By Abigail Smith
The School of the Holy Child held its 116th graduation ceremony on May 30, celebrating 66 members of the Class of 2026 on the school’s Rye campus. Head of School Colleen R. Pettus officiated at the ceremony before families, faculty, and friends.
The commencement address was delivered by Karen DiYanni Peterson, a graduate of the Holy Child Class of 1990 and a violinist who has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Madison Square Garden, and the Kennedy Center. Trained at the Peabody Institute of John Hopkins University and the Yale School of Music, Peterson has played in the pit of Broadway’s “The Producers,” on “Late Night with David Letterman,” and has collaborated with Andrea Bocelli, Joni Mitchell, Cyndi Lauper, TRAIN, The Three Tenors, and the late Tony Bennett. She also has been a member of the New York Pops since 2001. Peterson was honored last year as the 2025 recipient of the Sr. Jeanne Ronzani, SHCJ, Distinguished Alumna Award.
The 66 graduates of the Class of 2026 submitted 595 applications to 190 colleges and universities, earning 411 acceptances and more than $16.8 million in merit scholarship awards. The class included two National Merit honorees: Emma Cristina Abecasis, named a National Merit Scholarship Finalist, and Gretchen Ella Schnier, recognized as a National Merit Commended Student.
