MSDA Celebrates the 80 Young Women of the Class of 2020

Mount St. Dominic Academy has announced the graduation of 80 students of the Class of 2020. After making the unexpected yet successful transition to an online learning environment, the young women of the Class of 2020 completed their coursework remotely and selected their colleges virtually, while becoming part of the Mount’s alumnae community – a sisterhood with a rich, 128-year history.

Special Honors

The Valedictorian of the MSDA Class of 2020 is Melissa Pathil. Melissa, who will be attending Stevens Institute of Technology in the fall, also received awards for maintaining the highest GPA in both Math and Social Studies. Melissa was also awarded a Certificate of Merit as a Finalist in the 2020 National Merit Scholarship Program.

Salutatorian of the MSDA Class of 2020 is Julie Schramm. With plans to attend Lafayette College in the fall, Julie also earned the award for the highest GPA in science.              

Anya Michalewski, who will be attending the University of Pennsylvania in the fall, was named a 2019-2020 National Hispanic Scholar by the National Hispanic Recognition Program, which honors excellence in academic achievement.

The Class of 2020, with a 100% college acceptance rate, collectively earned more than $17 million in grants and scholarships, and acceptances to 137 colleges and universities around the country. Members of the MSDA Class of 2020 will be attending some of the most competitive colleges and universities in the country, including Georgetown, Lafayette, NYU, Penn State, Purdue, Temple, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute,  University of Pennsylvania, and Villanova. See the full list of college acceptances. 

2020 Commencement

In response to the closure of all schools in the state of New Jersey through the end of June, the official Mount St. Dominic Academy commencement ceremony was postponed from Sunday, May 30, to Saturday, July 25, with the plan to conduct an outdoor ceremony in accordance with state-mandated social distancing and group gathering guidelines. 

Mrs. Brenda Lally Herman, MSDA Class of 1991, has been selected as the 2020 MSDA commencement speaker. Mrs. Herman is an Undergraduate Research Administrator in the Office of Research at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Prior to this role, Mrs. Herman was with Pfizer for more than six years, most recently serving in the role of Senior Associate Brand Manager. She held previous marketing roles at Arthur Schuman Inc., and Atkins Nutritionals, Inc. With a commitment to serving her community, Mrs. Herman is the athletic director for Our Lady of the Lake School in Verona, and is actively involved with Sandy Hook Promise, the non-profit organization focused on protecting children from gun violence. Mrs. Herman was a 2016 and 2017 NYC Marathon Finisher for the Sandy Hook Promise Charity Team, and raised more than $20,000 in support of the organization’s important work.