St. Pius X High School held commencement exercises for 254 members of the class of 1994 on Saturday, May 21 in Symphony Hall of the Woodruff Arts Center, Atlanta.

Donald T. Sasso, school principal, presented graduates receiving diplomas to Archbishop John F. Donoghue.

“These commencement exercises represent a significant rite of passage within your lives. Your high school years are now behind you. They are a told part of your story which will serve as introductory chapters to the unfolding story line of the message, your unique message, God’s message for you as you find your way back ultimately to God,” Sasso told the students.

Daniel Sinnott, son of Mr. And Mrs. Dan Sinnott of St. John Neumann, Lilburn, and Kathleen McIntosh, daughter of Mr. And Mrs. Paul McIntosh of Immaculate Heart of Mary, Atlanta, received the Archbishop’s Award at the graduation exercises.

William Furbish, class of 1980, received the Distinguished Alumni Award. Furbish suffered a spinal injury as a result of a diving accident on June 5, 1985. Furbish, a quadriplegic, won a gold and bronze medal at the 1988 Paralympics in Seoul, Korea.

Upon acceptance Furbish reminded the graduates to value the relationships they will develop over the next few years. “These are the people you will call when times get tough and these are the people you will call when something terrific happens in your life,” he said.

At a May 9 honors assembly valedictorian Chris Maender, son of Charles and Carolyn Maender of St. Jude in Sandy Springs, and salutatorian Julia Brys, daughter of Richard and Dorothy Brys of St. Ann’s parish in Marietta, received the Cornelius L. Maloney awards.

Frank Agullo, son of Mr. And Mrs. Francisco Agullo, and Chris Maender were named Georgia Scholars. The Atlanta Journal Cup, presented to the best-all-round senior was awarded to Scott McKeever. Todd Cannarella, son of Mr. And Mrs. Charles Cannarella of Corpus Christi, received the principal’s award.

Seniors Elizabeth Anderson, Christy Azurmendi, Hans Bendeck, Matt Dolan, Chris LeGette, Brian Mackin, Chris Maender, Annie Marshall, Erin McKaharay, Jennifer Odom and Jason Peach were named National Merit commended students.

Brian Fox, Eric Van Winkle and Jennifer Westrick were named National Merit semi-finalists.

National Merit finalists included: Frank Agullo, Reena Anthony, Beth Brust, Scott McKeever, Chris Ramsden, Vimy Varghese and Julie Winsett.

Frank Agullo and Hans Bendeck, son of Mr. And Mrs. Victor Bendeck of Immaculate Heart of Mary, were also named National Hispanic Scholars.

Beth Brust, daughter of Mr. And Mrs. Robert Brust, was named STAR student and chose Charleen Klister, of the English department as her STAR teacher. Joann McPherson was named Teacher of the Year.

Daughters of the American Revolution Citizenship medals were awarded to Julia Brys and Joey Stiers, son of Mr. And Mrs. Daniel Stiers of All Saints Church, Dunwoody. The Carter L. Stout Service Award was earned by David Bridges, son of Kathy Bridges of Our Lady of the Assumption, Atlanta.

The following seniors received military appointments: Scott McKeever, U.S. Air Force Academy; Julia Brys, U.S. Naval Academy and David Waidelich to West Point and the Naval Academy, but opted to accept an ROTC scholarship to attend the University of Virginia.

Five seniors received ROTC scholarships: Madeline Colbert, North Georgia College; Carrie Forrester, University of South Carolina; Mike Meyers, Holy Cross; Matt O’Kane, University of Notre Dame and Kimberly Smith to Georgetown University.

Dick Richardson, son of Mr. And Mrs. Hank Richardson of Immaculate Heart of Mary, was named the outstanding male athlete and Julia Brys was named the outstanding female athlete.