McGuinness, Mount Hold
Graduation for Class of '05

By Eileen Dugan
The Sooner Catholic

The Year 2005 is a milestone for both the Catholic faith in Oklahoma and for the graduates of Mount Saint Mary and Bishop McGinness High Schools. In this, the 100th anniversary of the Diocese of Oklahoma, 53 students will graduate from the Mount and 169 from Bishop McGinness.

Mount Saint Mary graduates will gather with family and friends to receive their diplomas at a special ceremony at Saint Mark’s Church, Norman, at 2 p.m., May 21. McGuinness grads will have made their graduation on May 16.

The MSM seniors will file into the church to the strains of the traditional graduation march, “Pomp and Circumstance”. Father Scott Boeckman, school chaplain, is scheduled to give the Invocation. Tara McDaniel and Allison McKenzie will give their Valedictorian Reflections just before Principal Talita DeNegri presents the Class of 2005.

Sister Donella Hartman, R.S.M., Vice-President of the Sisters of Mercy Regional Leadership Team from Saint Louis, and Sister Catherine Powers, C.N.D., Superintendent of Catholic Schools, will deliver remarks at the graduation. The participation of  Sister Donella will remind the congregation of the 100-year commitment the Sisters of Mercy have made to Catholic education at Mount Saint Mary’s.

Assistant Principal, Mrs. Whitney Faires will read the names of the graduating seniors as DeNegri passes out diplomas. As the students process across the stage, they will pick up roses to give to their parents during the Tribute to Senior Parents. After the presentation of diplomas, Caitlin Woodard will share her Valedictorian Reflections with the audience.

As the notes of “Ave Maria” float through the halls of Saint Mark’s, each senior will present his or her parent with a rose, a Tribute to the Senior Parents.

A few of the Mount’s seniors plan to go directly to work or into the military. The rest will go on to college in the fall. Several of these college-bound students are still undecided as to which of several collages they will attend. Saint Mary’s Class of 2005 is very accomplished, having been awarded more than $1.6 million in scholarships.

“This is an extremely gifted graduating class. They will be missed,” DeNegri said. “They have displayed remarkable leadership in terms of integrity, values, and responsibility the four years they have been here. Mature since the very beginning, they have been excellent role models for our underclassmen. This class has offered their unique gifts to the entire Saint Mary’s community.”

“They are a very close-knit class and well behaved,” Faires added.

The 169 seniors of Bishop McGinness High School are also quite accomplished. They have been awarded scholarships in excess of $2 million. While some of these graduates are undecided as to what they will do in the future and one will go on to the world of work, most graduates will matriculate at various colleges and universities come September.

At the Bishop McGinness graduation, the graduates were seated center stage at the Petuskey Performing Arts Auditorium on May 16, at 7:30 p.m.

Assistant Principal, Ms. Anne Hathcoat, was to serve as Master of Ceremonies. John Imes and Robert McCallion will provide bagpipe accompaniment. This includes playing “The Wearin’ o’ the Green”, the processional to which the Bishop McGinness Class of 2005 will march into the auditorium.

Catholic School Superintendent, Sister Catherine Powers, C.N.D, will deliver the Invocation and Principal David Morton and President of the Alumni Association, Shannon Sarber Love, will announce Mike Milligan as Alumni of the Year.

The audience will then hear Andrew Ruffin and Christina Forest’s Valedictorian Addresses.

When Morton finishes his Remarks to the Graduates, he will read the names of each senior as Archbishop Eusebius Beltran and School Advisory Council Chairman, Tom Casso, perform the duty of handing out diplomas.

Benediction by the Archbishop will follow. Imes and McCallion will then play “Scotland the Brave” on the bagpipes as the new graduates file out of the auditorium and into the adult world.

The loss of the Class of 2005 “will always be felt by the school,” Morton said. As “our seniors move on with their lives, their unique gifts and talents, both as individuals and as a class, will never be forgotten. We send them off with our prayers and best wishes and the knowledge that they will always have a home within the walls of Bishop McGinness High School.”