Posted May 26, 2010

By Christie L. Chicoine
CS&T Staff Writer

The Class of 2010 is banking on a bright future.

Nearly a quarter of a billion dollars in scholarships to universities and colleges – to date, $241,205,631 – has been awarded, collectively, to the young men and women who are graduating from the 20 archdiocesan high schools in June.

At an early morning assembly Tuesday, May 25, at the Archdiocesan Office Center, representatives from each of the schools, stately dressed in graduation caps and gowns, unveiled the amount their respective classes received.

In a creative display of the dollars earned, a box was assigned to each school, the total amount printed on one side. On the reverse, in a puzzle-style presentation was a partial number that, when the boxes were later lined side by side, revealed the grand total.

Mary Rochford, the archdiocesan Superintendent of Schools, said she and other officials in the Office of Catholic Education expected the scholarship totals to increase by the end of June. {{more}}

“Today we congratulate our class of 2010,” Cardinal Justin Rigali said of the students who, after graduating in June, will “move on to the next exciting chapter of their young lives, full of promise and energy. We are very proud of you.”

He praised the graduates for demonstrating more than one definition of the word “value” as it pertains to Catholic education.

First, he underscored how the students grow academically, spiritually and morally, knowing, loving and serving God and others. “This is truly what sets a Catholic education apart,” said the Cardinal.

The value of a Catholic education is also measured in the students’ many achievements, he said, such as test scores and graduation rates and through the percentage who pursue post-secondary education.

The more than $241 million in scholarships the graduates have earned to date for their hard work illustrates “impressive” value, concluded the Cardinal.

“I congratulate you on your fine achievements,” he said.

The Cardinal also praised parents for their selflessness and sacrifices in sending their children to Catholic schools. “Their investment,” he said, “has continued to pay great spanidends.”

He acknowledged as well the educators entrusted to instruct the students.

Kate Kutschera of Archbishop Ryan High School in Philadelphia received a mayoral scholarship that pays her full tuition to the University of Pennsylvania, where she plans to major in sociology.

“I think it’s just amazing what the Catholic school system has prepared us to do and to achieve,” she said.

Kutschera marveled at the millions in scholarships she and her peers across the Archdiocese have received. “That number would not have been possible without the strong Catholic education and work ethic that we received,” she said.

Joseph Cerrone of Msgr. Bonner High School in Drexel Hill, Delaware County, received a scholarship to St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, where he plans to major in Hispanic studies.

He agreed that the scholarship money the Class of 2010 has collectively earned “attests to the great quality of Catholic education in the Archdiocese.”

Rochford also applauded the students and acknowledged the administrators, teachers and staff members who helped make the achievement possible.

She asked the representatives to relay the following message to their fellow graduates not present at the assembly: “We are very proud of who you have become and the great place you will take in this world, beginning with your college experience.

“We send you forth to make a difference in the world with Jesus Christ as your Master Teacher and the center of your lives. We offer you our sincerest congratulations.”

For more information about Catholic schools of the Philadelphia Archdiocese, contact the Office of Catholic Education at 215-587-3700 or visit the web site www.catholicschools-phl.org.

See below for a breakdown of scholarship dollars earned by each school.

CS&T Staff Writer Christie L. Chicoine may be reached at 215-587-2468 or cchicoin@adphila.org.

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Archbishop John Carroll High School, Radnor, Delaware County
181 seniors; $22,392,722 in college scholarships

Archbishop Ryan High School, Philadelphia
489 seniors; $14,696,834 in college scholarships

Archbishop Wood Catholic High School, Warminster, Montgomery County
287 seniors; $15,559,074 in college scholarships

Bishop McDevitt High School, Wyncote, Montgomery County
180 seniors; $13,659,320 in college scholarships

Bishop Shanahan High School, Downingtown, Chester County
301 seniors; $12,500,000 in college scholarships

Cardinal Dougherty High School, Philadelphia
186 seniors; $13,311,124 in college scholarships

Cardinal O’Hara High School, Springfield, Delaware County
423 seniors; $15 million in college scholarships

Conwell-Egan Catholic High School, Fairless Hills, Bucks County
240 seniors; $7,849,776 in college scholarships

Father Judge High School for Boys, Philadelphia
269 seniors; $13,720,755 in college scholarships

John W. Hallahan Catholic Girls’ High School, Philadelphia
127 seniors; $10,126,756 in college scholarships

Kennedy-Kenrick High School, Norristown, Montgomery County
142 seniors; $4,711,512 in college scholarships

Lansdale Catholic High School, Lansdale
224 seniors; $14,242,864 in college scholarships

Little Flower Catholic High School for Girls, Philadelphia
155 seniors; $6,144,900 in college scholarships

Monsignor Bonner and Archbishop Prendergast High School, Drexel Hill, Delaware County
343 seniors; $17,507,164 in college scholarships

Northeast Catholic High School for Boys, Philadelphia
155 seniors; $6,291,990 in college scholarships

St. Hubert Catholic High School for Girls, Philadelphia
213 seniors; $10,279,832 in college scholarships

SS. John Neumann and Maria Goretti Catholic High School, Philadelphia
256 seniors; $11,000,000 in college scholarships

St. Pius X High School, Pottstown, Montgomery County
137 seniors; $8,444,276 in college scholarships

Roman Catholic High School for Boys, Philadelphia
212 seniors; $17,430,984 in college scholarships

West Philadelphia Catholic High School
129 seniors; $6,335,748 in college scholarships