Class of 2026 Celebrates Graduation

OVERBROOK — On Saturday, the St. Joseph’s University campus was filled with an air of celebration, gratitude, and joy as the Class of 2026 graduated from the Prep.

The Commencement at Hagan Arena was not just a moment to celebrate the accomplishments of the young men graduating, but a moment to reflect on the brotherhood they’ve built in their four years at 17th & Girard.

Student Council President Anthony Sciulli, who will pursue a finance degree at Penn State, reflected on the brotherhood not as something just talked about, but as something real, and something built in the little things. 

“Brotherhood is not something you can force,” Sciulli said. “It’s not written into our Blackbaud schedules or taught in Monday advisories. It’s built slowly, in the small moments. It’s found in the way we show up for each other – not because we have to, but because we choose to. It’s the understanding that anyone who has gone to the Prep knows what we go through, because we go through it together.”

Baseball player William Ward, who will head to Gwynedd Mercy to study accounting, shared Sciulli’s sentiment. 

“It’s every day sitting at lunch with my friends and having great teachers,” Ward said. “It’s just the brotherhood, the bonds we’ve all built, it’s just great. I’m going to miss all the guys.”

Nolan Kaub, a teammate of Ward who will attend Penn College of Technology to study construction management, also spoke about the friendships he’s made.

“It’s been a great four years,” Kaub said. “I’ve built friendships with everybody that will last a lifetime.” 

In Sciulli’s speech during the commencement exercises, he reminded his classmates and friends that the end of their four years does not break their bonds, but that their brotherhood will continue beyond the Prep.

“This brotherhood does not end today,” Sciulli said. “It’s not tied to our blazers, or the fieldhouse, or the learning commons, or Ralph’s security desk. It’s something we carry with us. The bond we formed is unbreakable, real, and lasting. ‘The Hawk Will Never Die’ is just a saying; it’s the truth. The friendships we built will echo within us wherever life takes us.”

While some reflected on the bonds they’ve built, others were thinking about the incredible achievement of graduating from the Prep.

“It’s the biggest achievement of most of our lives,” Student Council Secretary and WSJP President Dominic Schalk, who will attend Jefferson to study pre-med, said. “It’s the culmination of not just a four-year journey, but I’ve been in Catholic school my whole life, so more so the journey of all my education so far.”

Friend of Schalk’s and fellow WSJP member AJ Farrington, who will pursue a political science degree at Purdue, shared in the common feeling of achievement.

“Wanting to go to the Prep was a real goal of mine for my entire life,” Farrington said. “Being here, seeing the culmination of my efforts and my dreams, has really meant a lot to me.”

WSJP member Dominic Campanaro used the moment to reflect on his growth and how the Prep will forever be a home to him.

“I look back to four years ago when I entered St. Joe’s Prep,” Campanaro said. “I walked in as a turtle essentially, you’re in your shell, and then you walk out today, and you realize that you have a lot of homes in life, and this is one of your homes.” 

Reno Bianco, who is headed to Jefferson to pursue a degree in physical therapy, expressed gratitude to the school that has given him countless opportunities.

“I’ve tried my best to see everything here as an opportunity,” Bianco said. “I’ve been really grateful for everything I’ve gotten here.”

Sciulli expressed a common feeling among the graduates: Saturday is not the end, but a beginning.

“This is a beginning, a launch, a promise to go out, into this complicated, messy, yet beautiful world and bring exactly what you brought to the Prep: your love, your laughter, your heart, your light, and your true self. You became the heart of the Prep. Now it’s time to become the heart of something even bigger.”