Heart to Heart Fall 2024 by sacredheartacademylongisland

heart to heart

SACRED HEART ACADEMY HEMPSTEAD, NEW YORK FALL 2024

a message from kristin lynch graham

Dear Sacred Heart Academy Community,

I am delighted to share some highlights from the first part of SHA’s 75th Anniversary year! Legacy and milestones are a special focus this year. We created the Legacy Fund to fundraise throughout the year and recognize donors with milestone gifts. We are so grateful to Linda Kuczwaj ’92, P ’27 for her leadership as Chair of the Legacy fund. A heartfelt thank you to the many who have generously donated already. We look forward to unveiling the Legacy Recognition Wall in 2025.

Students continue to achieve amazing things. In November, SHA students packaged 20,000 meals as part of the Million Meals project to support Rise Against Hunger. On December 8th, forty-one SHA students sang at the iconic Radio City Music Hall. Nine students submitted research projects for the 2025 edition of the internationally recognized Regeneron academic scholarship program. Three of them had their papers published in academic journals! Girls continue to participate in Rock the Street, Wall Street with visits to St. John’s and Molloy Universities as well as the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange. And, the Class of 2025 is receiving outstanding college acceptances.

SHA Sings at

The Sacred Heart Academy Chorus shared their gift of song at the Radio City Christmas Spectacular on Sunday, December 8th. Forty-one of our students had the opportunity to perform two songs, “Carol of the Bells” and “Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella,” on one of New York City’s most iconic stages.

Alumnae celebrated, too, at class reunions and the inaugural Women’s Leadership Conference for students. Current parents gathered at a spirited Christmas reception. And, through your incredible generosity, SHA exceeded its Giving Tuesday goal with over $80,000 raised. Great things are happening at SHA!!!

I am so grateful for the continued support of SHA’s mission to educate and empower young women with courage, compassion and commitment. The legacy is ours to carry! We are excited to continue our 75th Anniversary celebration in the new year! Look forward to many more milestones and accomplishments throughout the year.

Wishing you all a blessed Christmas and New Year filled with peace and joy.

With love and gratitude,

Kristin Lynch Graham, P ’26, ’27, President

The students looked and sounded their best, performed with professionalism and represented Sacred Heart Academy with enthusiasm and grace. The entire SHA Community is incredibly proud of their performance!

“Having been a professional singer for many years, I was so thrilled that they could

feel that wave of applause and a sense of accomplishment for all of the hard work and daily preparation they have done since September. I look forward to giving them more opportunities to share their gifts in the future. It is always a pleasure to work with them.”

Mrs. Donna Ferrara (Music Chair & Choir Conductor)

Milestone Moment: Dr. Elizabeth Wood ’65 Inspirational Medical Career

Betty Wood came to Sacred Heart Academy in 1961, following her sister Patricia ’60. The Wood girls only had to travel a mile from Westminster Road in West Hempstead, but their journey took them many places.

After graduation, Betty was admitted to Boston University's prestigious 6-year medical program, where she earned both her bachelor's and medical degrees. She then began her internship at St. Elizabeth’s Teaching Hospital at Tufts University.

In 1974, she became the first female chief resident at St. Elizabeth’s. After completing her residency, she founded a medical practice in Brookline, MA with Dr. Terrence Murphy, who became her husband in 1976. They practiced medicine together for 30 years.

Dr. Wood’s career continued to flourish as she became the Chief of General Internal Medicine at St. Elizabeth’s, and ultimately the president of the medical staff in 1990, the first woman to hold that position in the hospital’s one-hundred-year history.

Along the way, Betty and Terry had 2 children and now have 5 grandchildren. They continue to follow medicine and take care of each other in Massachusetts. They returned to visit SHA this summer. It was a true pleasure to welcome back this trailblazing leader, Dr. Wood, you are an inspiration. Sacred Heart Academy is so proud of the work you have done, the life you have led, and your affection and gratitude for alma mater.

Million Meals Project

On Sunday, November 3rd, 135 students, faculty and administrators gathered to package meals for the Million Meals Project—an effort put forth by the nonprofit organization Rise Against Hunger to package and distribute 1,000,000 meals to families in need all over the world by 2028.

The event was proposed by Seniors Amelia Chondrogiannis and Mary Marino (co-founders of the Optimistic Cooking Club), as they wanted to find a way to connect to the Mission Committee’s

theme of addressing Hunger Insecurity. In partnership with the Mission Committee and Mrs. Allison Haun, they organized the event and recruited volunteers to help sort and package meals for this incredible cause.

In just 2 hours, the SHA community packaged over 20,000 meals—helping to achieve the long term goal of sending one million meals to those in need. Thanks to all who participated for their generous donations and commitment!

Mary Ruchalski Memorial Fund

Sacred Heart Academy is proud to be a recipient of the Mary Ruchalski Memorial Scholarship Award. The scholarship is generously funded by Victoria Hall Gmelich ’87 and her husband Justin in memory of Mary. The scholarship is awarded to young women who share Mary’s qualities—hard work, kindness and athleticism—so that they too can benefit from a SHA education. In total, five of these scholarships have been awarded to SHA

students. With three of the five given to current students.

We are proud to announce that Ellen Riches is this year’s recipient. She is a member of the swimming team, spring track and cross country teams, where she is consistently a top Varsity runner. She is also a participant in Red & Gold where she serves as a member of the Red Aerobics team.

SHA in the Press!

Channel 12 News visited campus for a feature on SHA’s Christmas tradition—The Nutcracker. In a year of milestones, this beloved SHA tradition, celebrated its 35th anniversary in November. Congratulations to moderator Ms. Anne Melia ’08, who has brought incredible leadership and creativity to this production. Fun fact—Ms. Melia danced in SHA’s Nutcracker when she was a young girl and loves continuing the tradition for other young girls. That is a SHA legacy in motion!

The Catholic Faith Network (CFN) helped celebrate SHA’s 75th anniversary. On November 20th, Delilah Agresta ’28 and her mother Jacqueline Agresta ’89, P ’22, ’28 joined President Graham on CFN Live to highlight SHA’s 75th Anniversary and the importance of SHA’s legacy. It was a great opportunity to talk about SHA’s place as the only all-girls Catholic high school on Long Island and the importance of the mission of the Sisters of St. Joseph. Delilah was by far the best spokeswoman.

If you missed it, check out the clips on our website www.sacredheartacademyli.org

The Legacy Fund

for sacred heart academy

This year, in recognition of our 75th Anniversary, Sacred Heart Academy launched The Legacy Fund to encourage donors to provide unrestricted support of SHA and make a meaningful difference for future generations of students.

Milestone gifts of $1,000 and $5,000 will be recognized on a donor wall in the school building.

Thank you to the 15 donors at the heart level ($1,000) and 31 donors at the diamond level ($5,000) Congratulations to the following classes

for collectively giving at the heart level: 1994, 1999 and 2004.

Gifts to The Legacy Fund ensure institutional sustainability and growth by providing current and immediately impactful funds for the Academy’s basic operations. These crucial unrestricted dollars allow the financial flexibility necessary to expand our commitments to academic excellence and to pursue and respond to opportunities in areas of emerging need.

donate here

What begins in our classrooms and corridors, transforms into a legacy of leadership.

In honor of our 75th anniversary, and to continue our commitment to financial and investment literacy, SHA hosted a Women’s Leadership Forum for our students.

Shannon (Lally ’96) McLay, CEO and Founder of the Financial Gym was the inaugural keynote speaker. She shared a presentation titled “Financial Wellness Tips for Young Women” with the entire student body. Shannon stressed that

Ten alumnae shared their career stories and guidance: women's leadership forum & Financial Literacy

MAURA (MURPHY ’94) ABBOTT , PHD, AOCNP, CPNP, FAAN

Columbia University/Associate Dean, Clinical Affairs & Associate Professor of Nursing; Nurse Practitioner Oncology

NICOLE BREEN ’11

NBA, Youth Basketball Development Program Manager

JANICE DESIR ’96, MD, MPH, CHCQM R1 RCM

Peer to Peer Manager, Kidney Medical Associates and Saint Barnabas Hospital- Nephrologist

everything “financial” is fixable and that our choices determine how much we need to fix. She offered valuable insights on how finances can and should be empowering and encouraged the girls to get very comfortable talking about money.

This presentation was a perfect compliment to SHA’s partnership with Rock the Street, Wall Street. 167 students participated in the second year of the program with visits to Molloy University, St. John’s University Tobin College of Business and the Closing Bell at the New York Stock Exchange.

KATHRYN (SULLIVAN ’09) MCDONALD

VP of Marketing, Arista Records, a division of Sony

ANNA MCGOVERN ’06

Rockville Centre School District, Principal Hewitt Elementary

BRITTANY MEHMEDOVIC ’07

The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart Producer

LISA (CELLA ’89) ORTIZ

D&B Engineers and Architects D.P.C / Senior Engineer, Water Supply Div.

KAITLYN QUINN ’04 CPA

National Football League/Finance Director of League Office Operations

DARIA ROSE ’15

Third-Year Corporate Associate, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen, & Katz

MARIE ST. PIERRE ’16

Associate Scientist, Estee Lauder Companies

Hustle & Heart

Spotlight on Athletics: SHA Basketball

The winter can be a bit dreary; the sun sets early, bitter cold, and unpredictable weather often leads many to become reclusive. This is most definitely not the Sacred Heart Basketball Program! The Lady Spartan Gym is teeming with light, enthusiasm, and warmth.

The JV Basketball team, under the leadership of the legendary Coach, Michael Goetz, Coach Steph Etheart, and Coach Caitlin Conelli have carved out opportunities for the girls to grow as basketball players but also young women. In early December, the team hosted Sacred Heart of Montreal, Canada for a truly wonderful experience of international sisterhood. The JV girls were learning French as they prepared to welcome our guests from the North, and the parents all contributed to a post game feast—breaking bread together always fosters friendship.

The Varsity team, led by another SHA Legend, Coach Bob Speck as well as Coach Jason Bennet, and Coach Colleen Celiberti, have likewise carved

out special events to foster team camaraderie, create lifelong memories, and connect with our amazing alumnae network.

On the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, Coach Speck organized an Alumnae Basketball game that featured alumnae from the nineties to as recent as 2024! The varsity team worked the game as scorekeepers and announced the playby-play while alumnae battled on the court. Mary Hope Friedermann, class of 1994, who has two daughters currently attending SHA, sunk a critical free throw with seconds left on the clock to bring home a victory for her team… it was ELECTRIC!

The Alumnae Game proved to be an absolutely beautiful collaboration of past and present Lady Spartans. A few of the alumnae brought along the cutest fans, which only reinforced that our gym is a place where young women are supported and then go out into the world to be leaders and women of will. Thank you to the LaCasse sisters who not only donated the scoreboard in the gym,

but brought their biggest fans to support the team.

Finally, The varsity basketball coaches organized a trip to Fairfield to play Notre Dame Prep for an overnight extravaganza. On the itinerary: a game against ND Prep, touring Sacred Heart University, a tour of Fairfield University followed up with attending the Fairfield vs Villanova Women’s Basketball game. Not only did the girls compete and tour colleges, the coaches took the team to Mass and found a little time to play laser tag. THIS is what high school is all about: creating memories and moments for the girls to take with them and cherish for the rest of their lives.

The Basketball Program’s motto is Hustle & Heart. To witness the coaches and girls animate these words in the real world—rather than just embroider them as a simple platitude on a shirt— is why, to quote Coach Goetz, 47 Cathedral Ave is so special.

REGENERON RECIPIENTS 2025 SHA

This Fall, nine SHA students proudly submitted their research projects for the 2025 edition of the internationally recognized Regeneron academic scholarship program.

We are immensely proud of Sacred Heart Academy's Science Research Scholars!!

EMMA CAROTENUTO | The “Sunset Effect” among Nursing Home and At-Home Patients in a Latinx Community [BEH]

ISABELLE DEPALMA | Unveiling the Divisive Web: The Role of Social Media Algorithms in Promoting Polarization and Division among Adolescents [BEH]

We are excited to share that just before Thanksgiving, Regeneron t-shirts arrived via UPS indicating that our applicants have jumped the first hurdle. Their applications and papers have been “vetted and qualified” by 2 graduate students and passed on to “semifinalist judging” by the professors and industry professionals. During this review period, approximately 10-17%

of papers are culled at this first cut—we are very proud that all nine of our students made it past the first round.

What’s even more exciting is that three of the nine students Emma Carotenuto, Ilenia Graffagnino and Abigail Johnson—received the news that their papers will be published in peerreviewed journals!

CHARLOTTE FORMONT | Sunscreen’s Impact on Marine Life: The Effects of Coated and Uncoated Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles on Zooxanthellae [BOTENV]

ILENIA GRAFFAGNINO | The Impact of AI Language Models on the Critical Thinking Abilities of College Students [BEH]

EMILY GRAY | Building a predictive model of the average income of an area based on access to high quality food on Long Island [Econ-CompSci]

ABIGAIL JOHNSON | How Do Elementary Students View Gender in the Science Workforce? [BEH]

HAILEY PETER | News silos and generation gaps: The differential impact of polarizing media on news consumption and political views [BEH]

ERICA REVILL | If Negative Coping Hurts, Why Doesn’t Positive Coping Help?: Caregiver Burden, Coping Strategies, and State-Trait Anxiety among those Responsible for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities [BEH]

PAIGE STORMENT | Can a toxic invasive species be used to make fertilizer: Study of the use of European Frogbit as a fertilizer foliar spray on herbs? [BOT-ENV]

SACRED HEART ACADEMY

All-girls, Catholic Education