Mount St. Mary’s University will hold its 2018 Commencement ceremony on May 13 at 11 a.m. in the Knott Arena. Attendance is reserved for ticket-holders, but all are welcome to attend the Baccalaureate Mass, May 12 at 5 p.m. in the Knott Arena.

The 2018 Commencement speaker is Agnus Beranato, C’80. Bernato has dedicated her career to developing university women’s basketball programs. She has coached at many universities, and her teams have 461 wins under their belts. Bernato has also been elected into the Mount St. Mary’s Sports Hall of Fame.

This year, we celebrate the achievements of three Emmitsburg News-Journal writers, Samantha Barbato, Hannah Opdenaker and Sarah Muir.

Samantha Barbato is the News-Journal’s Sports Writer. Samantha is a communications major with concentrations in public relations and human communication and is passionate about sports media. Samantha plays on the Mount’s women’s tennis team. Additionally, she helped found the Communications Club, and applies her writing skills to the school paper, The Mountain Echo.

Samantha is excited to move on to the next chapter of her life, a position as Communications Coordinator for the Washington Kastles, a World Team Tennis team in Washington, DC. "It’s a blend of two of my passions," Samantha says, "so I couldn’t have imagined a better job for me!"

Hannah Opdenaker, the News-Journal’s Arts Writer, will also be graduating this spring. She is a theater and political science major, and has been writing for the News-Journal for a year. Hannah is a Mount Ambassador and just like Samantha, writes for The Mountain Echo. She is the president of Alpha Psi Omega, and participates in the Mount Theater program. Hannah’s directing project, Lysistrata by Aristophanes, premiered in April.

Hannah plans to apply to graduate schools and teaching fellowships to bring theater to underprivileged communities near her home city, Philadelphia. She reflects on her experience with the paper: "I feel as though you learn a lot from a person's writings, and it is clear that the Mount's ENJ team is filled with strong, talented, young women that bring a lot of experience to the table."

Finally, the Emmitsburg News-Journal says farewell to our Senior Writer and Managing Editor, Sarah Muir, who has been writing for the newspaper for four years. Sarah is an English major who is passionate about writing. She has been working as a Donor Relations intern at the Weinberg Center and plans to start her career in publishing through an internship with Wolters Kluwer as Assistant Productions Editor.

Sarah reflects on her experience with the News Journal:

"The ENJ means so much to me. I am thrilled to have spent the past four years as a part of this small family of writers and brilliant thinkers. As Managing Editor, I am proud of the great team of student writers with whom I have worked. I look forward to seeing the newspaper not only flourish, but grow the next generation of strong, intelligent writers."

On behalf of the Emmitsburg News-Journal, I wish to express gratitude for the contributions of each. Their commitment to the paper and to representing their school with dignity and enthusiasm has made the community proud. We will miss them on the Emmitsburg News-Journal team, and congratulate them as they pursue the endeavors of their post-graduate lives.