Lacordaire Academy Celebrates 104th Commencement

On Sunday, June 8, Lacordaire Academy proudly celebrated the graduation of its 104th Upper School class, a cohort defined by strength and resilience. The 2025 Commencement Ceremony honored not only the individual accomplishments of its graduates, but also the Academy’s enduring mission to empower young women to lead lives of integrity, empathy, and courage. 

 

The ceremony opened with a moving invocation by Sister MaryJohn Kearney of the Caldwell Dominicans, the founding order of Lacordaire Academy in 1920. Valedictorian Nasreen Defrank ’25 offered reflections on the emotional terrain of high school, encouraging her peers to separate doubts from truths. “Never let your fears and anxieties become more than what they are: passing thoughts, not permanent truths,” she said. “We are often so much more capable and resilient than we think.”Adriana Barnett ’25, Salutatorian, expressed gratitude for the faculty’s lasting impact, emphasizing their role in developing both intellectual and personal agency. “Our faculty have taught us not only the distinct subjects they teach, but also that our voices as women matter and can make a difference,” she said.

 

Christine James, OPA ’83, ’87, Chair of Lacordaire’s Board of Trustees, spoke to the moral responsibilities that come with education. “Education is so important for all of us; it opens our minds not just to knowledge, but to acceptance of one another. Intolerance is the worst offense. It has ugly and inhuman consequences,” she said. She closed with a message to the graduates: “A friend is one who knows you as you are, understands where you’ve been, accepts who you’ve become, and still gently invites you to grow. Know that Lacordaire will always be that friend to you.”

 

This year’s Commencement address was delivered by esteemed Lacordaire alumna Kaitlin Noyes ’02, Director of Education and Community Engagement at the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS). In her role at BIOS, Noyes leads the development of inclusive, ocean-centered educational programming that bridges scientific research with both local and global communities. Noyes urged graduates to invest in relationships that foster mutual growth and support. “Women who lift each other up don’t just change each other’s lives—they change entire communities. They change systems. Your circle will be your safety net, your launch pad, and your mirror when you forget how powerful you are.”

 

Noyes reflected on the profound transformation the students have undergone: “Graduation is more than a ceremony; it’s a threshold. On one side stands the person you were when you first stepped onto this campus. On the other side stands someone transformed: uniquely you, and ready for what comes next.” Entering high school in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Class of 2025 faced a formative landscape shaped by uncertainty and disruption. “You arrived quiet—tentative, perhaps still carrying the weight of the unknown,” Noyes shared. “But you are leaving bold. You are leaving confident. And, unexpectedly—but beautifully—you’re leaving very funny. The kind of funny that only comes from people who’ve seen some things, survived them, and found strength in laughter.”

 

Before awarding diplomas, Head of School Megan Mannato offered thoughtful reflections on each graduate, celebrating their individual strengths, the many ways they have touched the hearts of those at Lacordaire, and the distinctive impact they have made during their time at the Academy. “They will carry this wisdom into the world and, I hope, place it where it’s needed most—leading with compassion, uplifting others, and making the kind of difference only they can,” Mannato shared. “I have no doubt they will change the world—not all at once, but in quiet, powerful ways that truly matter.”

 

This year’s graduates earned admission to a wide and distinguished array of institutions, including: CUNY School of Medicine (Sophie Davis program), Smith College, New York University, University of Michigan, Boston University, Bryn Mawr College, Northeastern University, Middlebury College, Mount Holyoke College, Howard University, Sarah Lawrence College, University of Rochester, SUNY Binghamton, SUNY Stony Brook, TCNJ (The College of New Jersey), Seton Hall University, Fordham University, Penn State, Montclair State University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Delaware State University, Caldwell University, American University, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Rutgers University, Stevens Institute of Technology, and NJIT.