Don Bosco Graduates Two Oradell Students

Brigadier General Timothy E. Trainor, a Don Bosco Prep alumnus who is the Dean of the Academic Board at The United States Military Academy at West Point, was the principal speaker at the exercises of Don Bosco Prep’s 97th Commencement on Sunday, June 4.

 Under beautiful, sunny blue skies, General Trainor, a member of the Class of 1979, addressed the graduates, “I discovered at Bosco that learning is important and the intellectual foundation built at Bosco has served me well in life.  Maybe more important is a passion for continued learning. Learning does not end when you leave the halls of high school, college or graduate school.  You need to have a passion for continued learning because that helps you adapt and succeed as life changes.”

The class salutatorian and recipient of the silver award for academic excellence, Gaston Jean-Louis of Pomona, NY, who will be attending Harvard University in the fall, addressed the audience, “Don Bosco (Prep) has helped us to achieve exactly what Einstein had hoped: This school has enabled us to grow into men of value—to our communities, to our families, and to society.  And for that, we are extremely grateful to all of our teachers, administrators, and most of all, to our parents and families who made it possible for us to come here and who have helped us all the way to this day.”  

Christopher Wilson, the class valedictorian, National Merit Commended Student and recipient of the gold award, who hails from Hawthorne, NJ, will attend Villanova University in the fall. In his speech, Chris said, “Every single Ivy League university handed out at least one (but in many cases there were multiple) letters of admission to a Don Bosco student this year. Countless other students will be attending equally reputable universities such as Georgetown, Notre Dame, NYU, Villanova, Lafayette, and these names that I seem to be throwing around with ease are just a small cross section of the impressive places that my classmates will be heading as a result of their endless dedication to their studies.”

The graduates were presented by Dr. Albert Del Principio, Assistant Principal for Academics and diplomas were awarded by John Stanczak, Principal, and Fr. James Heuser, SDB, Director/President.

Among the many recognitions during the graduation ceremony was the Outstanding Graduate Award for demonstrating superior qualities and virtue in all aspects of student life, which was awarded to Bennett Alvaro of Ridgewood, NJ. 

Don Bosco Awards for character, service and leadership were presented to Bennett Alvaro, Robert Jones, Nicholas Mendolia, Patrick Sweeney, Patrick Wallace, Joseph Dibble, Thomas McNulty, Brian Sullivan, Grant Van Orden, and John Wilkins.

Members of the Class of 1962 attended the graduation as the final event in their 50th reunion weekend, and were presented with medals honoring them as members of the 50th reunion class.

Members of the Don Bosco Prep Class of 2012 from Oradell are: Vincent Siekierski and Brian W. Sullivan. Sierkierski was a member of the Ironmen bowling team and volunteers with the Oradell Fire Department. Sullivan, who will attend the College of the Holy Cross in the fall was a member of the crew team.

The above is a release from Don Bosco Prep.