Chase Collegiate School Graduation Held on June 7

Waterbury, CT - Chase Collegiate School held its 151st Commencement on Friday June 7, 2019 on the beautiful grounds of the Waterbury campus. A large group of family and friends of the graduates, as well as a strong contingent of underclassmen, gathered in the bright sun to celebrate the 47 graduates in the Class of 2019, seven of whom graduated cum laude.

Piper Tim Wilk played the bagpipes in the parking lot as the attendees gathered. A fine brass quartet performed “Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 by Edward Elgar as the graduates processed single file into the space. The young women were dressed in white long dresses and carried red roses, and the young men dressed in blue jackets and matching green ties.

Christopher Ficeto, a junior at Chase, gave the invocation. Joseph Hadam, Head of School, welcomed everyone to the graduation ceremonies and spoke of the gift of time. Head of the Upper School Karl Palmgren presented several commencement awards. The Nelson James Welton Award, given to a senior of outstanding personal attributes who has demonstrated dedication and spirit of service to Chase, was awarded to Dylan Carmichael. Mr. Welton was a 23-year trustee of the school. The Shawn Anton Walsh ‘67 Award was presented to Chen (Grace) Chen, a cum laude graduate.

The Edna R. Crane ‘33 Alumnae/i Award for outstanding service was given to both Haley Falcone and Meris Rosenberg. The Eliza Kimball Brooks ‘42 Memorial Award, voted on by all Upper School students, was presented to Daniel Nejaime. The Cheryl S. Gusenburg ‘97 Award, for courage and determination, was presented to Stephen Palluotto II. The Highest Scholastic Achievement Award went to Lingyu (Jessica) Shi. The final award presented was the Alberta C. Edell Head of School Award for distinguished accomplishments, which was presented to Daniel Nejaime.

“Failing feels bad, quitting feels worse” - Commencement Speaker Mark Albini

The senior address was given by Lacrosse player Dylan Carmichael in a cap that he used to make a point in his speech. Hailey Falcone of the class of 2019 introduced the Commencement Speaker, Mark Albini who graduated from Chase in 2014, and arrived on time to give his speech, which described his path to his current career and offered many words of wisdom in an entertaining manner. Mr. Albini is an entrepreneur and producer, specializing in documentary film and digital advertising. The young man started the Before I Die project in Waterbury and currently resides in Philadelphia.

The Upper School Chorus and some senior class guests performed a wonderful rendition of “You Will Be Found” (written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul) from DEAR EVAN HANSEN. The singers were led by Marissa Famiglietti Apland, Choral and Music Director. One of the guest singers was WATR broadcaster Nathaniel Zembruski, who led me to a seat that had been reserved for members of the press by his mother Jennifer. Mr. Zembruski is a member of the Tri-M Music National Honor Society.

The Head of School presented many special recognition awards. The first were for Milestones of Faculty Service, a practice that should be repeated at more high school graduation, in my opinion. Ms. Emma Kornetov, Director of Library Services and Archivist, and Mr. Brian Paturzo, Visual Art and Wood Shop Teacher were awarded the Margaret W. Field Awards for Excellence in Teaching. Senior Class Sandboxers, the name given to students with the longest tenures at Chase, included Jason V. Harte, Robert M. Jones, Gelia Kenney, Joseph Leszczynski, Sophia Medeiros, Meris Rosenberg amd Journey R. Singleton.

Ms. Green appeared in several Shakesperience productions, including THE TEMPEST, and in many Chase productions, including GYPSY, THE THEORY OF RELATIVITY, and THE TAMING OF THE SHREW. The young actress was awarded the Frederick J. Kingsbury Award for Excellence in English and an Award for Contribution to the Choral Program at the Honor Assembly held on June 6; she was a member of the French National Honor Society and the Tri-M Music National Honor Society.

She stood next to her best friend Angelene Guglielmo (THE TAMING OF THE SHREW, SEUSSICAL THE MUSICAL at Blessed Sacrament,) who I recently met while she was volunteering with the current crop of young performers at Blessed Sacrament Children’s Theatre. Ms. Guglielmo was a member of the National Art Honor Society and the Tri-M Music National Honor Society, and won the Upper School Sportsmanship Award for a female athlete at the Athletics Awards presented on May 31, 2019.

The post-secondary plans for the Chase graduates include 36 different colleges and universities. A lovely outdoor reception immediately followed the commencement. Chilled water was plentiful and the food services team at Chase prepared a wide variety of delicious finger foods and many stayed on to enjoy them.

Nancy Sasso Janis has been writing theatre reviews since 2012 as a way to support local theatre venues. She posts reviews of well over 100 productions each year. In 2016, she became a member of the Connecticut Critics Circle. She continues to contribute theatre news, previews, and audition notices to local Patch sites. Reviews of all levels of theatrical productions are posted on Naugatuck Patch and the Patch sites closest to the venue. Follow the reviewer on her Facebook pages Nancy Sasso Janis: Theatre Reviewer and on Twitter @nancysjanis417