Lauralton grad tells of life's sweet side

MILFORD -- For Mary Kate LoPiccolo, her four years at the Academy of Our Lady of Mercy, Lauralton Hall, could be likened to a recipe for cupcakes.

"Baking, much like our time here at Lauralton, is a process," LoPiccolo, the valedictorian for the class of 2009 told her 127 fellow graduates at the school's 133rd commencement exercises Sunday morning in the school's gym. The Newtown resident, who will study at Brown University, was known for the cupcakes she made from scratch and brought to the school to share.

Like flour, the basis of every recipe, the knowledge, intelligence, intuition, reasoning and thought gained at the private all-girls school, provided them "with a firm basis through which we enter our world," LoPiccolo

said. "The secular and spiritual awareness that we gained at Lauralton is like the flour upon which our cupcakes will stand."

The sugar in the recipe? "The friendships we have made, the lessons we have learned, the ladies we have become, this is the sugar we have tasted at Lauralton," according to LoPiccolo, and the icing on the cupcake is the memories they will take with them.

While many of the school's traditions were on display Sunday -- the yellow rose carried by the graduates and the recognition of the 50th reunion class, one tradition went by the wayside. A broken water pipe Saturday night flooded the school's basement and swamped plans for the reception following the ceremonies which features cookies and punch.

Rather

ironic, noted President Barbara Griffin, since LoPiccolo spent so much time talking about cupcakes.