STM salutes its graduates

Saint Thomas More High School’s 89 member senior class celebrated graduation on Sunday, May 23.

Of the 89 students in the class, 77 will attend four-year colleges, ten will attend two-year technical colleges, one will enter the military, and one student is undecided.

Cumulatively, the students earned over $2 million in scholarships for college. With 18 new STM graduates on the way, UW-Milwaukee is the most common choice of the graduating seniors. Ten students plan to attend the Milwaukee Area Technical College. Six students will head to both Marquette University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Students will study at schools around the country including Virginia Tech, Arizona State, Purdue University, Iowa State University, the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, DePaul University, Boston College, the Université de St. Paul in Ottawa, Canada, and many more. STM graduates are also attending many schools in the UW system.

Sarah Bieganski, who will attend Boston College, was named the class valedictorian. Her speech recalled memories and milestones of the Class of 2010. She recalled values learned in “The Wizard of Oz,” reminding her fellow classmates of the need for their hearts, brains, and courage. John Jaeger is the class Salutatorian.

Alejandro Cortes, who will study at Roosevelt University, received the prestigious Saint Thomas More Award. The Saint Thomas More Award is presented to a graduate who is selected by classmates, faculty, and staff on the basis of outstanding scholastic work, service to the school, integrity of character, and leadership. In short, those who are chosen exemplify the qualities of our patron, and the school's namesake - scholar, statesman, and saint.

Multi-sport stars Mike Wasilik and Katlyn Putney shared the Norbert T. Wishowski Memorial Award. This award is given to the outstanding senior athlete who, besides possessing athletic ability, shows leadership, character, Christian development, service, and academic success. Last year, Wasilik led the baseball team to a first place finish in its division of the Woodland Conference. He will go on to play baseball at Winona State. He also played football and basketball. Putney excelled in volleyball, basketball, and soccer. She will attend UW-Madison.

Thirty-seven students were on the honor roll for all four years at STM. Sarah Bieganski, Sara Breitzman, Elizabeth Brzycki, Alejandro Cortes, Analiesel Hannes, John Jaeger, Michael Jakubiak, Ashley Kendzierski, and Katlyn Putney comprise the top ten percent of the class academically.