Students line-up at CSE Commencement. (Photo by Courtney Smolen)

 

The sun broke through on Saturday, May 10, 2008, as 478 men and women received their degrees at the College of Saint Elizabeth’s (CSE) 106th Commencement – making this year graduating class the largest in the College’s history.

 

The majority of CSE students were from New Jersey. Forty-five international students came from 25 different countries including Bangladesh, Brazil, Cape Verde Islands, China, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Lebanon, Mexico, Nigeria, Peru, Puerto Rico, Russia, Scotland, Taiwan, Vietnam and Zambia.

 

Founder and Artistic Director of the National Theatre Workshop of the Handicapped (NTWH) Brother Rick Curry, was this year’s Commencement speaker and honorary recipient of the Doctor of Humane Letters, Honoris Causa.

 

Brother Rick is a vowed Jesuit brother for nearly five decades. Born with a challenging physical disability, Brother Rick founded NTWH in 1977, a non-profit organization that provides theatrical training for adults with physical disabilities to help them to use their creative talents in the fields of the arts. Trained in food preparation, Brother Rick has authored two successful cookbooks: The Secrets of Jesuit Breadmaking and The Secrets of Jesuit Soupmaking, and opened a professional bakery where he imparts life skills and career opportunities to persons with disabilities. Book royalties and bakery proceeds all go to benefit NTWH.

 

A graduate of New York and Villanova Universities, Brother Rick has been the recipient of several awards including the Distinguished Service Award of the President’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities and the President’s Award of the National Council on Culture and Arts, among others.

 

In addition to Brother Rick, two students spoke at this year’s ceremony: CSE Women’s College student Odette Barraque, ’08, of Pompton Plains, N.J., who received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Early Childhood/Elementary Education and Spanish, spoke about “Who Am I Today?,” while CSE School of Graduate and Continuing Studies’ student Lisa H. Gerardi, ’08, of Randolph, N.J., who earned her Master of Arts degree in Theology, delivered her speech entitled, “Our Created Path.”

 

Honorary degrees were also bestowed upon the following:

• Joseph F. Duffy of West Milford, N.J., executive director of Catholic Family & Community Services and executive secretary of Catholic Charities for the Diocese of Paterson received a Doctor of Laws, Honoris Causa.
• Sr. Jacqueline Burns of Morristown, N.J., chairperson of the Board of Trustees of St. Joseph’s Healthcare System and President Emerita of the College of Saint Elizabeth, who received a Doctor of Humane Letters, Honoris Causa.

For more information about this year’s Commencement: its speakers, honorary recipients and speeches, click here.

 

To view snap shot photos of the day’s festivities click here.