Graduation Recap: Celebrating the Saint Viator Class of 2024

Saint Viator High School’s 61st Commencement was held Monday, May 20, with 182 graduates celebrating in Cahill Gym. 

 

“The Class of 2024 is a truly remarkable group of young women and men. They are intellectually inspired, extremely talented, ready to serve, faith-filled, wonderfully accomplished, and fully engaged in the Viatorian mission,” said Chief Administrator Fr. Tom von Behren, C.S.V. 

 

 

At last count, they claimed more than $4 million in scholarship offers and compiled roughly 15,000 hours of service to the community over the last four years. They now head to 77 different colleges and universities spread across the country. They range from the University of Notre Dame and Boston College to Auburn and Baylor, the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, UCLA and the University of California at Berkeley, to name just a few.

 

This year’s valedictorian, Carmela Martinez, was named to the Principal’s Honor Roll every semester of her high school career, and graduated with a cumulative weighted GPA of 4.81 on a 4.0 scale. She was an Illinois State Scholar, a Fr. Louis Querbes Scholar, a STEM Designated Scholar, and an ESCC Scholar Athlete in tennis and track and field. 

 

David Koziol and Clare McDonough both were named salutatorians and addressed their classmates at Baccalaureate Mass the previous Friday night. Like Carmela, they also had been named to the Principal’s Honor Roll all semesters of their high school career. They both graduated with a weighted GPA of 4.76. 

The first of the school’s annual year-end awards, the Fr. John W. R. Maguire, C.S.V. Award, was presented at Mass on Friday. The Maguire Award is given by the Assistant to the President for Mission to members of our community who embody the living spirit of Saint Viator High School by being honorable and just. It is bestowed in grateful recognition to outstanding dedication and contribution to the solidarity and common good of our community. This year’s recipients were Hannah Grossman, Benjamin Klimas (son of Jim Klimas ’96), and longtime Saint Viator science teacher, Jen Ruege. 

 

Keeping with tradition, the winners of the Andrew Johnstone (A.J.) Leadership Award and the Christopher Erdmann Award (Christopher Cup) were announced at graduation. Finn McLeod (son of Laura Johnston ’88 McLeod), was presented with the A.J. Award, and the Christopher Cup was awarded to co-recipients Sam Hargadon and Carmela Martinez. 

 

To conclude Monday night’s graduation ceremony, Zach Wilbert of the theology department, offered the following blessing to the Class of 2024: “Go now. Act justly. Speak honestly. Live happily with yourself. And above all things – May you always walk with your God.”