McAuley Seniors Receive Record $58 Million in Scholarships

CHICAGO (MOUNT GREENWOOD) — It was a graduation ceremony unlike any other in the history of Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School, including social distancing, face masks and virtual tributes. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ceremony, originally scheduled for May was pushed to July 18 to celebrate the more than 200 graduates of the Class of 2020, where families and friends gathered at the Shannon Center on the campus of Saint Xavier University.

Graduating seniors were invited to gather with classmates one last time in one of four designated areas within the school before commencement exercises. Diplomas were distributed in the school auditorium as preassigned times before no more than ten family members. A nod to a McAuley tradition dating back to the mid-1800s, many graduates donned floor-length white dresses, complemented by long white gloves and the carrying of red roses.

The Class of 2020 earned a record $58 million in college scholarships, among other noteworthy accomplishments:

• Eighty-two percent of the class was accepted into their first-choice college or university.
• Five students are National Merit Commended Scholars: Brigid Barkmeier, of Oak Lawn, bound for the United States Air Force Academy; Sydney Conn, of Oak Lawn, attending Saint Xavier University; Evergreen Park-resident Megan Howley, who will be attending the University of Notre Dame; Martina Maples, of Mount Greenwood, attending the University of Chicago; and Beverly/Morgan Park Mary Russell, attending the University of Michigan.
• Two students are National Hispanic Scholars: Alena Pedroza, of Orland Park, attending the University of Chicago, and Oak Lawn-resident Rosie Wantuck, attending the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
• Four students are A. Franklin Pilchard Foundation Scholars: Meghan Dowd, of Mt. Greenwood, attending the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Siobhan Hickey, Oak Lawn, Western Illinois University-bound; Margaret O'Malley of Evergreen Park, attending the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign); and Janie Ternes, of Oak Lawn, attending Concordia University.
• Kathryn Alvarez, of Beverly, attending the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is a Chick Evans Scholar.
• Thirteen students signed commitments to play college athletics
• Thirty-five graduates are Illinois State Scholars.

Commencement speeches by administrators and student speakers were prerecorded and shared virtually via YouTube for families to view. This included a prayer and remarks by Principal Eileen Boyce O’Reilly ‘03, the valedictorian, Alena Pedroza’s, remarks, the introduction of the faculty speaker by salutatorian Megan Howley, remarks by Kathy Gordon-Davis, faculty speaker, and the alumnae induction led by President Mary Acker Klingenberger ’75.

To conclude the ceremony, senior members of the McAuley Advanced Chorus sang a virtual recording of the Suscipe, the school song and tribute to a written work of Catherine McAuley.