GUERIN PREP MARKS GRADUATION CEREMONIES

Commencement exercises for the 155 members of the Class of 2009 of Guerin College Preparatory High School, River Grove, were held Thursday, May 28, beginning at 7 p.m. in the Guerin Prep Auditorium.

Natalie Sitkowski of Chicago is this year’s valedictorian; Kristine Schulke of Chicago is salutatorian.  Both are Illinois State Scholars and members of the National Honor Society. They are shown below assisting at the NHS blood drive.

Sitkowski also is a member of the National Italian Honor Society and Tri-M, the Music Honor Society.  She has been active in Student Council, serving as president this year, vice president during her junior year.   She was the secretary of the sophomore class.  She is a mentor and an ambassador for the school.  She has been awarded the prestigious Dean’s Scholarship from DePaul University, the Loyola Scholarship from Loyola University and the Trustee Scholarship from Lake Forest College.  She is a graduate of St. Robert Bellarmine Elementary School. Read Natalie's reflections offered during the Baccalaureate Mass.

Schulke is a member of the Art Honor Society and has won various art awards through the Triton Art contests.  She, too, has been active in Student Council and is a member of the debate and art clubs.  She plans on attending college at the University of Illinois at Chicago.  She is a graduate of St. Viator Elementary School.

The graduation speakers were two members of the Class of 2009 chosen expressly for this honor by Guerin Prep faculty and administration.  Anthony Allegretti and Gina Maione were selected from among the students who auditioned.
Click here to read Anthony's speech. Click here to read Gina's speech.

Anthony Allegretti of River Grove will attend Marquette University (Milwaukee, Wisc.) in the fall as a Chick Evans Caddie Scholarship recipient. Anthony caddies for the Oak Park Country Club and has been a member of Guerin Prep’s golf team.  A member of the National Honor Society, Anthony has been a class officer the past three years, serving both his sophomore and junior years as the class president and this year as the secretary of the senior class.  He is the founder of the debate club at Guerin Prep, has served as an ambassador for the school all four years and has participated in both the National and Global Youth Leadership conference.  Allegretti is a graduate of St. Cyprian Elementary School.

The Chick Evans Caddie Scholarship is a one-year grant which covers tuition and housing and may be renewed for up to four years. Finalists for the award, who are nominated by the golf clubs for which they caddie, must rank in the upper quarter of their class, have above a B average in college preparatory classes, clearly establish their need for financial assistance and be outstanding in character, integrity and leadership.

Gina Maione has distinguished herself as a student of the Italian language.  A member of both the National Honor Society and the Italian National Honor Society, Gina also received a special national recognition award from the American Association of Teachers of Italian, which sponsors an annual Italian contest.  She is the vice president of the Italian club at Guerin Prep.
Additionally, Maione has been active in both the Guerin Prep band and on the Cheerleading Team, serving as the band secretary, uniform manager and flute section leader and as the cheerleading captain.  Maione has been a Kairos leader, a Lead Tutor and an Ambassador for the school.
Maione plans on attending Dominican University, where she won the Recognition Scholarship.  She is a graduate of St. Eugene Elementary School.

Other Ceremonies
In addition to commencement exercises on May 28, Guerin Prep celebrateda Baccalaureate Mass for the graduates that morning with the entire student body.  The Reverend Bernard Kennedy, OFM, former Holy Cross and Guerin Prep Campus Minister, presided at the liturgy and urged the graduates to rely on Providence and to become the change that President Barack O'Bama challenged in his presidential campaign.

At the end of the liturgy, the McManus and Davenport Awards were presented to outstanding graduates of Mother Theodore Guerin High School and Holy Cross in honor of the founding principals of those schools.

Mrs. Kathleen Maibusch O’Brien ’80, formerly of Elmwood Park received the McManus Award; the Davenport Award was given to George Ristau ’70, currently of Elmwood Park, as the outstanding graduate of Holy Cross High School.

O’Brien has distinguished herself as an educator and mother and both these professions have taken her on adventures around the world.  Ristau is recognized as an outstanding businessman as well as a community activist and both his business and his community have revolved around the neighborhood in which he grew up and the schools that he attended.  (Read more)

Alumni Induction & Senior Awards
The day before graduation, on May 27, the graduates were inducted into the alumni association, followed by the Senior Awards Ceremony. 

The highlight of the awards ceremony is the giving of the Mother Theodore Guerin Award to a senior girl and the Spirit of Holy Cross Award to a senior boy who have shown outstanding leadership and service.  The winners are chosen by members of the senior class, the faculty and administration. 

Kerri Gregg of Chicago has been selected as the Mother Theodore award winner; Patrick Donlan of Elmwood Park will receive the Spirit of Holy Cross Award.  Kerri graduated from St. Eugene Elementary School; Patrick is a graduate of St. Vincent Ferrer Elementary School.

Kerri has been very active in campus ministry and student council during her years at Guerin Prep.  She is currently the editor of the Voyager, Guerin Prep’s school newspaper, and is active in the Irish Club, the debate club and the new Key Club.  She has been an ambassador for the school the past three years as well as a Lead Tutor.  She has served as a Kairos leader, the treasurer of her sophomore class and a member of the Creative Writing and Leo clubs.

In addition to the Mother Theodore award, Kerri has won the first ever President’s Scholarship given by Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (SMWC) in Indiana. Kerri will receive a $20,000 renewable scholarship to SMWC, the oldest Catholic liberal arts college for women in the United States.

Established to honor the special relationship between Guerin Prep and SMWC as sponsored institutions of the Sisters of Providence, the President’s Scholarship is meant to reward the student who exemplifies the character and academic achievement of the ideal student who would support the mission of both SMWC and Guerin Prep and the life work of Saint Mother Theodore Guerin. 

The Spirit of Holy Cross Award winner Patrick Donlan also has been active on the school newspaper, serving as the managing editor.  A member of the National Honor Society, Donlan has also served as a Lead Tutor for the school and as a math tutor for St. Vincent Ferrer Elementary School.

Donlan plans on attending Illinois State University but was also awarded the Dean’s Scholarship from Carthage College, the Loras Merit Award, the Catholic High School Grant and the Legacy Grant from Loras College, the Presidential Scholarship from Benedictine University and the Catholic Heritage Award from Loyola University.

In his application for the Spirit of Holy Cross Award, he highlighted the fact that 13 family members graduated from either Holy Cross or Mother Theodore Guerin high schools—both considered Guerin Prep foundation schools.  “On my first day of high school I felt like I was the beginning of a new generation of a long standing tradition at 80th and Belmont,” Donlan said.

College-Bound Students
Of the 155 Guerin Prep graduates, approximately 97 percent of them will pursue a college education in a two- or four-year college.

To date, Guerin Prep seniors have been offered approximately $3.3 million in scholarship monies to finance their higher education.

In addition to various scholarships offered Guerin Prep students, Alexander Beltran of Chicago has received an Army ROTC scholarship from Lewis University; James Karmgard of Chicago has been awarded a ROTC scholarship from Marion Military Institute.  Beltran graduated from St. William Elementary School; Karmgard from Divine Savior Elementary School.