The 148 members of Notre Dame High School’s Class of 2020 have made history, graduating in the midst of a global pandemic. Notre Dame held amended Commencement Exercises on June 13, 2020.
The Commencement began with the singing of the national anthem by Alexander Barbour ‘20 of Branford (Marquette University). Parents listened to the graduation via radio broadcast from their cars and met their sons in Alumni Hall moments before they walked across the stage (one student and family at a time) to become alumni.
This year, Notre Dame’s top students are a unique pair: Michael Consorte ‘20 (University of Notre Dame) was named the Class of 2020 Valedictorian and his twin brother, Matthew Consorte ‘20 (University of Notre Dame), was named the Class of 2020 Salutatorian.
The evening before graduation, Notre Dame families participated in a virtual Baccalaureate Mass presided by The Rev. Glen Dmytryszyn of St. John Bosco Parish (Branford). At the conclusion of mass, Kelly Joseph (Quinnipiac University) addressed his classmates as the Senior Speaker.
“We have witnessed our fellow classmates’ successes, we have seen them face adversity, and we’ve seen each other develop a sense of self-awareness we would not have gotten anywhere else,” reflected Joseph. “We have adjusted, we have persevered. We are gentlemen and we are now, as always, leaders in the Notre Dame brotherhood.”
Following Joseph’s remarks, Mr. Adam Laput ‘89, Social Studies Faculty, announced the winners of Notre Dame’s two highest honors. The Notre Dame Code Award is given to the senior whom the faculty deems best lives his life by the words stated in the Notre Dame Code. The Man of the Year Award is defined by the student who has made the greatest positive contribution to school life during his senior year.
Oliver Shannon of Branford (United States Air Force Academy) received the ND Code Award. Aidan Walsh of Guilford (University of Texas at Austin) was named the Man of the Year.
Twenty-seven members of the Class of 2020 have fathers and/or grandfathers who are alumni, and they proudly joined ‘legacy-society graduates’ club by receiving their diploma this year.