Graduation 2009, Thursday May 14th
View the 2009 Commencent Exercises Program
Graduation Speaker, John Giannotti
Our graduation speaker for this year’s Commencement Exercises on May 14 will be John Giannotti, a renowned artist and owner of Giannotti Studios, based in Haddonfield, NJ.
Specializing in painting and sculpture, Giannotti’s works have been exhibited worldwide in shows in London, England; Florence, Italy; and Switzerland, Venezuela, Australia and Japan, where his bronze monuments of Walt Whitman and Madame Curie stand in sculpture parks at Soka University in Tokyo.
Locally, Giannotti’s work is displayed at the Children’s Garden near the Adventure Aquarium in Camden and numerous parks, colleges, and other organizations and businesses throughout the Delaware Valley.
He recently completed the Victims of Terrorism Memorial, honoring civilians and U.S. military personnel who lost their lives in terrorist attacks in the last 20 years. The memorial is located along the Cooper River in Pennsauken, NJ. Giannotti may be best known for his bronze statue The Rescue, depicting a firefighter climbing down a ladder clutching a young girl, which is displayed at numerous fire companies throughout the region.
Giannotti received a BFA cum laude from SUNY Buffalo, an MFA from the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers, where he was a graduation speaker in 2001.
You can learn more about him at www.giannottistudios.com.
AN INTERESTING NOTE:
Some of you may remember a number of years ago when we had Sister Mary Scullion as our graduation speaker. In this week’s issue of Time magazine, Time 100, listing the 100 most influential people in the world, Sister Mary Scullion is included on the list under the category “Heroes & Icons.” You can also find the story at philly.com by searching “Scullion.”
Valedictorian, Kristin Nolan
Delivering the commencement oration at tonight’s annual Graduation ceremony is Northeast Philadelphia resident Kristin Marie Nolan.
A graduate of St. Hubert’s High School, Kristin will receive her Associate degree in Accounting tonight. She has been on the Dean’s List for all four of her semesters at Manor and graduates with a 4.09 GPA.
While at Manor, Kristin has been an officer in the honor society for two-year colleges, Phi Thet Kappa, and in Alpha Beta Gamma, the honor society for business students at two-year colleges. She was also instrumental in coordinating the Breast Cancer Awareness drive at Manor, last October, spearheading the entire effort.
Next year, Kristin plans to major in accounting at LaSalle University, where she has already received a scholarship for her first year. Her goal is to eventually receive her Master’s in accounting and then become a CPA at an accounting firm.
According to Kristin, she loved her time at Manor.
“I think my parents thought I might go to a larger, four-year university,” she said. “But I had a friend who attended Manor and she loved it. I wouldn’t change a thing.
“I loved the teachers, the people…everything!” she continued. “The teachers were so amazing. I still can’t believe that a small college like Manor would have such incredible teachers.”