FAIRFIELD, Conn.—Over 2,500 Sacred Heart University students received diplomas today at two separate commencement ceremonies held at the Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater in Bridgeport.
The SHU class of 2022 includes 1,385 undergraduates who earned bachelor’s and associate’s degrees and 1,200 graduate students who earned master’s degrees, professional certificates and doctorate degrees.
In his opening remarks to undergraduates this afternoon, SHU President John J. Petillo said, “I wish for you that the richness of your personal journey here has taught you to take advantage of the unlimited opportunities that lie ahead. At the same time, I know I will miss the laughter, the cheers, the tears, the competitiveness and the struggles we have been through together. I will miss—but certainly will recall—watching you change during these four years into young responsible adults.”
Petillo acknowledged the unexpected circumstances that surrounded the graduates’ college career and how the class handled it with grace.
“These four years have not always gone exactly as we expected because of COVID, and through it all I have admired your resilience and the way you adapted to the circumstance in which we found ourselves,” he said. “For those reasons alone, the class of 2022 will always hold a special place in my heart.”
Frank Martire, ’69, former chairman of Sacred Heart’s Board of Trustees, also received an honorary doctor of humane letters degree, honoris causa, during the ceremony. Martire has been a member of Sacred Heart’s board of trustees since 2005 and served six years as the board chair. SHU’s Frank and Marisa Martire Center for the Liberal Arts and the Martire Family Arena, currently under construction on campus, honor Martire and his wife, Marisa.
“Go forward graduates and leave your mark in the world, while at the same time enhancing the lives of others,” Martire told the graduates before exclaiming, “Pioneers forever!”
Emmy and SAG award-nominated actor, comedian and author, Kevin Nealon ’75, delivered the keynote address to the undergraduates. The alum also received an honorary doctor of humane letters degree, honoris causa, during the ceremony. Nealon is best known for his nine-year stint as a cast member of NBC’s Saturday Night Live. He received critical acclaim for his role in the Showtime series Weeds from 2005 to 2012.
Nealon’s address to students was lighthearted and filled with jokes. He explained to the audience that when Petillo asked him to give a speech at graduation he thought, “How am I going to influence these people?” He joked that a TikTok influencer would be better suited to impart wisdom.
After a few more laughs, Nealon told the crowd that after he graduated from SHU he got a job at Sikorsky Aircraft in the blade shop. He worked the job for two years; he wanted to work long enough to pay off student loans and then travel around Europe. When he explained to a veteran worker his plan, the worker said, “That’s what I said 20 years ago.” It was a wakeup call for Nealon who soon after that conversation gave his two-week notice, traveled and then came back to Connecticut to work on his dream of becoming a comedian.
“Some naysayers say that was a risk, but let me tell you something, there are no risks when you are building your dream,” Nealon said. “Failure isn’t failure, it’s one step to actualizing your dream. Risk is settling for a job that doesn’t bring you joy … Ask yourself, what are your dreams? The world is full of opportunities to acquire these dreams and the world needs more people that are living these dreams, they need more dreams, and more importantly, more cowbells.”
Nealon ended the speech with a popular line from Saturday Night Live made famous by a character played by the late comedian Chris Farley, “Harness the good and block the bad, if not you’ll end up in a van down by the river.”
It was then time for the much-anticipated conferral of the degrees. Students, grouped together by program, rose to their feet and lined up to get their awards.
Maisy Carvalho of North Kingstown, RI, was one of the many undergraduates excited to receive her degree from the College of Arts & Sciences Saturday afternoon. The media arts major had a feeling about SHU four years ago when she visited campus. “I knew I was going to be cared for here and treated with respect. The past four years have been a testament to that.”
Carvalho was able to grow personally and professionally during her time at SHU. She was a resident success assistant, worked two internships, participated in volunteer programs & service-learning activities and was editor-in-chief The Spectrum newspaper. “My expectations were not only met, but exceeded,” she said.
In a little over a week, Carvalho will start a new job as news producer for WSLS-TV in Roanoke, VA. “All of my professors and the administration I worked with taught me everything I need to know,” Carvalho said. She singled out professor Joe Alicastro with the School of Communication, Media & the Arts, who was her adviser, mentor and teacher. “He used all his experience to show us key elements of storytelling and news production.”
Ryan Whalen, 22, of Cumberland, RI, was a double major in exercise science and biology and minored in chemistry. His academic talents earned him a research assistant job for an orthopedic surgeon at the Steadman Philippon Research Institute in Vail, CO. He will start working there after commencement and, in the following year, start applying to medical schools.
“I was drawn to SHU four years ago by the beautiful campus and the endless academic opportunities offered,” Whalen said. “I was able to meet so many amazing people and make lifelong friends and memories. The faculty have been great role models and helped me prepare for life after undergrad.”
After the conferral of degrees, Olivia Chaponis, the class of 2022 president, addressed the crowd. She took her peers down memory lane as she talked about their time at SHU and what they all experienced, from remote learning to the president’s gala to discovering the best foods at the dining hall, they did it all together. She also made sure to remind her class and the audience that “it takes a village.”
“As we end our chapter as undergraduates and we move on to the next chapter on our journey, you must remember that you will always have the support of your village behind you,” Chaponis said. “When you are faced with an obstacle, do not turn back, push through with the help of our village, and you will get through anything that life will throw at you. Let us be real. As we have seen in the last four years, life is not easy, but Sacred Heart has prepared us for any obstacles that we may face.”
Earlier in the day, SHU’s graduate students received their awards. Petillo said in his address, “Well, here we are, gathered to celebrate another accomplishment in your journey. Many hours and sacrifices were given to this achievement. So today, we rightly pause and say, ‘yes, well done.’ Yet, your journey is at another beginning. So, I encourage you to continually reflect on what you do and who you are. Socrates once wrote that ‘an unexamined life is not worth living.’
“Such reflection is timeless in effort and it's urgency,” Petillo continued. “You may have mastered the skills and knowledge of your profession. Now it is time, however, for each of you to search for the greatness within you. Today, we pause to celebrate all that each of you has accomplished.”
John M. Murphy, president and CEO of Nuvance Health―a network of health-care facilities in New York and western Connecticut―addressed the graduate students. Murphy received an honorary doctor of humane letters degree, honoris causa.
“The point I want to underscore this morning is that to be successful in our increasingly complex and fast-paced world, you can never stop learning,” Murphy said.
Murphy provided the graduates with advice. He told them to seek information that challenges their point of view, to remain open to changing their minds, to learn to listen and to calibrate their confidence.
“Learn to ask questions that reflect genuine curiosity,” Murphy said. “In many cases, the person with whom you are speaking already has the answer. Your job might just be to help facilitate the expression of what it is they are saying or thinking. And be sure to listen closely to those who disagree with you. Instead of simply disagreeing with them, try to understand how they arrived at their conclusions; you might learn something.”
Meaghan Hynes, 22, of Lynbrook, NY, received her graduate degree in teaching from the Isabelle Farrington College of Education & Human Development. She was accepted into SHU’s five-year education program her sophomore year.
“I had the best four years of undergraduate education at SHU and then a great year of graduate school,” Hynes said.
During graduate school, Hynes said she interned at Madison Middle School in Trumbull and said it was a fulfilling experience.
She also made strong connections with her professors who helped her along the way. “I think that I am ready to take on the ‘real world’ after graduating because of the experiences I had at SHU. One my professors, Michael Giarratano, has been so helpful in terms of interview preparation and getting me and my peers ready to apply for jobs.”
Hynes added that she made “amazing” friends. They supported each other throughout remote and in-person learning, student teaching and interning.
“I was lucky to have another Sacred Heart student (Sara Terpak) with me at my internship, and I will never forget our days at Madison Middle School together,” Hynes said.
After graduation, Hynes will move back to Long Island and apply for middle school social studies teaching positions.
Gianna DeAngelis ’20, of Oxford, received her master’s degree in business administration from the Jack Welch College of Business & Technology. After having a “fantastic” experience as an undergraduate student at SHU, she couldn’t imagine going to graduate school anywhere else. “The Welch College of Business & Technology helped form me into a confident and skilled businessperson. As a woman in business, having the support and encouragement from my professors made a huge difference in my life.”
DeAngelis said classes were enriching and her internship and extracurricular opportunities were “amazing.”
“They allowed me to immerse myself in my desired field, learn as much as I could and grew me into a strong and capable woman ready to take on the challenges and rewards of being part of the business world,” she said.
Tammi Dockett-Wilson of North Little Rock, AR was the graduate student speaker at Saturday morning’s graduate commencement ceremony. Dockett-Wilson was in the inaugural cohort of the Farrington College of Education & Human Development’s educational leadership doctoral program. She recalled the day she discovered SHU offered the program.
“I immediately telephoned my husband because I was so excited about my discovery that I could not wait until I made it home to tell him,” Dockett-Wilson said. “At that moment my life started on a journey that brought me here today.”
After thanking numerous people in the Farrington College of Education & Human Development, Dockett-Wilson asked her peers in the audience, “what’s next?” She provided them with five suggestions: to celebrate, set goals, to apply the lessons they’ve learned, mentor someone and live life to the fullest.
“Leaving this kind of legacy will confirm that you are part of a society that understood you were part of the greater sum of the whole and not separate as a stand-alone,” Dockett-Wilson said. “In closing, yesterday we planned, today we celebrate and tomorrow we will start anew.”
Photo: Graduate students are congratulated by faculty from the School of Social Work at Sacred Heart University's graduate commencement on May 14, 2022, at the Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater. Photo by Tracy Deer-Mirek
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About Sacred Heart University
As the second-largest independent Catholic university in New England, and one of the fastest-growing in the U.S., Sacred Heart University is a national leader in shaping higher education for the 21st century. SHU offers nearly 90 undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and certificate programs on its Fairfield, Conn., campus. Sacred Heart also has satellites in Connecticut, Luxembourg and Ireland and offers online programs. More than 9,000 students attend the University’s nine colleges and schools: Arts & Sciences; Communication, Media & the Arts; Social Work; Computer Science & Engineering; Health Professions; the Isabelle Farrington College of Education & Human Development; the Jack Welch College of Business & Technology; the Dr. Susan L. Davis, R.N., & Richard J. Henley College of Nursing; and St. Vincent’s College. Sacred Heart stands out from other Catholic institutions as it was established and led by laity. The contemporary Catholic university is rooted in the rich Catholic intellectual tradition and the liberal arts, and at the same time cultivates students to be forward thinkers who enact change—in their own lives, professions and in their communities. The Princeton Review includes SHU in its Best 387 Colleges–2022 Edition, “Best Northeastern” and Best Business Schools–2022 Edition. Sacred Heart is home to the award-winning, NPR-affiliated radio station, WSHU, a Division I athletics program and an impressive performing arts program that includes choir, band, dance and theatre. www.sacredheart.edu