Events
Graduation on the Water
Spring Commencement—A Return to Brooklyn Bridge Park
The wind and a smattering of clouds made for perfect weather at the Spring 2016 Commencement
Ceremony May 10 at Brooklyn Bridge Park, the second year St. Francis College held the event on
the Brooklyn waterfront.
N
early 35 0 graduates were cheered on by thousands of family and
friends as alumnus Peter T. King ’65, congressman from Long
Island, delivered the keynote address.
The day was bookended by two valedictory speeches. Undergraduate
Valedictorian Dragana Dzigurski ’16, a Communication Arts major with
a concentration in English and a minor in Spanish, told her classmates,
“I have never seen … a community that embraced foreigners, like
myself, and facilitated friendship among strangers of all walks of life.
For me, th is was the quality that made St. Francis truly stand out from
all the rest.”
Dzigurski is from Novi Becej,
Serbia, and followed her brother
Marko ’14 to St. Francis. He is
now pursuing his master’s degree in
accounting at the College. Dzigurski
is a member of the Duns Scotus
Honor Society, sang in the College’s
Choir and played on the St. Francis
Tennis Team. The Northeast
Conference named her the 2015–16
Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Graduate Valedictorian, Theresa
Franchi ’16, who earned her
combined master’s and graduate
4 | ST. FRANCIS COLLEGE TERRIER | FALL 2016
degree in accounting, told her classmates, “As an Endowed Scholarship
recipient, I have learned so much about the spirit of giving. It’s not about
what we can do for ourselves. It’s about what we can do for others and
our community.” Franchi was president of the Accounting Society and a
member of the Accounting Honor Society. She completed two internships; with JPMorgan Chase and Deloitte where she is now working
full-time as a tax consultant.
The College also honored the President of the Brooklyn Historical
Society, Deborah Schwartz, for her leadership over the past 10 years
overseeing a major expansion
in programming at the Historical
Society.
The celebration began the night
before at St. Joseph’s Co-Cathedral
in Brooklyn when graduates and
their families filled the pews for a
Baccalaureate Mass. The Most
Reverend Nicholas DiMarzio,
Bishop of Brooklyn, was the main
celebrant.
Full Spring Commencement—
https://youtu.be/jP2_QzmHBMM
Students Say Thanks—
https://youtu.be/fshuA-zthSU