Commencement Held at Chase Collegiate School

WATERBURY, CT - Chase Collegiate held the commencement ceremony for the Class of 2020 on a mostly sunny Friday morning, July 24, 2020, which began promptly at 10:30 a.m.

The event was held on the South Porch of St. Margaret’s Hall, the traditional location for Chase commencement ceremonies, but there were many modifications in place for the safety of the graduates, the faculty and the invited guests. Prior to entering the Chase grounds, invited guests and members of the press had their temperature taken and had to fill out and sign a health questionnaire. Families that arrived together were allowed to sit in the same row of chairs that were marked with their name and the rows were generously spaced on the lawn outside the hall.

With classes going virtual, the 2020 Senior Class did not want to miss the chance of graduating in-person at St. Margaret’s Hall, following in the footsteps of the previous Chase graduates. In order to make this happen, the students agreed to graduate wearing masks and maintaining social distance.

Both the processional and recessional were led by Tim Wilk (pictured above) on the bagpipes; the young men wore navy blazers and the young ladies in long white dresses carried bouquets of red roses.

The first speaker was Jennifer Zembruski, Associate Head of School/Director of Arts, who gave the welcome and invocation. Awards were then presented to several of the senior class members by Ernest Beaulieu, Director of Upper School.

Because there could not be a live musical performance, two Chase students prepared a beautiful recorded performance of “Homeward Bound” by Marta Keen and arranged by Jay Althouse. The song was sung by Upper School Chorus Members: (Maggie) McGuire ‘20 and Emily Segal ‘21; Emily Marquardt is their Vocal Music Teacher.

Mr. Beaulieu then introduced the commencement speaker. The guest speaker was Kyle Fitzpatrick, an ‘06 Chase graduate. Mr. Fitzpatrick is a co-founder of The Feel Good Laba, a UConn-backed healthcare startup; he also serves as a Chase Collegiate coach with a passion for working with people. His address was both down to earth and encouraging for the graduates.

Special recognitions were handled by Dierdre McGuire, Head of Lower & Middle School. These included recognizing members of the faulty who have reached milestones in their career at Chase and the students that had attended the school since they were “playing in the sandbox.”

Ernest Beaulieu, who completed his first year in the position of directing the Upper School at Chase, kept his remarks brief because he knew that he was the only person standing between the seniors and their diplomas.

Mr. Beaulieu then presented the majority of the diplomas to the seniors who were able to attend the ceremony in person; he did defer to a few parents who happened to be members of the faculty to make the presentation to their offspring. Mrs. Zembruski had the honor of presenting her son Nathaniel with his well-earned diploma at the end of the alphabet, of course.

After all of the seniors in attendance had taken their diploma from a small table in front of the podium and posed for a photo, the names of the graduates who were in attendance virtually were read. Mrs. Zembruski then presented the Class of 2020 to the assembled parents and family members and the graduates donned their decorated mortar boards to turn their tassels.

Pictured above:
Back row: Nathaniel Zembruski of Naugatuck, Ritesh Vidhun of Southbury, Evan Harte of Cheshire, Jillian Knies of Oxford
Middle Row: Adam Retallick of Watertown, Ethan Puc of Naugatuck, Emma Denihan of Waterbury, Christopher Ficeto of Wolcott.
Front Row: Margaret McGuire of New Milford, Isabella Kopecky of Waterbury, Jamal Clarke of Waterbury

With a welcoming environment and a rolling admissions process, Chase is Always Accepting. As an independent day school, Chase Collegiate guides future graduates from Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12, using a curriculum that harnesses their skills and sparks their interests.
Visit www.chasecollegiate.org to learn more