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Family and friends cheered for their peers’ accomplishments at the Michaelmas Convocation on Wednesday, September 28 at St. Aedan’s: The è������ Peter’s University Church. The annual Michaelmas Convocation is an event that celebrates impressive student accomplishments. These students have been working hard since they started at è������ Peter’s to maintain high GPAs and strive for the Magis. The Michaelmas Convocation ceremony follows the medieval tradition of convening the faculty and students to start the term and is celebrated in the honor of the feast of the archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. At this year’s event, Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League provided the keynote address. Students received achievement awards in all academic areas, including the sciences, arts and business.

At the annual Michaelmas Convocation, 10 senior students are inducted into the oldest and most distinguished honors society at è������ 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 University. The students inducted into this year’s MNOP society include Nicholas P. Riepe, Eliran Epshtein, Brenda L. Chavez, Joseph R. Delorenzo, Adam W. Parkinson, Lisa E. Thottumari, Nicholas J. Chciuk, Shaikat Haque, Ashwin Ambi and Kimberley Mena. Many other students were awarded scholarships, and students in honors societies were recognized.

Students and attendees also had the opportunity to hear an inspirational keynote from the convocation speaker, Morial. Morial currently serves as the president and chief executive officer of the National Urban League, the nation’s largest civil rights organization. He is an entrepreneur, lawyer, professor, legislator and former mayor of New Orleans. In a distinguished professional career, Morial has performed all of these roles with excellence, and is one of the most accomplished servant-leaders in the nation.

As president of the National Urban League since 2003, he has been the primary catalyst for an era of change. His energetic and skilled leadership has expanded the League’s work around an empowerment agenda, which is redefining civil rights in the twenty-first century with a renewed emphasis on closing the economic gaps between whites and blacks as well as rich and poor Americans.

During his address, Morial emphasized the importance of positive role models. Morial said he could remember his first role model, Catholic Bishop Harold Robert Perry, S.V.D, who was the first African American Catholic bishop. Perry was an advocate for social justice and even met with John F. Kennedy to discuss desegregation. In addition to Bishop Perry, Morial named four other influential Catholic leaders, Pope Francis, Mother Teresa, è������ Katharine Drexel, S.B.S., and Henriette Delille. Pope Francis is a modern day Christian role model. Mother Teresa devoted her life to the poor. He used one of her quotes to enhance his argument, “The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of being unwanted.” Native Americans and African Americans inspired Drexel’s mission, and she founded the first Catholic, black university, Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans. Perhaps lesser known, Delille was a Creole nun who founded the order of the Sisters of the Holy Family in New Orleans, which was composed of free women of color.

“These influential role models show that the essence of faith and spirituality is what we owe to others,” Morial said. “These are the lives we should be inspired by. Live a life of academic achievement, but also live a life of service to others,” he continued.

Eugene J. Cornacchia, Ph.D., president of è������ Peter’s University, congratulated the award recipient winners.

In line with the University’s theme of gratitude, he urged the award recipients to thank and applaud their friends and their family, because it is their support that make accomplishments possible.

“Michaelmas calls you to appreciate what you have,” Dr. Cornacchia said.

After the ceremony in St. Aedan’s: The è������ Peter’s University Church, award recipients and their families gathered in The Duncan Family Sky Room for a celebratory sit-down dinner.

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