https://www.nhregister.com/news/article/Lauralton-Hall-mansion-opened-to-108-graduates-11546112.php
Lauralton Hall mansion opened to 108 graduates
Pamela McLoughlin, Register Staff
Published 12:00 am EDT, Sunday, June 3, 2012
Lauralton Hall in Milford held its annual commencement. Awaiting the procession includes Nicola Matero of Brookfield, second from left, and Tavia Mastrianni of Milford, center. Mara Lavitt/New Haven Register
MILFORD -- Lauralton Hall is steeped in tradition, and Sunday, as part of graduation, it began a new one: The school's 108 graduates walked through the corridors to the mansion, where they descended from the spiral staircase, a special place where few are allowed to walk, a school official said.
The class of 2012 graduates, from 26 communities, walked into the gymnasium, where the ceremony was held, in their white graduation gowns holding yellow flowers.
The valedictorian was Megan Cogguillo and the salutatorian Abbey Guerino. Both are from Milford.
Founded in 1905, the Academy of Our Lady of Mercy, Lauralton Hall, is the oldest Catholic college preparatory high school for girls in Connecticut. Its founder, Catherine McAuley, was quoted on the graduation program: "There is no work of mercy more productive to the good of society than the careful instruction of women."
In her speech, Cogguillo emphasized the importance of keeping up with change.
"Change is constant, and we've got to keep up. Robert Kennedy once noted, 'Great change dominates the world, and unless we move with change, we will become its victims.'
"I think he was right," she said. "Not only must we embrace change, but we must allow change -- and experience -- to change us."
She said change isn't always liked, but resistance is rarely the best course.
"In order to act prudently, we must welcome change. Comedian Stephen Colbert once satirized a certain politician by saying: 'He believes the same thing Wednesday that he believed on Monday, no matter what happened Tuesday. Events can change; this man's beliefs never will.'"
She told graduates their parents gave them an incredible gift in a Lauralton education. She said Lauralton and its teachers gave a foundation to succeed in a dynamic society.
Guerino told graduates their class has lived the Lauralton version of a "Disney-esque fairy tale," though "Prince Charmings have been notably absent from our halls."
She spoke of the importance of conversations, saying they "anchor us to one another in a sea of strangers."
"Whether we were trying to decode the process of DNA replication, or whether we were eagerly discussing the royal wedding -- because Kate Middleton is the closest thing we have to a real life Disney princess -- (conversations) keep us grounded," she said. "They are, in large part, responsible for why we entered as a scared group of strangers and are leaving today as a confident circle of sisters."
Lauralton's highest honor, the McAuley Award, went to Marisa Dowling, who is class president, plays field hockey, basketball and softball, is a member of the National Honor Society, a peer tutor and has volunteered many hours at Bridgeport Hospital in the Women's Care Center. At school, she also was involved with the Environmental Club.