May 27, 2020 // Uncategorized

Bishop Luers High School — Co-valedictorian Mary Cicchiello

Mary Cicchiello

For seniors, the treasured memories of high school are many. For Mary Cicchiello, co-valedictorian at Bishop Luers High School, they included the suddenly quiet times in which she became aware of what God had provided for her. “It was the moments when I would stop what I was doing, look around and realize that I was surrounded by friends. In these moments, I would be overcome with a sense of how blessed I was.”

Cicchiello enrolled at Bishop Luers after graduation from St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School.

“My faith has become central in my life during my high school career,” she said. Attending a Catholic school increased her knowledge of the faith and the presence of faith in her life. “In school, we prayed throughout the day, in every class and learned about the importance of praying in everyday situations. The rigor of my classes and the stress that came from school activities caused me to slow down and rely on God when I felt overwhelmed or discouraged. It comforted me to know that God was with me and that I never had to do anything alone.”

Bishop Luers also helped Cicchiello to live out the Catholic faith by offering her opportunities to participate in the Mass and sacraments and by exposing her to scenarios where she could put her beliefs about human dignity and respect into action.

“For example, we served the Fort Wayne community through our service programs, Key Club and Sodalitas. And in everyday moments, such as holding the door open for people in the morning or helping an opponent up off the ground in a game, I learned to live the faith that we share at Luers.”

Cicchiello excelled in after-school and outside-of-school activities. She was a member of the varsity girls soccer team for four years and captained the team her senior year. During her senior year, she was also vice president of student government and one of its four student founders; she was head of the prom committee, co-head of the homecoming committee and the school voter registration drive committee.

During her junior and senior years, she was a member of National Honor Society and a group leader of Sodalitas, the schoolwide service organization. Cicchiello participated in Key Club all four years of high school, serving as the club’s secretary her junior year and president her senior year.

In her four years of Academic Super Bowl, English team, she served as captain her senior year and was a state finalist her freshmen and sophomore years. She was business manager and then co-editor of her senior year yearbook; a Student Ambassador her sophomore, junior and senior years; and a peer minister for four years, during which time she served as an altar server, lector and extraordinary minister of holy Communion at Mass. She was an altar server at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish as well for nine years and sang in the choir for four. In her spare time, Cicchiello said she enjoys art, sports, working out, spending time with her family and friends, and trying new things.

She shared that some of the other memories of her time at Bishop Luers include bus rides to soccer games, after-school meetings, Senior Parking Spot Painting Day, student sections at games and Academic Super Bowl competitions. “Moments in the classroom, hallways and lunchroom were also special because in these moments, we were all together, learning from each other and being inspired by our teachers to question the world and always seek more.”

Cicchiello graduates first in her class with a 4.49 GPA, which ties her with co-valedictorian Mary Braun. She will attend the University of Notre Dame and major in biological sciences in the fall.

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