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Staten IslandAcademy: Commencement 2006

June 12, 2006 (Staten Island, NY) – The Staten Island Academy Class of 2006 will graduate during the school’s 118th Commencement exercises on Wednesday June 14, at 10:00 AM on the school’s Todt Hill campus. Head of School Diane J. Hulse will officiate at the ceremony.

Commencement Speakers
This year’s commencement speaker is Richard Nicotra, chairman/president of The Nicotra Group LLC, a New York City-based real estate development company and the founding force behind Staten Island’s most prestigious business class hotel, the Hilton Garden Inn. Mr. Nicotra is a native Staten Islander and a graduate of St. John’s University. In 1986, Mr. Nicotra was the youngest person in the history of St. John’s to receive an honorary doctorate degree in recognition of his impressive business accomplishments, most notably serving as chairman and CEO of Everything Yogurt Brands, Inc. With 250 franchises worldwide, Everything Yogurt Brands Inc. began as a small yogurt store in the Wall Street section of downtown Manhattan before Nicotra expanded the business to what it is today.

The Academy traditionally selects a faculty and several student commencement speakers by vote of the senior class. This year the graduates chose faculty member Michael Mazella as the keynote commencement speaker.

Mazella is a distinguished member of the Academy faculty. An alumnus of the Academy class of 1990, Mazella went on to earn his bachelor’s degree from Boston College and a master’s from Seton Hall University.  He currently teaches English, public speaking and writing in the Academy’s Upper School. Mazella has also coached the school’s boys junior varsity basketball (1995-2003), boys varsity basketball (2003-present), and girls varsity soccer (1996-2002) teams. He is a recipient of the Jack Kriegsman Sportsmanship Award (2003-2004) and was recently named Private School Athletic Association Boys Varsity Coach of the Year 2006.

The Class of 2006 chose four classmates — Elizabeth Garay, Marisa Imazu, Miriam Camara, and Lindsey Greenfield — to present speeches during the ceremony.

An invocation will be given by Arthur W. Eccleston, a Roman Catholic Deacon and longtime friend of the Academy.

Commencement Ceremony
Head of School Hulse and the President of the Academy’s Board of Trustees, John Fafian ’83, will present the school’s diplomas to the members of the graduating class. Solomon James ’98 will represent the Alumni Association at the ceremony.

“The Class of 2006 represents the spirit and the diversity of the Academy. They are excellent athletes, impressive artists, accomplished academics and a particularly spirited class. It is an honor to watch them graduate with the support and respect of their teachers and schoolmates,” said Head of School Hulse.

The Staten Island Academy Middle & Upper School Orchestras and the Sweet Harmony singing ensemble will provide musical interludes during the ceremony. The Upper School singing ensemble Something Musical will sing the National Anthem, led by the school’s Director of the Arts Mark Weissman.

Major Staten Island Academy Awards
Donald Knies, Head of Upper School, will present major academic, community service and athletic awards including the Head of School’s Medal, Borough President’s Achievement Award, Primus Medal, Dr. Albert L. Patrick Award, Jack J. Boies Award, Trustees Medal, Alumni Scholarship Medal, J. Stevens Bean Faculty Award, Robert Crooks Stanley Citizenship Award, Virginia T. Kearns ’36 Award for Outstanding Service, Dr. Reuben and Lillian M. Greenberg Memorial Scholarship, Athletic Medal, Mills Memorial Medal and the Honorable Francis H. And Dianne M. Powers Award For Excellence In The Sciences And Community Service.

Class of 2006
The graduates include Omar Alwani, Brittney Noelle Barry, Seth Jason Berman, Christopher Joseph Bruno, Miriam Martine Camara, Nerim Capri, Kaitlyn Rose Cernera, John DiMeglio, Elizabeth Garay, Alexandra M. Gierzynski, Allison Rose Green, Lindsey Y. Greenfield, Marisa Imazu, Hamza Nadeem Khan, Samir S. Khawaja, Amanda Ashley LaMastra, Catherine Minall, James Robert Pescitelli, Michael Shikhman, Adam Marc Sosler.

The list of colleges and universities that accepted members of the Academy Class of 2006 is impressive, including such premiere institutions as American University, Brown University, Cornell University, Georgetown University, New York University, University of Notre Dame, University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, and Vassar College. [A complete list of college acceptances is attached.]

The Academy values the importance of giving back and helping those in need. The Class of 2006 led the school in helping others through the Student Organization for Service (SOS). Seniors organized the Academy’s annual Locks of Love event to gather hair to make wigs for children with hair loss. Most service-related efforts centered around a school-wide project called “NOLA22,” a yearlong fundraising effort for 22 victims of Hurricane Katrina from New Orleans, LA. The entire school community raised over $12,000 through a benefit concert, bake sales, holiday gift collection, and the creation of a special commemorative NOLA22 T-shirt that was designed and silk screened by student volunteers.

The hard-working seniors held leadership positions in student government and on the staffs of the Academy’s school newspaper, The Quill, the yearbook and the literary magazine, Images.

The Class of 2006 continued the school’s extraordinary athletic legacy. Graduating senior Cate Minall will play Division III Volleyball at Oberlin College in the fall.

Over half of the Class of 2006 participated in the fine and performing arts programs during their time at the Academy. They starred on the stage in featured roles and were the technical staff in “Bye Bye Birdie,” “Into the Woods,” and “On The Town.” Senior players were part of the groundbreaking 2004 school production of “The Laramie Project,” as well as Aristophanes’ “The Birds.” Many have been performing on the Academy’s stage since elementary school.

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