Alumni Spotlight: Gigi Coniglio, St. Thomas More and Mercy High Grad
Consortium leadership and supporters recently gathered for an event in celebration of the ongoing Bright Futures in Christ Campaign. At the event, a Sts. Peter Paul parent shared her story of gratitude as did STM (and now Mercy High School) alumna Gianna Coniglio. Read below for Gianna’s speech.
***
My name is Gianna Coniglio and I am currently a senior at Mercy High School. While at Mercy I have participated in many activities like athletics, clubs, service opportunities and student council, serving as this year’s student body president.
I can proudly say that I am also a graduate of St. Thomas More Catholic School, which continues to be my home parish as well. My family has been a part of Thomas More since before I was even born. Both of my parents and their siblings attended St. Thomas More. My four older siblings attended, as well as my four cousins, with one being a current 7th grader.
My parents both believed in sending my siblings and I to a Catholic school and because of the positive experience they had at St. Thomas More, they chose to send us there as well. Through my time at St. Thomas More, my faith grew, I built friendships that I still have today, and I was given the tools needed to be successful in the classroom. During my time at the school, we had the opportunity to go to mass twice a week, have reconciliation on a regular basis and most importantly, Theology class on a daily basis. I was also able to celebrate several sacraments at St. Thomas More, which gave me a strong foundation to further my faith at Mercy.
I can proudly say that I am still friends with the majority of my classmates (some of them going back to the preschool days), and I get to see them on a regular basis thanks to the strong community at St. Thomas More. High school can be very challenging, but knowing I had the support of my classmates and best friends made it easier. Mercy is a very rigorous school. Between homework, tests, projects and extracurriculars, it can be hard to handle everything at once. Due to my experience at St. Thomas More, however, I was prepared for the increased workload. My middle school teachers taught me the skills and study habits that I needed to succeed in high school.
I also want to thank everyone who has supported the six Omaha Catholic Consortium schools, specifically St. Thomas More. It’s crazy to think that the Consortium was officially formed 10 years ago when I was in 2nd grade. It is because of your support that I have become who I am today and why I felt prepared not just for high school but for my next chapter. Next year I will be attending the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and planning to major in finance. Thanks to the foundation I have from St. Thomas More, I feel as prepared and excited for the challenges of college. Thank you again for your support.
***
To learn more about the about the Bright Futures campaign, watch a video featuring Cardinal Cupich, SPP alum.
Follow our Facebook page to keep up on the latest news from STM and all six Consortium schools.
