Anthony O. Pergola, Esq. ’92 of Lowenstein Sandler, provided the keynote address for the 2010 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 29, for the Convocation, which recognizes Saint Peter’s students who have excelled academically throughout the 2009-2010 school year.
A summa cum laude graduate of Saint Peter’s, with a Bachelor of Arts in political science, and a cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School, Pergola has been named to The Best Lawyers in America list as well as NJBIZ’s 2005 40 Under 40, a ranking of the top forty business leaders under the age of 40 in New Jersey. He currently serves as vice chair and co-founder of Lowenstein Sandler’s Tech Group. Lowenstein Sandler, an AMLaw 200 firm, represents public and private companies, financial institutions, investors, entrepreneurs, universities and private clients in corporate and litigation matters throughout the country.
Pergola congratulated the students for their “own achievements and service you give to one another and the community.” Calling Saint Peter’s “a jewel of a school in the middle of Jersey City,” he expressed his thanks to the College and former professors for the personal care and attention he received as a student. “Saint Peter’s College is imprinted on my heart and is forever a part of who I am.”
“Saint Peter’s College is a strong Jesuit college where people grow in wisdom and grace,” said Eugene J. Cornacchia, Ph.D., president of Saint Peter’s College. In his remarks, President Cornacchia congratulated the students on their successes, asking them to remember the important roles their parents and professors have played in their lives. He then reminded them what they have been given and suggested that “today is a good day to ponder what more can I do.”
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 Eric Bruno, Joanna Blanco, Samik Adhikari, Sarah Heilig, Justin Lo Re, Nicole Onello, Presiyana Barbazova, Arpan Rijal, Vishal Upadhayay and Melissa Paonessa.
Additionally, students received achievement awards in all academic areas, including the sciences, arts and business, among many others.