NECA holds graduation at Windsor Mansion Inn

COURTESY
WINDSOR, Vt. — Despite heavy clouds and showers, graduation day on Thursday, June 13 for the New England Classical Academy class of 2019 was full of smiles and pure joy. NECA was proud to award honors diplomas to all four of this year’s graduates: Anthony Abella of Claremont, Jessica Cota of Springfield, Marguerite Cottrill of Greenfield, Massachusetts and Zachary Fagan of Charlestown. The ceremonies began with a baccalaureate mass co-celebrated by Father John Loughnane of All Saints Parish and guest Father Jon Reardon at the school, followed by a Commencement ceremony at the Windsor Mansion Inn in Windsor, Vermont.

The commencement was originally planned to be held outdoor in Moody Park, but when the weather forecast changed, the planning committee had to quickly find an indoor option for the eighty plus guests of the graduates. They reached out to several locations, but found few places available. On a hopeful chance, they reached out to the new innkeeper/event manager of the Windsor Mansion Inn, Robert Balewicz, and were thrilled when he said he could help by offering them the inside “ballroom.” “We were absolutely delighted and deeply grateful to hold graduation in such a beautiful location. The graduates were absolutely floored when we told them the good news,” said Heidi Fagan, a teacher at the school.

The upper school students assisted in the set up on Thursday and by 2 p.m. the ballroom was ready for the eighth annual NECA commencement. Families, faculty, guests, alumni and friends gathered in the beautiful ballroom. Guest commencement speaker Associate Dean Dr. Thomas Kaiser of Thomas Aquinas College congratulated them on their pursuit of a liberal classical education. Dr. Kaiser is the new head of the Massachusetts campus of Thomas Aquinas which will open this fall on the campus formerly used by the Northfield Hermon School, gifted to them by the Hobby Lobby foundation. Salutatorian Jessica Cota read Rudyard Kiplings poem “If” and valedictorian Marguerite Cottrill delivered a commencement address that reminded everyone what makes NECA so unique. “NECA is not just some school where we read fancy books and put on nice plays … and memorize facts. It isn’t a place where a number on the top of an assignment determines a child’s worth. It is so much more. It is a place filled with love. A love that sees deeper than the outer appearance. A love that remains when life is hard, the love of Jesus Christ. Sure, we may be small, but our mission is so much bigger: to teach young children how to think for themselves, but more importantly, to grow to be people that will change the world no matter how small or where we start … we have thousands of years worth of knowledge and teachers that care to help us understand it. We have students with open and strong minds that can see the value of doing something a little different, even at a young age.” NECA board president Gene Lattuga presented them with their diplomas, congratulating them on their achievements.

With honor cords around their necks, the class of 2019 stood outside on the beautiful lawns of the Mansion and tossed their hats, joining the ranks of now over three dozen graduates from NECA in the last eight years. Their futures look bright: Marguerite Cottrill will spend a year volunteering with Salesian Missions in California, working with their school and youth program in Los Angeles and Jessica Cota was offered a position in a new pilot program at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center as a Project Assistant. Both plan to pursue college; Jessica plans to pursue a course in medicine and Marguerite is undecided. Anthony Abella will study engineering at the University of New Hampshire and Zachary Fagan, who received the Oberkotter Scholarship, will pursue marine sciences at the University of New England in Biddeford, ME.

As the rain held off, guests explored the verandas, gardens and rooms of the Inn, enjoying both the scenery and cake, and exclaiming over the sublime view of the Connecticut River valley, visible from both the verandas and balconies of several elegant guest rooms. Owner Robert Balewicz warmly welcomed families to look around and shared his plans for the opening season of the inn. “We have been busy starting out the new season (here) at Windsor Mansion Inn. The high point of the week was hosting the graduation ceremony. I must congratulate NECA for their fine educational program, and lovely, lovely kids who attend the school. You should all be very proud of kickstarting young students’ lives in such a loving, nurturing and spiritual manner.”

New England Classical Academy is a small, private non-profit school for grades K-12 in Claremont, NH and more information can be learned by visitingwww.newenglandclassicalacademy.com. For information on celebrating an event at The Windsor Mansion Inn, or to enjoy their weekend pub dinners, visitwww.windsormansioninn.com. You can also check out both groups on Facebook.