Christian Brothers Academy LINCROFT
CBA grads free to define their generation, future By EmmaLee Italia, Contributing Editor
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s 223 graduates of Christian Brothers Academy, Lincroft, accompanied by families and friends, gathered in nearby Brookdale Community College to mark commencement exercises May 23, they listened to inspiring words from both Pink Floyd and Henry David Thoreau. “‘Through the fish-eyed lens of tear-stained eyes, I could barely define the shape of this moment in time,’” valedictorian Michael Sardella quoted from Pink Floyd’s song “The Final Cut.” “I feel this quote is extremely relevant for us graduates,” he explained, noting the difficulty of defining the value of their CBA education. “If I asked every senior now what CBA has meant to him … [their] answers would barely scratch the surface … No two CBA experiences are alike, and the beauty of this is that we each get to define what it has meant for us for ourselves.” On May 22, the Baccalaureate Mass for the all-boys school was celebrated by Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., in St. Mary Church, Middletown. “As you turn this page in your lives at graduation from Catholic high school, it is up to you to remain in [God], to stay connected, to let him remain in you,” the Bishop said in his homily. “Do that, my brothers, graduates of CBA’s Class of
2019; do that and your lives will Christian bear much fruit. Brothers AcadA particularly moving moemy graduates stand for ment came when graduates commencement presented mothers or loved exercises May ones with a white rose as a 23 in Brookdale thank you. Community Community service College, Lincroft. loomed large in the school’s John Batkowski Class of 2019. The school photo reported 22,968 community service hours completed – an average of 107 hours per graduate, when only 50 hours are required for graduation. Sardella, who plans to attend Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., said he and CBA graduates are fortunate to define their generation. “We have the privilege, as human beings in a free and open society, to define our lives and our happiness,” he said. “While all of us will face struggles in our lives, we also get to define the hard times in a way where we could learn from them and grow to become the best people we could be.” Using words he had held dear since sophomore English class, Sardella treated fellow graduates to a recitation from Thoreau’s “Walden.” “‘I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived,’” he quoted. “Boys, go out, find your own woods, and live deeply and deliberately.”
Graduate Andrew Mattina shares an emotional moment with his mother, Carrie, after presenting her with a rose during the Baccalaureate Mass May 22. Courtesy photo Graduate Tim Murray proudly poses for a photo with CBA principal R. Ross Fales after commencement exercises May 23. John Batkowski photo
Graduates: 223 Baccalaureate Mass: May 22, 2019, St. Mary Church, Middletown Commencement: May 23, 2019, Brookdale Community College, Lincroft Scholarships Received: $24,213,000
Valedictorian: Michael Sardella
Salutatorian: David Ham
Bishop Ahr Award: Michael Sardella
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We have such an enormous privilege to be CBA graduates ready to make an indelible mark in our moment of history, and we must not waste it. We will be our generation’s businessmen, lawyers, doctors, engineers, teachers and even congressmen, and it is our duty to the country and society in which we live to progress it toward positive change.” Michael Sardella, Valedictorian Speech
Bishop O’Connell serves as principal celebrant at the Baccalaureate Mass for Christian Brothers Academy, which was held May 22 in St. Mary Church, Middletown. Courtesy photo JUNE 2019 • TRENTONMONITOR.COM •
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