Mary Quinn, St. Mary School Class of 2019, has earned the honor of being named Salutatorian of the Mount St. Mary Academy Class of 2023. Mary is the daughter of parishioners, Pat and Diane Quinn. Mary attended St. Mary School Swormville (SMS) from preschool through grade 8. As a graduating eighth grader she received Mt. St. Mary’s Presidential Scholarship and Women in Science Award.
Mary shares that, “I absolutely loved receiving a Catholic education at SMS (great academics, spiritual growth, and friendships to last a lifetime), and I knew I wanted to continue that into high school. SMS prepared me for high school so well that I was able to smoothly transition into a Catholic high school.” Mary was able to take high school/advanced courses while at SMS making the transition to the rigor of high school easier.
While at St. Mary School, she was able to take a wide range of specials and participate in a variety of sports and extracurricular activities, allowing her to begin to explore her interests. These opportunities gave Mary the foundation to carry her passions into high school musicals, band, Religious Club, and choir. She sings with our church choir and is an altar server at St. Mary’s. She was awarded Altar Server of the Year in 2022.
When asked if she is still friends with anyone from St. Mary School, Mary responded, “Yes! We were able to bond and make so many memories at SMS, and we were able to take these bonds into high school and beyond! My favorite memory was our class trip to Washington D.C., where our class was able to explore our nation’s capital and bond as a class before we went our separate ways.”
“My intended field of study and choice of college were heavily impacted by SMS,” says Mary. “I was able to discover my passions of music and theater from my music teacher Mr. Sean Polen (with drama club and choir) and take them into high school. I was able to realize that I wanted to be a music teacher just like him.”
Mary plans to go to Buffalo State University where she has been awarded the Presidential Scholarship, Honors Scholarship, Bengal Experience Grant, and Music Scholarship. Her goal is to become an elementary music teacher in Western New York.
Congratulations to Mary Quinn for the honors she has earned and her graduation from Mount St. Mary Academy! Our entire St. Mary’s Faith Community is proud of her and wishes her all the best as she begins the next stage of her academic career.
