Arlington Catholic High School Graduation - Class of 2013

On Friday, May 24th, a packed audience of thousands filled the Dana Athletic Center at Bentley University to celebrate the Graduation of 182 Seniors from Arlington Catholic High School.  Torrential downpours didn’t impede the celebration of the day as Carole Brennan, the Commencement Speaker, mentioned rain on Graduation Day is thought to bring good luck; rain is restorative, a symbol of good fortune to come, a cleansing for strong unity for the Class of 2013.

AC's Principal Steve Biagioni began the afternoon, welcoming family and friends of the graduates; this was followed by the Pledge of Allegiance, led by Michael Libertini, Senior Class Vice President.  Following an invocation, led by Pastor Father Brian Flatley, Danielle Hunt shared opening remarks with the audience.  Salutatorian, Carolina Elices took the stage and reflected on the past four years, the joys and disappointments, the learning in and out of the classroom, and relationships that made the students wiser and ready for the next phase of life’s journey.  Jia Liang, the Valedictorian, touched upon the journey into adulthood, taking responsibility, learning from mistakes, and working together for the common good.

Carole Brennan, Commencement Speaker and Class of 1973, has
a distinguished past with many achievements and touched upon those experiences, offering sage advice to the Class of 2013.  It was forty years ago that Carole left AC to study at University of Massachusetts, Amherst.   Over the years, she enjoyed a successful career as a newspaper journalist and then as a publisher.  Carole traveled the world overseeing media development in emerging democracies, primarily in the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and Latin America.  She founded the Independent Center for Journalism as a Knight International Press Fellow in the Republic of Moldova.  In 2000, Carole was named Press Secretary to The Honorable Thomas M. Menino, Mayor of the City of Boston and then became Director of External Affairs for Massport.  Currently, she is a Principal at Brown Rudnick LLP, where she co-leads the firm’s Government Law and Strategies Group in Boston.  In addition to her professional achievements, she remains passionate about community involvement, choosing initiatives that help build communities.  Just to name a few of her projects, she is Co-Founder and Chair for the Board of Advisor for GRLZradio.Org in Dorchester, she was on the Turnaround Committee, and now sits on the Advisory Board for the Orchard Garden K-8 Pilot School.  She also sits on the Dudley Vision Advisory Task Force and was a founding member of the Board of Directors of Boston World Partnership.

Carole brought a rich history of experiences both professionally and personally to the Commencement Address.  She talked about the long road of choices and the paths traveled, the ups and downs, and how eventually “things fall into place.”  Carole reflected about seeing part of herself and her personality from those youthful years at AC throughout her life’s journey.  For her, it was spark, tenacity,
determination, and “stirring things up” – from making change at AC as a student,
such as creating an AC sports column, to her current career.  Her drive to be different, to stand up for justice and equality have been themes both in her personal and professional life.  She ended her address sharing her experiences
from AC, that she firmly believes AC helped form who she is now and laid the
fountain for future successes and that her parents, family, teachers, and
friends all played a roll.     

Following Carole’s address to the audience, the students eagerly received their diplomas, and Principal Steve Biagioni’s closing remarks ended another successful Graduation here at Arlington Catholic.