Student Success on Display at Year-End Celebrations
During the first week of June, we recognized outstanding students and internship partners at our St. Joseph the Worker Scholarship Reception and celebrated graduation with the Class of 2023.
The energy at Nazareth Prep during this time of year is electric as we celebrate not only our graduating seniors, but also all of our students, their families and support systems, and the corporate partners who make our Internship Program possible.
Each year, we applaud our students’ entrepreneurial spirits with the St. Joseph the Worker Scholarship Competition. This year, over 30 students in grades 9-12 submitted business plans to spur economic and community development in our region. Five winners were chosen by a review panel led by Head of School Dr. Stacy Tweedy. Each winner will receive a $5,000 scholarship toward their post-secondary pathway – be it college or another career training program: ninth grader Jaison Johnson for Digital Life: A Community-Conscious Streaming Service, tenth grader Paris Green for Community Bros: Tech-Driven Landscape Design, eleventh grader Lucas Stunkel for Rainbow Learning: Educational Equity and Environmental Stewardship Through Affordable and Eco-Conscious Art Supplies, and twelfth graders Brendan Stone for TechnoBridge: Affordable Semiconductor Manufacture in Under-Resourced Communities and Chasiti Strickland for Even Ground: Design and Manufacture of Affordable Assistive Technology for Americans Living with Disabilities.
We honored these enterprising students on Tuesday, June 6 at the St. Joseph the Worker Scholarship Reception, at which President Michael Sexauer also presented awards to some of our outstanding Nazareth Prep Internship Program partners. Allie Chornick of Mascaro Construction received the Mentor of the Year Award. The Partner in Mission Award was presented to Boy Scouts of America, Partner in Growth to Allegheny General Hospital/Highmark Health, and the New Partner of the Year Award to Matthews International.
If you came to campus for the event, you might have thought you had accidentally stumbled onto a quaint European village square. Our student interns at Pathways Community Living created a catering plan called “The Street Food Stroll,” featuring five “restaurants” complete with themed facades to set the scene. Students served delicious dishes from The House of Pasta, Meat and Greet Deli Shop, Salad Bowl Café, Little Tart Bakeshop, and Blackberry Jasmine Mocktail Bar. Seeing our interns in action truly demonstrates the spirit of Nazareth Prep and the Internship Program.
Just two days after this celebration, the Class of 2023, along with their families, friends, and supporters, came together for this year’s commencement ceremony. Commencement speaker Dr. Alicia B. Harvey-Smith, President/CEO of Pittsburgh Technical College, extolled graduates to “Choose to move forward, choose to navigate each storm with precision towards your dreams, choose to have the best, to be the best, and to give your best and most importantly choose to press on and to take full responsibility for your future!” We are thrilled to send these graduates off to exciting new opportunities, whether they are pursuing a four-year degree, attending a technical or trade school, or entering the workforce directly. We are proud to call them Nazareth Prep alumni and cannot wait to see how they change the world.