Honoring the Class of 2024

On May 23, 2024, the Convent & Stuart Hall class of 2024 celebrated their commencement at San Francisco's historic Palace of Fine Arts, joined by family, friends, and faculty. The thoughtful commencement ceremony began with a musical processional by Dr. Philip Harris and Bonnie Fraenza and an invocation by President Ann Marie Krejcarek, who shared congratulations and offered a prayer to the graduates.

This year’s Convent class speaker, Ada Linde, followed with words about how this class truly embraced the 2023-24 school theme: Explore. As she said, “exploration was at the core of this class,” and not just when it came to travel but also inside the classroom. A great treasure gained from these varied explorations, Ada said, were the relationships developed among her classmates. Sharing an anecdote from the Senior Retreat, Ada said:

“The power of the ‘say what you love about your classmate’ activity was not what was said; it was the fact that there was not one silent moment in the whole exercise. … Never forget the friendships you have from Convent & Stuart Hall. They are strong and unique. Cultivate them in the future.” – Ada Linde, Convent Class Speaker

Ada was followed by Stuart Hall class speaker Nicolas Giannini, who encouraged his classmates to “embrace rejection,” “have patience,” and “continue serving the community” as they move on past high school.

“This community we have created made those difficult parts of our day feel manageable and insignificant compared to the joy and support we found in each other.” – Nicolas Giannini, Stuart Hall Class Speaker

Before announcing the Convent special award recipients, Rachel Simpson, Head of Convent High School and Chief Academic Officer, delivered a touching speech that reminisced on the challenges this class faced when first starting high school in 2020 and the resilience (and good humor) they have shown since.

“Despite the strangeness of the fact of having your first two years of high school wearing face masks, I think of your class, the class of 2024, as a class who dared to show up, and to be seen, and to be known. Thank you for that...

To the brave and resilient class of 2024, may you continue to discover the significance of your life, and may you also reveal the love of the Sacred Heart to others in this world. It’s a world that’s waiting for you, and it needs you.”

– Rachel Simpson, Head of Convent High School and Chief Academic Officer

Ms. Simpson was followed by Head of Stuart Hall High School, Tony Farrell, who shared remarks and presented the Stuart Hall special awards before a beautiful musical interlude. Then came the much-anticipated conferral of diplomas, interspersed with two thoughtful speeches by the Convent Faculty Scholar Student Speaker, Anisha Hu, and the Stuart Hall Faculty Scholar Student Speaker, Evan Marriott. Anisha thanked various members of the community, including the faculty for “pushing the students out of their comfort zones and forever changing their lives.” In Evan’s remarks, he shared that “Stuart Hall has been more than just a school to me — it has been a second home.”

The uplifting ceremony ended with a lively rendition of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” performed by Dr. Philip Harris and members of the faculty. It was the perfect close to a powerful and inspirational send-off for the Convent & Stuart Hall graduates.

To see more of this special day, view the complete photo album and watch the livestream recording of the ceremony.