Class of 2019

74 colleges and universities to which our graduates were accepted

$4.6 MILLION awarded to our graduates in merit-based academic scholarships

880 HOURS SPENT BEYOND THE HALL

“The Class of 2019 is a remarkable group of young women. As individuals they are capable of great accomplishment, as 22gether they are capable of so much more. They have demonstrated commitment, dedication, diligence, faith, compassion, and leadership (naming just a few of their many gifts). They have set the standard for the ‘Trinity Hall Way’ and on their journey have held all of us to this standard. We thank them for bringing a sense of humor to daily life while understanding what it means to be respectfully funny, to laugh together, and to challenge, to support, and to rise above the challenges. They are my inspiration, and I am forever grateful and blessed to know each of our graduates on a personal level.” – Mary Sciarrillo, head of school

2019 GRADUATES & SCHOOLS ATTENDING

Sophia Tara Church Island Heights Stockton University

Colleen Teresa Cusat Tinton Falls Villanova University

Kelly Samantha Cusick Fair Haven New York University, Tisch

Claire Mackenzie Darman Freehold College of the Holy Cross

Abigail Marie Devine Rumson Dartmouth College

Olivia Ann Ferrigine Red Bank College of the Holy Cross

Madison Rose Huber Holmdel Clemson University

Grace Gannon Kenney Rumson Boston College Julia Belle LaForgia Island Heights George Washington University

Hope Taylor Maguire Colts Neck Lafayette College

Taryn Marie McKeever Middletown Nazareth College

Grace Elizabeth Niro Rumson Villanova University

Kelsey Suzanne Mathies O’Kelly Brielle University of Virginia

Kathryn Paige Ortenzio Brick Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Anna Katherine Phillips Fair Haven George Washington University Diana Jasmine Ramos Asbury Park Montclair State University

Hannah Jane Reynolds Rumson University of Notre Dame

Niyah Simone Robinson Asbury Park Loyola University Maryland

Gillian Mariah Thorp Fair Haven University of Michigan

Kathleen Rose Venezia Lincroft Boston College

Alexandra Morgan Witek Monmouth Beach Emerson College

Elizabeth Ryan Witek Monmouth Beach Muhlenberg College

ATHLETE SIGNING DAY

TARYN MCKEEVER Division III Soccer Nazareth College

Awards SENIOR

Valedictorian Abigail Devine The class valedictorian is the senior with the highest cumulative grade point average earned during four years of high school work. Grades received in major subjects are averaged with advanced placement courses being weighted. The weighted GPA is calculated to the nearest hundredth of a grade point.

Salutatorian Hannah Reynolds The class salutatorian is the senior with the second highest academic achievement of the Class of 2019, determined by her weighted grade point average during four years of high school work.

Graduating with Distinction Trinity Hall seeks to recognize superior academic achievement in our graduating class. “Graduating with Distinction” is awarded to the top 20% of the class determined by the weighted grade point average earned during four years of high school work:

Abigail Devine Kelsey O’Kelly Kathryn Ortenzio Hannah Reynolds Kathleen Venezia Core Value Awards A continued focus on the core values of leadership, respect, perseverance, and faith is celebrated in the senior awards, as one student is selected as the recipient that best represents each value. All students nominated for these awards are diligently committed to their own academic achievement while going above and beyond to serve as role models for the Trinity Hall student body.

Leadership Award Kathleen Venezia This award recognizes the student who, during her time at Trinity Hall, has empowered herself as well as her peers by consistently leading with confidence, humility, empathy, and integrity in both formal and informal ways through her influential words, deeds, and positive attitude. She pursues leadership as a method to better her environment and seeks to lift others up in order to work towards common goals.

Respect Award Grace Kenney This award recognizes the student who, during her time at Trinity Hall, has continuously demonstrated the utmost respect for her community through her sincere admiration of the diverse personalities and opinions of others, her mature and healthy self-worth, and her genuine regard for the talents and gifts God has granted all of us. She unfailingly identifies the dignity of others and honors the community with her attention on each individual.

Perseverance Award Niyah Robinson This award recognizes the student who, during her time at Trinity Hall, has faced challenges and, through her remarkable resilience, unwavering courage, and eternal optimism, has persevered to overcome those obstacles and achieve success. She realizes that success is earned through hard work and demonstrates the confidence in herself to continue even the most seemingly difficult tasks.

Faith Award Diana Ramos This award recognizes the student who, during her time at Trinity Hall, has borne witness to her faith through her compassionate mercy, humble generosity, and morally just actions that have subtly but powerfully served as a daily reminder to all of us of our own commitment to be people of faith. Her choices reflect her confidence in a power beyond the reach of proof and her actions are influenced by her devotion to being a member of a faithful community.

Scholar-Athlete Award Hannah Reynolds This award is given to the senior with the highest cumulative grade point average who has excelled in a varsity sport while exhibiting outstanding school and community citizenship. The Founder’s Award

Miriam Tort, board member The Founder’s Award serves to recognize the member or members of the Trinity Hall community whose commitment to the success of Trinity Hall mirrors the dedication of the founders - Mairead and Sean Clifford and Victoria and Justin Gmelich. Each year, the faculty committee will nominate for this award and the selection is made by the founders.

Christina Bergamo, DIRECTOR OF COLLEGE COUNSELING

Addressing the Class of 2019 during their induction into the alumnae association.

Seniors, you have made quite the impact on Trinity Hall. Collectively and individually you have a strength and resilience that we hope all future Trinity Hall classes will emulate. You fearlessly led the largest student body we have ever had, and your passion for our traditions, new and old, will be felt for years to come. Despite your size, your faith in Trinity Hall and one another never faltered. As a class you are the definition of unity.

You have made such a strong bond with each other, you even call yourselves 22gether! When you get to college, be sure to lean on each other in the first tough weeks. I have no doubt that each of you is heading off to the perfect next home, but no matter how perfect, the transition to college is not an easy one. So please check in with each other, ask how things are going, beyond what is being posted on Instagram and Snapchat. But at the same time, never hold each other back, be sure to allow each other to soar. You will always have Trinity Hall, but you are each destined for great things and we can’t wait to see what impact each of you will have on our world.

Abigail Devine, VALEDICTORIAN Member of Dartmouth College’s Class of 2023. Here are a few excerpts from her Valedictory Address:

It’s no secret that our class has changed a bit since freshman year but what all of you might not know is that with these changes came a slew of selfbranded nicknames, the last of which being 22gether. Initially, this may seem like just a cute little thing we do, but in reality, it’s an integral piece of who we are. It’s what defines us. We are a family of twenty two deeply distinct girls, bonded together by the happenstance of collectively taking the leap of faith to attend a two-year-old high school and by the unique experience we’ve shared here at Trinity Hall. Like any family, we all bring something different to the table. Each of us has particular ideas, interests and perspectives. Most importantly though, all of us are leaders. And we have Trinity Hall to thank for that.

For teaching us how to be empowered women and stand up for the things in which we believe. Whether it’s on the stage or field or in the classroom or community meeting, Trinity Hall has instilled in us the strength and courage to make our voices heard so that we can advocate not only for ourselves but also for others. Through countless class presentations, various leadership positions, and a multitude of google form surveys, we’ve learned that our voices can make a difference and are powerful, an invaluable lesson that we will carry with us for the rest of our lives. Coupled with steadfast determination, passion and faith in ourselves and God, there is absolutely nothing we can’t do.

We also have Trinity Hall to thank for this steadfast determination and passion within each of us. For the past four years we’ve been a part of an infant community whose survival depended on these two characteristics. Almost 10 years ago Trinity Hall was just an idea. And here we are today, celebrating the graduation of the school’s third class because of the tremendous effort made by so many people in this room.

Most of all, this school has taught us about the incredibly special gift of the sisterhood we have formed. It’s at Trinity Hall where we can call our classmates our sisters and mean that wholeheartedly. I will cherish the many memories that have brought us together. I know that we’ve struck something special here. This bond we share is rooted deep within our core and I feel so blessed to be a part of it. I’m not ready to say goodbye; I don’t think any of us are.”

As a class, we’ve persevered through quite a bit and as a result we’ve come out on the other side, linked together in one unbreakable bond. Over the past four years, the strength of our sisterhood has been challenged, but the true test of our bond is yet to come…the true test to the resilience of the class of 2019 will be in the years ahead. We are one-of-a-kind in our connection, but it’s a lot easier to remain in a close-knit community when we see each other everyday.

WE WILL NOT BE AFFORDED THAT LUXURY ANYMORE, BUT I AM NOT WORRIED BECAUSE OUR SISTERHOOD GOES BEYOND FACETO-FACE INTERACTIONS. IT GOES BEYOND JUST SIMPLY KEEPING IN TOUCH…WE’RE NEVER GETTING RID OF EACH OTHER.

Four years ago we unknowingly stumbled into this sisterhood and now that we know what we have here, we need to hold onto each other. We are better when we are together, 22gether. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for each of us in the future, and I know with absolute certainty - one thing’s for sure, WE’LL ALWAYS BE 22GETHER.

Commencement ADDRESS

Mairead Clifford, co-founder, board secretary, and Trinity Hall parent addressed the Class of 2019. Here are a few excerpts from her Commencement Address:

It is an honor to stand before you ladies, the third graduating class of Trinity Hall. I begin by thanking my co-founders – my husband and best friend Sean Clifford and our friends, Justin and Victoria Gmelich. Thank you to our amazing Head of School, Mary Sciarrillo and her entire team of faculty, administration, staff, and security. To my fellow Board of Trustees- your work is crucial to the success of the school and I am grateful for each one of you. To the parents of these 22 young ladies – your ongoing “yes” to Trinity Hall, beginning when your daughters were in eigth grade until this moment, has been a key factor in the successes we celebrate today.

My final shout out goes to the ladies for whom we gather to celebrate – the Trinity Hall Class of 2019 22Gether! Thank YOU for saying yes, for giving 100% of yourselves to make Trinity Hall the school it is. Your embodiment of the four core values - leadership, respect, perseverance, and faith - is evident. Your connection to one another and your dedication to Trinity Hall are examples for girls who will follow in your footsteps. Congratulations on your wonderful achievements these past four years – in the classroom, in the arts, in hilarious class-wide Halloween costumes, in sports and in all that you do. The list of colleges and universities to which you have been accepted is outstanding. You are truly a unique class; the only class that can say they were in all three of our buildings - Croydon Hall, the West Wing, and now, the first class to graduate from the East Wing! One week from today marks 30 years since I graduated from my all-girls high school, and while I have absolutely no clue who delivered the commencement speech, I do vividly recall many of the same feelings you are likely experiencing at the moment - relief, happiness, nervousness, when can I take these shoes off, excitement, and sadness thinking about saying goodbye to one another and to Trinity Hall.

Things were a little different 30 years ago. It’s a wonder how we survived without laptops, Google, NetClassroom, Schoology, PowerSchool, and the unimaginable, the unthinkable - without a cell phone. How did we ever connect with friends to make plans, with teachers to clarify assignments, with parents to arrange a ride home? I kept a dime in each of my penny loafers to use at the payphone outside my school if I needed to call Mom for a different pick up time.

Despite this 30 year gap, we do have one strong common bond – an all-girls high school experience, an education that was so much more than a school, a sisterhood. The bonds formed in an all-girls school are unique. The opportunity to present ideas and thoughts in a collaborative classroom environment led to connections which you will cherish for the rest of your life.

Everyone here is counting on you as a group, as Trinity Hall alumnae, to keep the four core values and the Trinity Hall Way alive in your hearts. Spread the good news about your alma mater and how you were shaped into the strong young women you are today. Trinity Hall has prepared you well!

You’re ready. Congratulations. Now go.

“The passion I have for a school like Trinity Hall is long-standing and deep seeded within me. I have two educators for parents who instilled in me the upmost importance of a quality education. Growing up in this community, I knew that girls in our area needed the option of a next-level high school opportunity, and so I was ecstatic to witness the founding of Trinity Hall. Not only did the school get off the ground, but it has knocked it out of the park and has raised the bar for all other high schools in our area. I will always be grateful to all that have taken this leap of faith to start Trinity Hall.

As donors to Trinity Hall, my husband Kevin and I support a world class all-girls high school in our area that fosters morals and values in the catholic tradition and exceptional STEM programs. As a board member since 2015, I see Trinity Hall students growing into empowered, eager, mature, confident and, most importantly, supportive young women.

TRINITY HALL STUDENTS WILL GO ON TO DO GREAT THINGS, AND I AM PROUD TO SUPPORT A SCHOOL THAT WILL CONTINUE TO BENEFIT GENERATIONS OF GIRLS TO COME.”