The Academy of the Holy Angels’ Class of 2023 engaged in a joyful celebration of individual and collective accomplishments and enduring friendships at the June 2 graduation exercises. The school community, family, and friends gathered to witness the 143rd Commencement and Baccalaureate Mass, which were held at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark.
Caroline Dupas of Pearl River, New York, graduated First in Merit and was named commencement speaker, the highest honor AHA can confer upon a graduate. Giovanna Corbisiero of Franklin Lakes finished Second in Merit, and Shivani Sahu of Paramus was chosen by her peers to deliver the senior response. AHA’s alumna speaker was Katherine Polk Failla, J.D. (AHA ’87). Faith Youn of Closter played the violin solo during the
singing of “Shalom.”
The Most Reverend Michael A. Saporito and Rev. Vedran Kirincic concelebrated Mass with assistance from Deacon John L. Sylvester. Bishop Saporito recounted a story about a person who kept a piece of a broken mirror and used it to reflect light into dark, inaccessible places. This “game” became a metaphor for life, since the light only shines if someone reflects it. Saporito urged the graduates to look for everyday opportunities to bring smiles, hope, understanding, and peace to others.
“Where you give love away, it always reflects back to you,” he shared.
AHA President Melinda Hanlon noted the Angels’ many achievements. As a class, AHA’s 122 graduates amassed $11.3 million in scholarships toward their undergraduate studies, and provided an aggregate of 44,702 service hours locally, nationally, and internationally.
“I pray your guardian angels will accompany you always,” President Hanlon told the class.
Principal Jean Miller introduced Caroline Dupas, who is a National Merit Commended Student and an Advanced Placement Scholar with Honors. As a member and president of AHA Model United Nations, Dupas became a five-time Best Delegate winner at conferences sponsored by Harvard, Dalton, Dartmouth, and Philips Exeter. Dupas initiated “The Global Gavel,” a Model UN/international affairs journal, and mentored delegates from Iraq, Pakistan, and China. Recently, she participated in an online climate change/human rights research program with the U.S. Embassy in Iraq.
In March, she was one of AHA’s representatives to the UN Commission on Status of Women. During her time with New York’s Girls State, a politics and public speaking program, Dupas rose to the top five of 400+ students and became a Girls Nation semifinalist. She earned AHA’s Mother Caroline Scholarship and the University of Pennsylvania Book Award. She concluded her years at AHA as vice president of the French Honor Society and a member of the National Honor Society and the honor societies for math, science, social studies, and art. She was president of AHA’s Junior States of America, and launched a political and international affairs column. She was co-president of the AHA Social Advocacy Youth Group, where she held fundraisers for Ukraine. Dupas also served as an Angel Ambassador and a peer tutor. Outside of AHA, Dupas interned for an immigration and family lawyer, volunteered at Sunrise Association (a free camp for children with cancer), and participated in her local swim team. This fall, she will enter Georgetown.
“Be your story’s own main character,” Dupas told her peers, noting that many answers to life’s questions already lie within. “Bring others up with you while you fly to success.”
Giovanna Corbisiero received the 2023 New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s Scholar Athlete Award. She was captain of the varsity basketball team, a member of the spring track squad, and posted the highest average of a senior athlete. She earned First Team All-Division, All-County, and Coach’s Award recognition for basketball and First Team All-League honors for the 400-meter relay. Her volunteer activities included teaching basketball to younger students through the Catholic Youth Organization and a program for children with special needs.
Corbisiero earned AHA’s Mother Caroline and Sister Mary Nonna Dunphy scholarships, and cum laude honors on the National Latin Exam. She is a member of the Latin Honor Society, the National Honor Society, and the math and science honor societies. She was a peer tutor, earned Commended Student status, and is an AP Scholar with Distinction. She was secretary/treasurer of the Youth Group and an active member of Project Greenhouse, an AHA group that grows vegetables for local food pantries. As an Angel, Corbisiero participated in the Englewood Hospital Surgical Science Research Program, where she learned about surgical methods, bioethics, and more. She also studied genetics at the UPenn Summer Prep program. This Angel will continue her studies and basketball career at Haverford College.
President Hanlon introduced guest speaker Katherine Polk Failla, who has served as a U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of New York since 2013, when the Senate confirmed her nomination by President Barack Obama. She is a summa cum laude graduate of the College of William and Mary and a cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School, where she was co-editor-in-chief of the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy. During her years at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, she oversaw numerous investigations and prosecutions. Earlier in her career, she provided pro bono assistance to representatives of clients in immigration and family court proceedings.
“Angels now. Angels always,” Failla began, immediately capturing her audience. Failla pointed out that AHA families choose the Academy because they understand that their daughters ask different questions about themselves and the world. The all-girl setting allows students to focus on themselves and develop confidence. She spoke about facing gender and age-related biases, and advised the Angels to rely on the strength and confidence they have built at AHA to surmount similar obstacles.
“Be joyful in what you do…make yourself proud,” Failla said. She urged the graduates to remain open to serving others, sharing that she took a 70 percent pay cut to become a prosecutor so she could effect more direct change.
“My closest friends in life are my lunch table friends from Holy Angels,” Failla added, noting that she envies the graduates, who have so much promise and so many options ahead of them.
Dean of Students Andréa Beyer introduced Shivani Sahu. This Angel’s contributions to the Academy included playing cello for the AHA Orchestra, sharing her Hindu Indian heritage at school, and participating in the theater program. Sahu is professional SAG-AFTRA actor and model, and concluded her senior year as vice president of the Thespian Honor Society. She was an officer in the Tri-M (music) Honor Society and was active with the National Art Honor Society. Sahu is an award-winning member of the AHA DECA Team and a recipient of the Sister Catherine Green Kindness Award. She will soon be studying public policy/economics at Princeton, and aspires to lead her own diversity-focused talent agency.
Sahu shared that, as a ninth grader, she had written a retreat letter to herself which she would read before graduation. In that missive, she questioned whether she would still be friends with everyone in her group by senior year. On graduation day, she answered, “No…We’re sisters.”
