by Ryan Blair
On Tuesday, April 20, the five “best of Fairfield University’s Class of 2004” were honored at the Student Awards Dinner at the Dolan School of Business.
“Tonight we are here to celebrate the remarkable accomplishments of five seniors for their leadership and commitment to Jesuit ideals and Fairfield University,” said Brian LeClerc, president of the Fairfield Alumni Association and master of ceremonies for the evening.
Robert Keder, Robert Pelletier, Gregory Iorio, Jessica Michael, and Michael Ciavaglia were named the most outstanding members of their class.
When he accepted the St. Ignatious Loyola Medal, Robert D. Keder said that it was on his freshman retreat that he learned the first lesson in Jesuit education: “the meaning of cura personalis and how powerful it is.”
Whether he was helping a resident of Campion Hall as an RA, working with children on an Indian reservation in Maine or serving on the directorial board of the Hunger Cleanup, in the eyes of the university, Keder has epitomized the Jesuit motto.
In accepting this most prestigious award, Keder has joined the ranks of past recipients including familiar names such as Karen Donahue ’03, former FUSA president, Mark Reed ’96, the current dean of students and Janet Canepa ’82, director of alumni relations.
Ciavaglia told the group that “Music has always been a source of joy. Throughout life, I have been happiest and felt most comfortable singing and making music.”
This couldn’t be any truer for him, since he has been singing in a choir from the age of six.
In his time at Fairfield, Ciavaglia joined the Glee Club early on, demonstrating talent from the start and becoming conductor and director of the Men’s Ensemble by the second semester of his freshman year.
Since then his music career has grown by leaps and bounds, as he now conducts an outreach choir, sings in the Yale Russian Chorus and is the assistant-director of a choir at a Russian Orthodox church in Bridgeport.
“I am sure that this joy in music will always be the legacy of the glee club for me,” he said, as he received the Student achievement award.
Ciavaglia was not the only musician to be recognized for his efforts on Tuesday.
Iorio was awarded a student achievement award for his dedication to the university pep band. In reflecting on his four years of growing the organization, he said that “To have the opportunity to improve and contribute to the band has been quite an adventure.”
During his short tenure, Iorio was responsible for attaining club status for the band, recruiting new members, and “making that all-important face paint part of the Pep Band’s budget,” as the event program put it.
Besides holding his leadership position in the music program, Iorio has had a hand in several other campus organizations such as Eucharistic ministers, the Residential Apartment Student Organization and the S.K.I.L.L. leadership program
As Iorio said in his acceptance speech, “I would never have expected that the work I put in over the four years would lead me here in front of you today.”
Michael said her love for her grandparents lead her to seek service opportunities with the elderly. She too claimed a student achievement award.
Pelletier, winner of the William J. Kramer Humanitarian Award, was bestowed the honor for his service as an emergency medical technician in the Stratford EMS.
A nursing major, Pelletier has been volunteering two to three nights a week, providing first response medical attention to hundreds.
Pelletier was recently promoted to the rank of lieutenant of the Special Operations Division, a unit equipped to respond and provide specialized EMS assistance for “atypical” events throughout the region. He has logged more than 3,000 hours of service.
He credits his accomplishments to having a strong group of family and friends who continually made contributions to his life.
Also, Todd “absolutely loves” the nursing program and is extremely thankful for all of the support he has been shown throughout his undergraduate education.
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