Commencement Address By Margaret Brennan ’98, CBS News Correspondent
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ood afternoon seniors, parents, faculty and trustees. It is great to be back here at Sacred Heart Greenwich and to see how much this school has grown since I graduated in 1998. That feels like a long time ago! I am feeling very grown up and not really sure what to do with that. It is an honor to be with all of you. There were 26 girls in my graduating class from CSH. That gives you a sense of how intimate our community was, but also how much culture shock I went through when I began my first year at the University of Virginia (UVA), where they measure the student body in thousands, not by first names. I know that there are two young women here about to start at UVA in the fall. Ever since Pam Hayes asked me to speak at commencement, I have been thinking of what I would tell all of you at this transition point in your lives. And I realized that most of the advice that I’d want to give 18-year-old young women going off to college is not really the kind of thing that you say from a podium, particularly at Sacred Heart; happy to share that advice with you later. But I do want you to be mindful of a few things. Right now, you likely cannot fully appreciate what a nice cocoon you have been in here at CSH, particularly during the past four years of high school. I believe that my parents gave me a tremendous gift by putting me in a community in which I was noticed—and where integrity,
compassion and spirituality are celebrated. You all may be searching for some of those things as you develop a life and career outside these gates. For me, Virginia was a big adjustment from CSH, and so was moving to Manhattan after that and launching a career in broadcast journalism—first covering the financial world and then three years ago moving to Washington to cover foreign policy for CBS News. And, that is where I am now. I report on diplomacy and national security. Basically, that means that I spend a lot of time on airplanes chasing around decision-makers and asking questions for a living. As a colleague of mine says, journalists have the responsibility of writing the first draft of history. And I work very hard to try to get that right. And sometimes my job simply means trying to craft the right question because at certain moments the inquiry itself can be powerful.
Convent of the Sacred Heart 's Class of 2015 Gissele Alzate Kylinn Taylor Askew Sarah Elizabeth Banker Jenny Claire Blessing Alexandra Andrea Bolanos Anabeth O’Shea Bostrup Stephanie Elise Browne Concetta Theresa Brusco Caroline Browning Burch Katherine Priscilla Burkett Catherine Olivia Capolongo Madeleine Chantal Caponiti Molly Elizabeth Carroll Sabrina Anne Carrozzi Emily Morgan Casper Emma Catherine Church Madeline Church
Jordan Amber Cohen Elizabeth Seton Cunniffe Michaela Frances D’Urso Emily Katherine Davenport Elizabeth Rose Denson Alexa Leigh DiTursi Jennifer Nicole Esposito Miranda Elizabeth Falk Caitlan Alexis Fealing Grace Anne Finerman Alexandra Marie Foley Corina Gabaldon Molly Emanuelle Xiang Geisinger Margaret McMahon Gerli Gabrielle Banks Giacomo Alexa Noelle Granser Francesca Rose Hay
Emma Catherine Healy Liesl Charlotte Hennig Meredith Grace Henry Claren Mary Hesburgh Katherine Elizabeth Hill Emily Rose Hirshorn Anneliese Diane Hummel Jessica Celeste Hummel Grace Evelyn Isford Sarah Elisabeth Jackmauh Jessica LaSandra Johnson Grace Holland Kennedy Bridgette Caroline Lamando Pippa Elizabeth Leigh Isabella Grandis Libassi Gabriela Alejandra Lopez Janelle Maxwell
Grace Elizabeth McKenney Maria Mikhail Alice Elizabeth Millerchip Sheila Therese Moran Zsanelle Morel Mohini Laxman Narasimhan Alana Marie Normile Emma Grace Novick Claire Elizabeth O’Neill Emily Catherine O’Sullivan Mary Elizabeth O’Sullivan Kirsten Nicole Parkinson Julia Marilyn Perry Anna Grayson Phillips Lily Eve Pillari Natalie Leslie Ponce Grace Eileen Powers
Natalie Alice Puente Vanessa Brooke Raskin Mackenzie Ann Reilly Mari Angela Riera Emily Sara Sabia Emma Rose Sapio Lauren Nicole Schwabe Kimberly Marie Smith Katherine Ann Squitieri Jacqueline Michele Urbinati Priscilla Valdez Phoebe Madelaine Walker Anne Elizabeth Werdiger Abbi Emma Wilson
Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich • cshgreenwich.org
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