Resident Honored During Chase

Collegiate School Commencement

WATERBURY — On Friday, May 30, the senior class at Chase Collegiate School gathered for the 140th Commencement Exercises. Forty-two seniors graduated from the academically demanding co-ed day school.

Ian White, son of Brian and Susan White of Newtown, was presented The Padget Fredricks Drama Award during the ceremony. Ian is planning to attend Gettysburg College in the fall.

The graduates heard from Ronnie Eldridge, one of the nation’s leading female public servants, a 12-term New York City councilwoman and grandmother to 2008 class member Glynnis Eldridge. Ms Eldridge encouraged the graduates to “meet new people fr­om different parts of the world of every hue and accent. Always be curious about the unknown, be open to new ideas and tolerant of differences.”

Emma Paine of Waterbury, selected by faculty to give the 2008 senior speech, said, “Together at Chase, we have discovered that things won’t always go the way that we planned and that sometimes the unexpected is even better than the expected.”

The 2008 graduates  accepted their diplomas and celebrated with friends and family after the ceremony.