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the glencoe anchor | June 6, 2019 | 3
Loyola’s Class of 2019 celebrates the ‘big little things’
Michael Wojtychiw
Sports Editor
As members of the
Loyola Academy Class of
2019 finish their four-year
chapter at the Wilmette
school, a new one awaits
them in the fall when most
head off to college.
For many of the 493
students, that will include
new challenges and experiences,
like being away
from their families for an
extended period of time,
being surrounded by people
they don’t know and
the rigors of secondary education,
just to name a few.
Many of them, like valedictorian
Bridget Hickey,
are happy with how the
school has prepared them
for their future.
“I think Loyola has
definitely prepared all of
us very well for our future,
whatever that is for
each of us,” she said. “Just
with the level of coursework
and the relationships
we’ve made with teachers,
we’ve all kind of been able
to just be better people
and be more prepared for
whatever it is that we’re
heading, or whatever path
we’re heading on. Especially
for me, I’m planning
on going into the medical
field, so I think Loyola’s
science department has really
prepared me and students
like that to get into
that, to get into that field
Graduate Christopher Hara (center), of Wilmette,
receives his diploma from his father, Emmett (right), and
Loyola Academy President Rev. Patrick McGrath, S.J.
and to know and to be prepared
for the level of work
that will come with that.”
The Loyola Class
of 2019 faced a number
of hardships that
other schools may not
go through, including a
change in leadership as
Charlie Heintz took over
as principal after the resignation
of Dr. Kathryn
Baal.
Since then, Heintz has
been named the school’s
full-time principal and
looks to lead the academy
into the future.
“In the last few years
I’ve had access to a lot
of students, and it was really
great to have built up
those relationships prior
to ascending to this position,”
he said. “I’m not going
to say it was seamless,
but I think having had the
chance to work with students
in a variety of different
activities rather it was
our LA way programming,
or our entrepreneurship
group I was able to build
really strong relationships
so I felt like I stepped into
this role and I knew a good
portion of the senior class
already.”
This year’s class is the
first that has seen multiple
years of the LA Way program,
a program that is designed
in developing leadership
skills, a program
started last year.
Heintz made sure to
spotlight the college counseling
department, especially
Jamie Simon, who
has been key with working
in the Chicago Scholars
Program. Loyola became
involved with the program,
one that is a cooperative
group between colleges
and universities and under
represented minority students
who live in the city
Loyola Academy graduating senior Lizzy Balentine
shares her excitement at the commencement ceremony
for the Class of 2019 Saturday, May 25, at Northwestern
University’s Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston. Photos by
Megan Floyd/22nd Century Media
of Chicago. Students who
are identified as college
scholars and meet those
requirements can go and
in a short interview format
with a variety of schools,
generally get determinations
on admissions and
levels of financial aid, if
not that day within a very
short period of time. This
year around 25 students
were named Chicago
Scholars.
Heintz noted that of the
493 graduating seniors,
they are attending 131
different colleges. Eightynine
percent were accepted
to either their first or second
choice school. And
146 were accepted to every
school they applied to.
The student leadership,
led by senior Student
Council President Samantha
Mallahan, felt that they
were heard in everything
they wanted to accomplish
this year and that goes
back to the administration
and faculty’s willingness
to listen to them.
“One of the biggest
things is that I think all
the adults there, they were
helpful and so supportive
and they all want to
make sure that our voice
is heard,” Mallahan said.
“We had a lot of meetings
with like the principal and
all of the other people who
want to come at the school,
and they wanted so, what
we wanted and what
we thought needs to be
changed and what would
be better for the school,
and we basically get freedom
to kind of share our
ideas and hear our feedback,
and they’re very accepting
of what we have to
say, and I think them being
so encouraging of us taking
the bigger role really
helped.”
Hickey summed it up
well in her valedictorian
speech.
“Deliberate and purposeful
acts, regardless
of size, define who we are
as a community and allow
us to overcome challenges.
As a class, we
have supported each other
through difficult times;
we have motivated each
other through small acts
of kindness and love,”
Hickey said. “It is in these
moments where we find
God’s grace, and, more
importantly, where we
realize each of us has the
power to become an instrument
of God’s grace.
“While these small examples
may seem insignificant
in the grand scheme
of things, they are rooted
in the relationships we
form. Friendship remains
proof of God’s grace, and
these small moments: actions,
deeds, gestures...
they transform the ordinary
into extraordinary.”
Glencoe graduates include
Allison Abeles,
Emily Chrisman, Caitlin
Ciolek, Isaac Conner, Sabrina
Dempsey, Brooke
Fitzgerald, Brendan Hering,
Ryan Hering, Katherine
Jaros, Thomas Lynch,
Celia Satter, Patrick
Weimer and Emily Yager.
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