Terrier Volume 77, Number 1 - Spring 2013 | Page 6

A Giant Challenge
Spring Commencement ’13
N E W Y O R K G I A N T A L L- P R O L I N E B A C K E R J U S T I N T U C K C H A L L E N G E D T H E M O R E T H A N 4 0 0 S T. F R A N C I S C O L L E G E G R A D U AT E S A S T H E K E Y N O T E
S P E A K E R AT T H E C O L L E G E ’ S S P R I N G 2 0 1 3 C O M M E N C E M E N T, M A Y 1 4 , AT T H E B R O O K LY N A C A D E M Y O F M U S I C .

Baccalaureate Mass was celebrated the night before commencement at St. Charles Borromeo Church by Fr. Brian Jordan, O.F.M., Director of Campus Ministry with
concelebrant Fr. Matthew A. Pravetz ’69, O.F.M.

C

“

hampion a cause. Mine is literacy.
Yours might be hunger, poverty,
diseases,” Tuck told the packed
crowd inside the Howard Gilman Opera House.
“It has to be something outside of you, it has
to be something that brings joy to somebody
else and I guarantee this, if you do that, that
will be a true success.”
Tuck, whose foundation Tuck’s R.U.S.H.
for Literacy raises money for books and
reading materials in New York City and Central
Alabama, was awarded an Honorary Degree
of Doctor of Humane Letters.
The Class of 2013 Valedictorian, Josephine
Pagliughi ’13, thanked her professors and
past teachers for inspiring her and putting
her on the path to success. She told her
classmates that she wasn’t always a serious

student and it was only after the prodding
of a high school teacher that she committed
to her studies. Having just completed the
College’s five year Bachelor’s and Master’s
Degree Program in Accounting with a perfect
4.0 GPA, she offered proof that, “We can all
do great things when we apply ourselves.”
After graduation, Pagliughi will sit for her
CPA exam and has accepted a position with
O’Connor Davies LLP which will begin in
the fall.
Marilyn Gelber, President of the Brooklyn
Community Foundation was also awarded an
honorary degree, affirming what Justin Tuck
previously said about helping others, “I want
you to know sincerely that from what I’ve
learned, a life of service to others really is
a wonderful life.”
Another doctorate, intended for Dominick P.
DePaola, DDS, Ph.D. ’64, a leader in the
fields of dentistry and nutrition, was awarded
posthumously to his widow Rosemarie, after
the recent, sudden death of Dr. DePaola. ●
See all 2013 Commencement videos at
youtube.com/stfrancisny.
Valedictorian Josephine Pagliughi ’13.
Rosemarie DePaola.
F A R L E F T: St. Francis
Chairman of the Board
of Trustees John F. Tully
’67 with New York Giant
Justin Tuck and
President Brendan J.
Dugan ’68.

F A R L E F T:
L E F T:

Marilyn Gelber
receiving her honorary
degree from Board of
Trustees member
Hector Batista ’84.
L E F T:

4  |  ST. FRANCIS COLLEGE TERRIER  |  SPRING 2013

Winter
Commencement
January 16, 2013
Catherine Greaves
’13, the first Nursing
student to earn
Valedictory honors,
told the audience
that getting her
Bachelor’s of
Science Degree,
while working two
jobs and being
pregnant with her new baby daughter has
opened new doors for her.
She proudly announced that because of
her new degree she had already accepted a
position at Montefiore Medical Center.
The Commencement
Address was
delivered by
Professor of
Religious Studies
K. Priscilla
Pedersen, Ph.D.,
who retired at the
end of the Spring
2013 semester.
She told students that graduating from college
leads to a better life in more ways than one.
It doesn’t just mean opportunities for a high
paying job or entrance into a field of work or
study, it is also about happiness.