One hundred and thirty-six young men from the Class of 2018 graduated on Saturday, May 26th, on the campus of St. Francis High School in La Cañada Flintridge.
Fr. Harold Snider, OFM Cap., the Provincial of the Western American Province of the Capuchin Franciscan Order, represented his Archbishop José H. Gómez at the graduation. Fr. Tony Marti, OFM Cap., the school president, Mr. Thomas Moran, the school principal, and Mr. Mark Heydorff, the chairman of the Board of Directors, also officiated at the Sixty-Ninth Annual Commencement Exercises for the local Catholic college preparatory institution.
Carson Christ led the National Anthem, Amr Eissa, the Senior Class President, welcomed the crowd, and Valedictorian Connor Martin gave a formal address to the audience. Martin received the Capuchin Award and Medal for Scholarship. The program also recognized Salutatorian Jonathan Hasbun for his exceptional achievement.
Additionally, Carson Christ was presented with the Rudy Trujillo Award for Academic Effort.
St. Francis Certificates of Distinction were awarded to graduates in the following categories:
Fine Arts — Carson Christ, Mason Ning, and Erik Weisner
Foreign Language — Evan Gonzalez and Connor Marti
Leadership — Joseph Arboles
Mathematics — Neal Muir and William Murphy
Religion — Eli Maalouf
Science — William Murphy and Leonard Pieroni IV
Social Studies — Jonathan Hasbun and Conrad Jensen.
The school faculty also presented Capuchin Medals for Excellence in various subject areas to the following individuals:
Art — Matthew Culpepper; Athletics — Gregory Dulcich; Biology — Robert Raad; Chemistry — Connor Martin; Chorus — Neal Muir; Computer Science — Leonard Pieroni IV; Drumline — Joseph Tuck; Economics — William Murphy; English — Ethan Breaux; European History — Jonathan Hasbun; Human Geography — Matthew Alpuerto; Kinesiology — Aaron Treloar; Latin — Hayden Osborn; Mass Media — John Spellman; Mathematics — Connor Martin; Physics — Conrad Jensen; Religion — Patrick Gibbons; Spanish — Alann Estrada-Galicia; Theater — Carson Christ; United States Government — William Schmidt; United States History — Sunny Malhotra.
At the Baccalaureate Mass on Friday, May 25th, community service awards were presented to Patrick Gibbons (Pro Deo et Patria for Leadership); Leonard Pieroni (Pro Deo et Ecclesia for Leadership); Amr Eissa (Fred Purner Humanitarian Award); Tyler Rogers (Roger Barkley Award for Outstanding Character); Mateo Fernandez, Shahan Derbedrosian (Archdiocesan Christian Service Award); Matthew Barriga (Peter Brang Medal for Good Citizenship); and William Schmidt (Franciscan Spirit and Life Award).
In addition, Mrs. Jeanne Muir was honored for her service to St. Francis with the St. Clare of Assisi Award. Mr. Walter Calmette was also recognized for his service to the school as this year’s recipient of the St. Francis of Assisi Award.
The Fr. Lawrence Caruso Memorial College Scholarship was awarded to Patrick Gibbons. Forty-one graduates received the special St. Francis High School Honors Diploma, an award given for Christian service, high academic achievement, and taking at least one Advanced Placement course during their senior year at the school. Twenty-four of the graduating seniors were recognized as California Scholarship Federation Sealbearers. The California Scholarship Federation Sealbearer Scholarship was presented to Patrick Gibbons.
Ethan Breaux, Conrad Jensen, Connor Martin, William Murphy, Leonard Pieroni IV, Robert Raad, and Nicolas Yeh were recognized as National Merit Program Commended Students. Nicholas Gould was honored as a National Merit Program Finalist. Thirty-seven students graduated as members of the National Honor Society and six graduated as Mu Alpha Theta members.
The National Honor Society Certificate of Merit was awarded to Matthew Culpepper, Andrew Mar, and Leonard Pieroni IV. The National Honor Society of Sports Medicine graduated eight members. The Spanish Honor Society recognized Alann Estrada-Galicia, Robin Franco, Isaac Gomez, Matthew Alpuerto, Neal Muir, and Jorge Peralta.
At the time of graduation, students from St. Francis High School’s graduating Class of 2018 have received 256 scholarships and awards to colleges and universities throughout the United States. These scholarships and awards equate to $11,578,014 towards the recipients’ educational costs.
St. Francis would like to congratulate all 136 graduates and wish them success and happiness as they journey onward toward lives of purpose marked by service to others. Below are the names of the St. Francis graduates from the Class of 2018:
