King
Anne H. MacLeod
Ashley Pimentel
Nicole Scarfo
Alexandra K. Schumaker
Meghan M. Smith
Dayton A. Tetley
Caroline J. Thompson
Kyle C. Welsh

 

The following seniors have been inducted into Gamma Chapter, Omicron Delta Epsilon, the International Honor Society for Economics:

Shane R.A. Correale
Abigail J. Keiver
Maddison R. Leite
Abigail P. Murrell
Connor L. O’Brien
Brayden H. Rollins
Christopher W. Wright
Jacob A. Yanski

 

The following seniors have been inducted into Sigma Beta Delta, International Honor Society for Business, Management and Administration:

Ashley M. Budd
Zachary T. Covelle
Meghan H. Donohue
Grace D. Guachione
Alex J. Rodolosi
Matthew A. Ward
Nicholas J. Whitney

 

The following seniors have been inducted into Alpha Eta Mu Chapter, Kappa Delta Pi, International Honor Society in Education:

Abigail S. Borroto
Colleen M. Enestvedt
Tia M. Pisano
William A. Small

 

The following seniors have been inducted into Sigma Omega Chapter, Phi Alpha Theta, National History Honor Society:

Sara E. Anoli
Jordan J. Cook
Brodie S. Deshaies
Nelson T. Gibb
Maria Gregor
Declan R. Kiley
Christopher P. Millett
Nicole H. Sherwood
William A. Small

 

The following seniors have been inducted into Kappa Epsilon Chapter, Pi Delta Phi, the National French Honor Society:

Emily D. Cormier
Ian A. Read

 

The following seniors have been inducted into Omicron Rho Chapter, Sigma Delta Pi, the National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society:

Emma G. Browall
Bailey C. Conti
Elizabeth A. Fennell
Grace D. Guachione
Alyssa D. Redington

 

The following seniors have been inducted into Epsilon Tau at Large Chapter, Sigma Theta Tau International, Honor Society of Nursing:

Oleta M. Andros
Jordyn O. Arnott
Jordan A.H. Bergeron
Nichole D. Bourque
Molly R. Bright
Emma G. Browall
Bailey C. Conti
Julianna M. Corsetto
Kelsea J. Czarnota
Abigail J. Donnellan
Emily R. Gaumond
Audrey P. George
Sarah M. Geraghty
Meghan E. Greeley
Cameron R. Kurkul
Julia J. Laenen
Kerry A. McGillicuddy
Hannah L. Moody
Marissa L. Moorhead
Jenna D. Morrison
Hannah M. Mullane
Emma J. Murphy
Taylor J. Pacheco
Maggie R. Parisi
Kelly A. Quirk
Natalie E. Rogers
Emily J. Ryan
Erica A. Sherman
Megan K. Slaney
Hannah C. Steinaway
Jillian E. Sweeney
Allison I. Verge
Molly A. Weaver
Olivia M. Whalen
Caroline A. Zacharchuk

 

The following seniors have been inducted into Sigma Pi Sigma, the Physics Honor Society:

Lili H. Gately
Joseph A. Letendre
Nathan M. Letteri
Andrew P. Ortiz

 

The following seniors have been inducted into Upsilon Lambda Chapter, Pi Sigma Alpha, the National Political Science Honor Society:

Haley M. Bragdon-Clements
Shane R.A. Correale
Sophia M. Forte
Angela P. Garozzo
Jacob M. Halterman
Jackson P. Heath
Jeffrey D. Illsley, Jr.
Jenifer E. Wallitsch

 

The following seniors have been inducted into Psi Chi, the International Honor Society in Psychology:

Theresa N. Beardsley
Janelle E. Fassi
Jessica M. Georato
Allison A. Irish
Erica A. Lazarek
Tia M. Pisano
Alyssa D. Redington
Vanessa M. Sicard Vasquez
Lian X. Smithers
Rebecca E.M. Spaulding
Ashley N. Stewart
Grace Q.Q. Wirein
Travis A. Zuchowski

 

The following seniors have been inducted into Pi Gamma Mu, International Honor Society in Social Sciences:

Sara E. Anoli
Caroline M. Butts
Casey S. Cavanaugh
Shane R.A. Correale
Brodie S. Deshaies
Janelle E. Fassi
Nelson T. Gibb
Maria Gregor
Jackson P. Heath
Jeffrey D. Illsley, Jr.
Audrey M. McDonough
Brayden H. Rollins
William A. Small
Rebecca E.M. Spaulding
Clarisse A. Sugar
Joseph W. Venuti
Katherine L. Warth
Jacob A. Yanski

 

 

The following seniors have been inducted into Alpha Lambda Psi Chapter, Theta Alpha Kappa, the National Honor Society for Religious Studies and Theology:

Emily D. Cormier
Nelson T. Gibb
Jacob M. Halterman
Timothy S. Holmes
Stephen G. Lynch