Fifty-Four Members Join Our National Honor Society
Barb Dawson • October 28, 2024

Congratulations to these outstanding students.

Montini Catholic's National Honor Society (St. Pope Paul VI Chapter) proudly inducted fifty-four (54) new members on Wednesday, October 23, 2024 at the Lasallian college preparatory high school's NHS Induction Ceremony.  The goal of the NHS program is to empower and equip Montini students with the knowledge and skills to be transformative leaders at Montini, their communities and beyond.


Principal Chris Tiritilli, Assistant Principal Sara Lhotka and NHS moderators Michael Dailey and Kelly Davis were in attendance to congratulate the honored students. "With your gifts comes great responsibility. As a member of the National Honors Society, you are now called upon to lead by example, through servant leadership. You are looked upon to help be the voice of our student body, and your own generation. You are challenged to identify the areas of injustice in our society and world today, and to organize, collaborate, communicate and ultimately lead in developing the solutions to today’s problems and conflicts, while also looking ahead to anticipate the problems and conflicts of the future."


Returning NHS members joined the inductees to celebrate the newest members and to renew their own commitments to the goals of the National Honor Society. Seniors were also presented with special NHS stoles to wear at graduation in May.


Montini Catholic National Honor Society members are the leaders of their class and represent the very qualities the society is built on - Character, Scholarship, Leadership, and Service. Members are responsible for organizing and enlisting school participation in various events during the school year including the school's Golden Gobbler Thanksgiving Food Drive in November, their Adopt-A-Family Christmas Drive in December and the annual Blood Drive for Vitalant, held in January.


NHS officers led inductees in the Ceremony of Light and Pillars which explained the four pillars of success which are the basis for which Montini's chapter was founded upon and the characteristics that each member strives to emulate in their everyday lives. 

The minimum requirement for membership in the Montini Catholic High School chapter of the NHS is a 4.0+ cumulative GPA at the end of their sophomore year. All students qualifying receive the opportunity to petition for membership in the National Honor Society. When applying, students are asked to detail their qualifications in the areas of Scholarship, Leadership, Service, and Character. Students meeting all the requirements are then invited to become members in the NHS in the fall of their junior or senior year.


Once accepted into the NHS, students are required to maintain high scholastic standards, act as true leaders of the school and perform ten hours of community service each year (in addition to the service hours required for graduation (40).

Congratulations to Montini Catholic's NHS 2024-25 Inductees: (pictured above as l to r as listed)


Madalyn Aguilar '26
Isaac Alexander '26
Molly Bonino '26
Brody Boyer '26
Miley Brunski '26
Adyson Caminiti '26
Madeline Caruso '26
Sophia Cetrone '26
Julia Ciaccio '26
Gabrielle Colagrossi '26
Christopher Davis '26
Angelo DeSensi '26
Sofia Flores '26
Cameron Fountain '26
Sydney Gertsen '26
Savannah Gutierrez '26
Tyiance Haney '25
Nicholas Harris '26
Thomas Healy '26
Henry Herold '26
Blake Heyer '26
Aliana Hrdina '26
Lauren Jaskier '25
Karissa Jones '26
Abigail Kimball '26
Jonathan Kosinski '26
Brian Kuratko '26
Ashlynn Lindt '26
Ava Lomardi '26
Zongyuan Lyu '26
Michael May '26
Cassidy McCarthy '26
Malin McGivern '26
Ava Mihelich '26
Nicole Navarro '26
Eleanor Neal '26
Ashlinn O’Brien '26
Charles Paciga '26
Gabby Paulino '26
Bon Pham '26
Aubrey Podojil '26
Brendan Pully '26
Christopher Reyes '25
Brielle Rowgalo '25
Audrey Ruddy '26
Bryce Ryan '26
Robert Sansone '26
Jackson Simek '25
Honor Snell '26
Andrew Sparke '26
Ariana Spizzirri '26
Troy Stumbaugh '26
Maria Torres '26 )
Sophia Torres '26


"I am so proud of each of our National Honors Society members," said Principal Tiritilli. "I enjoyed the opportunity to celebrate their continual hard work and efforts to maintain high academic marks while also serving as an engaged and active member of the student body. I am confident that all of these students are already on the path to transforming our school, community and world, and so pleased that they are beginning their leadership journey here at Montini Catholic High School."



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Freshmen Welcomed at First Step Social

By Barb Dawson • June 19, 2025
New friends were made and high school anxieties calmed on Thursday, 12th at Montini Catholic High School's First Step Social welcoming their Class of 2029. Montini Catholic's First Step Social is the first opportunity for Montini's newest freshmen to begin building class spirit and to get to know their fellow classmates and future friends. The informal event, facilitated by the school's Admissions team, included several small group games, led by members of Montini's Peer Ministry Team, intended to break the ice and get freshmen excited about their high school years. Parents were also invited to attend and gathered in a separate location in order to meet up with current parent ambassadors, ask questions and gain more insight in preparation for the next four years. Students and parents were treated to burgers and hotdogs via Tailgate Caterers in Lombard. "It was very exciting to have so many new Broncos and their parents on Montini Catholic's campus for our First Step Social," said Admissions Coordinator Sara McGady. "The goal of this event is to provide our new freshmen with a sense of familiarity when they walk through our doors again in August. We also wanted to give our new parents a chance to ask questions and meet fellow parents as they start their new journey as high school parents."

Legacy Seniors Honored at Celebration of Excellence Ceremony

By Barb Dawson • June 19, 2025
Montini Catholic was proud to honor fifteen special seniors on May 16th at the Lasallian college preparatory high school's Celebration of Excellence Awards ceremony. The group represents what Montini Catholic endearingly defines as their graduating "Legacy Students" - students of alumni parents who also graduated from Montini Catholic. This year fifty-two 52 total students of alumni are carrying on their parents' legacies at Montini Catholic, a number that represents close to 10% of Montini's total student body. Each year senior legacy students are called up on stage to receive a special stole to be worn at graduation. Alumni parents are also invited to take a special portrait with their senior as a keepsake on graduation day. "We are always honored when our alumni return as Montini parents to continue our Bronco legacy," said Alumni Relations Officer William Dawes '13. "When you are at Montini Catholic, you are family, which is one of the main reasons parents choose Montini. An education at Montini is a unique experience and we love to see our legacy grow with each passing year." Montini Catholic's 2024-25 Legacy Seniors (alumni parent(s) under students' names): Katelyn (Kat) Bell ‘25 Jackson Bell ‘27 Patrick Bell ‘96 Peter Considine ‘25 Michael Considine ‘86 Annalee DeFeo ‘25 Laura (LaMontagna) DeFeo ’93 & Michael DeFeo ‘93 Nolan Ferris ‘25 Shannon (O’Connor) Ferris ‘93 James Fitzpatrick ‘25 Michael Fitzpatrick ‘88 Zoe Gangas ‘25 Nick Gangas ‘81 Sean Hubeny ‘25 Katie (Doll) Hubeny ’96 & James Hubeny ‘96 Nick Irion ‘25 and Vince Irion ‘25 Dave Irion ‘88 Vincent Knudtson ‘25 Lia (Badalamenti) Knudtson ‘89 Jamie Loftus ‘25 Christina (Connelly) Loftus ‘86 Margaret Nielsen ‘25 Maureen (O’Neill) Nielsen ‘87 Ava Sebben ‘25 Patricia (Gary) Sebben ‘90 Lily Spanos ‘25 Shannon (Herold) Spanos ‘99 Collins Whitfield ‘25 Katherine (Janko) Whitfield ‘00 Collins Whitfield ‘00 Image above: Front l to r: Lily Spanos, Ava Sebben, Margaret Nielsen, Jamie Loftus, Sean Hubeny, Zoe Gangas, Nolan Ferris, Annalee DeFeo and Kat Bell; Back row l to r: Collins Whitfield, Vincent Knudtson, Vince Irion, Nick Irion, Jimmy Fitzpatrick and Peter Considine;

Julia Gergen Earns the 2025 Jean Diane Colletti Memorial Scholarship

By Barb Dawson • June 13, 2025
Montini Catholic congratulates senior Julia Gergen on being this year's recipient of the Jean Diane Colletti Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship is one of several that have been named and endowed by Montini Catholic alumni, parents and friends in order to provide financial assistance to graduates pursuing higher learning in college. The award was announced at the Lasallian college preparatory high school's annual Academic Awards Banquet (May 1st) this spring by Dr. Vince Colletti DDS '05 (son of Jean Diane Colletti) Julia was honored again on May 16th at Montini's Celebration of Excellence Award ceremony in front of the entire student body. Julia has been a very academically accomplished student throughout their four years at Montini Catholic. In May she received the President's Award for Academic Excellence, she is an Illinois State Scholar and a College Board Advanced Placement Scholar. Julia was also a member of Mu Alpha Theta Math Honor Society, Tri-M Music Honor Society as well as Montini's National Honor Society where she served as Secretary her senior year. She enjoyed her time as a member of Montini's Math Team, and celebrated their 6th Place State finish this year. Julia also valued her experience gained from serving her fellow students as a Peer Minister through Montini's Campus Ministry program. Athletically, Julia was a valued member of Montini's Track & Field Team and celebrated securing school records her junior year in the 4x100m and 4x200m races. "Julia has been an outstanding student," said Principal Chris Tiritilli. "Her academic and athletic career here at Montini has been quite extensive and impressive. She is never seen without a smile on her face, she has been a role model to her fellow students. She truly deserves this recognition and we know she will do great things at Notre Dame!" Julia, a St. Pius X Parish School alum, and a member of St. Pius X Parish. She plans on majoring in Biological Sciences on a Pre-Med Track at the University of Notre Dame in the fall. Above: Julia Gergen '25 and Dr. Vince Colletti DDS '05 at Montini Catholic's Academic Awards Night on May 1st.
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