Seated among their fellow graduates in the Trenton Catholic Preparatory Academy gymnasium May 29, nine members of the Class of 2024 donned special blue and white cords with their graduation regalia. These cords were a special recognition for the students who had attended the Hamilton school since kindergarten or preschool and were given to them by their former elementary school teachers eight days earlier, at Senior Awards Night.
PHOTO GALLERY: Trenton Catholic Preparatory Academy Baccalaureate
PHOTO GALLERY: Trenton Catholic Preparatory Academy Graduation
One of those nine students, Susanna Sloh, valedictorian, shared how the Catholic school changed her life.
Graduate Daniel Rizzuto reads the First Reading during the Baccalaureate Mass for Trenton Catholic Preparatory Academy, Hamilton, May 29. John Batkowski photo
JOHN BATKOWSKI
“When I started here my family was Lutheran. Being here inspired my family to convert to Catholicism. Us just being in that Catholic environment and experiencing the Catholic values literally inspired my mom to change our whole religion and our whole lives, really.”
Sloh will continue her Catholic education at Seton Hall University, where she will study political science and law.
Earlier that day, the 38-member senior class joined the 8th-grade graduating class in the Lower School for a Baccalaureate Mass. The Mass, celebrated by the school chaplain, Father Dan Cahill, was bittersweet for the school community, as the Catholic school will be transitioning into a public charter school at the start of the 2024-2025 school year, three years after it became an independent Catholic school.
At the conclusion of Mass, Father Cahill shared his fondness for the school and said, “I will continue to keep you all in my prayers.”
Despite the changes facing the school, the graduation ceremony focused on the achievements of the Class of 2024, including the $3 million in scholarship money awarded to the seniors.
Officials also applauded the school’s robotics team, the Iron Mechs, who made it to the District Championship at Lehigh University and became the first two-time alliance captains in school history.
That accomplishment, among the many others, was of no surprise to the robotics coach, Michael Knowles.
“This year’s graduates exemplify resilience. They dealt with COVID and a school transition to an independent Catholic school and did so always focused on their future. They represent the best of Trenton Catholic. They will change the world that they find themselves in the future. To paraphrase the words of St. Catherine of Siena, ‘they will be who God meant them to be, and they will set the world on fire.’I have no doubts.”
During the graduation ceremony, Daniel Montero and Luisa Bolanos Vega presented Sister Barbara Schreier, math teacher and campus minister, with flowers in acknowledgment of her 50th anniversary as a Marianite sister. Sister Barbara has been teaching at the school since 1984.
Dr. Lauren Brazil, Upper School director, also offered words of praise for the Class of 2024.
“The Class of 2024 at Trenton Catholic Preparatory Academy is exceptional due to their resilience, hard work, and vibrant spirit. These students have demonstrated outstanding achievements and strong community bonds, making their time at the Academy truly remarkable,” she said.