John Montone ’76 of 1010 WINS, provided the keynote address for the 2011 Saint Peter’s College Michaelmas Convocation. Students, faculty, staff, parents and friends gathered at the Yanitelli Recreational Life Center (RLC) on the College’s Jersey City campus on Wednesday, September 28, for the Convocation, which recognizes Saint Peter’s students who have excelled academically throughout the 2010-2011 school year.
A graduate of Saint Peter’s, with a Bachelor of Arts in political science and English, Montone is a familiar voice to those in the tri-state area through his work as a reporter at 1010 WINS. He also has recently appeared on CBS 2 New York. Montone was the winner of the New York A.I.R. award as “Best Reporter” in 2002 for his coverage of the first anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. He was also part of 1010 WINS’ team coverage that received the Edward R. Murrow award in 2001 for live coverage of the attacks.
Montone entertained the students with tales of his journey from a graduate of Saint Peter’s through a variety of odd jobs he took on to make ends meet, until he finally achieved his dream of being a reporter for a New York radio station. He told the students to ask themselves, “What do you want to do?” and then to pursue it. “Always work hard. Identify your bliss, follow that bliss and find out how you get there. Once you get there, never stop working.”
Eugene J. Cornacchia, Ph.D., president of Saint Peter’s College, congratulated the students, faculty and parents on their successes. He encouraged the students to be prepared for where life may take them by “Studying and becoming as well educated as you can be. By listening and getting to know your teachers. By welcoming new experiences and embracing challenges. By being generous of mind and heart and by developing an interior life through reading and writing, reflection and prayer.”
Each year at the Michaelmas Convocation, ten senior students are inducted into the oldest scholarship society at Saint Peter’s, the Most Noble Order of the Peacock (MNOP), for attaining the highest scholastic average in all courses throughout their first three years at the College.
The students that were inducted into this year’s MNOP society include Bikesh Dhunju, Adam Purcilly, Rabindra Shrestha, Sean Block, Ritam Neupane, John Rocchio, Karla Mendez, Tellisia Williams, Amelia Rotondo and Joseph Joyce.
Additionally, students received achievement awards in all academic areas, including the sciences, arts and business, among many others, and guests were treated to performances by the Aidan C. McMullen Chorale.