ALION FOR LIFE | Commencement Recap
Commencement 2022 “117 million, 776 thousand, 800 seconds.” According to Class of 2022 Valedictorian Christopher Rapala, son of Bryan Rapala ’79, that’s how much time passed between his graduation day speech and their freshman orientation all the way back in August 2018. “We’ve had lots of shared experiences as a Saint Viator community,” he said. “All those moments—whether in the classroom or online—have transformed every one of us in some way.” Throughout his speech that sunny Sunday morning at the beautiful Arlington International Race Course, Christopher encouraged his classmates to reflect on how much they’ve changed throughout those nearly 120 million seconds and on how they plan to, in turn, change the world they set out to encounter. “The lessons we’ve learned, and the ways we’ve changed, have the power to profoundly impact others,” he said. “Your presence here at Saint Viator and your future—wherever you will be—will change the world.” Recipients of the school’s most prestigious awards, the Andrew Johnstone Award and the Christopher Erdmann Award, were also celebrated. Michael Schumacher was recognized for his leadership skills with the Andrew Johnstone Award, and Emma Ziebka, daughter of Bridget Liszka Ziebka ’91, was selected as the senior who best exemplifies the mission, vision, values and is the living spirit of Saint Viator High School, with the Christopher Erdmann Award. In all, 224 seniors graduated, including 19 international students. At last count, they combined to draw $34+ million in scholarship offers, with 27 students committed to collegiate athletics. Graduates now head to 105 different colleges and universities, including Stanford, Vanderbilt, and Northwestern. We also thank the alumni parents who paid us the highest compliment of trusting us to partner with them in the education of their sons and daughters. In addition to those featured in the photos to the left, other legacy graduates and parents include: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
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Ricky Anesi, son of Rick Anesi ’79 Cameron Augustine, son of Amy Valenti Augustine-Hohman ’86 Thomas and Michael Austing, sons of Kelly Howland Austing ’90 Charles Bullock, son of Bradley Bullock ’90 Aidan Callero, son of Maureen Flood Callero ’95 Chase Carroll, son of Stephen Carroll ’90 Danny Crawford, son of Julie Brehm Crawford ’81 Mikey DiMucci, son of Michael DiMucci ’94 Lucas Doland, son of Desiree DiFiore Doland ’88 Joseph Giuliani, son of Gianna Cinefro Giuliani ’94 Katherine Hayes, daughter of Sean Hayes ’91 Mary Grace Hegberg, daughter of Thomas ’86 and Joan Schoessling Hegberg ’86 Sean Kenney, son of John Kenney ’83 Alex Konopka, son of Pete ’93 and Ella Magdziak Konopka ’93 John Lewis, son of Libby Bowes Lewis ’94 Alex Madaras, son of Kathleen Egan Madaras ’83 Rowan McDonnell, son of Mark McDonnell ’86 Colleen Murphy, daughter of Matt ’88 and Julie Enright Murphy ’88 Andrew O’Brien, son of Thomas O’Brien ’81 Dominic Pastika, son of James Pastika ’78 Stella Raftery, daughter of Patrick ’93 and Nikki Baer Raftery ’94 Christopher Rapala, son of Bryan Rapala ’79 Dennis Ratzki, son of Joseph Ratzki ’91 Benjamin Rygiel, son of Ron Rygiel ’87 Sidney Stygar, daughter of Edward ’88 and Sheila Stygar ’89 Rory Whetstone, daughter of Kerry Paulsen ’91 Sofia Yonkus, daughter of Andrew ’92 and Maria Cinefro Yonkus ’92 Emma and Ryan Ziebka, daughter and son of Bridget Liszka Ziebka ’91
From top: Michael Schumacher and Emma Ziebka with their respective awards; Owen Politzki with his mother Stacey Romanowski Politzki ’89 and brother Ryan Politzki ’20; Ryan Regan (son of the late Dave ’86) with his mother Karen Farrell Regan ’86; Jack Denten with his parents Patti Anderson ’86 and Steve Denten ’86.
