Gregory Johnston, left and Allesandro Adornetto
Iona Preparatory’ s Upper School will graduate 163 young men during its 104th Commencement Exercises on Thursday, May 25 at 11AM, at its ancestral home of Iona University.
Robert H. McCooey, Jr., Class of 1983 and a Rye, N.Y., resident, will serve as the keynote speaker and 2023 Alumni Award Winner. The 2018 Iona Prep Hall of Famer and father of three Gaels Robert was the Alumni Association president from 1997 – 1999. Two years later he was appointed to the Iona Prep Board of Directors and served our school for a remarkable 12 years. He is a former board member of the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Foundation, the Securities Industry Automation Corporation, and the National Organization of Investment Professionals. He currently serves as a Board Member at St. Vincent’s Hospital, Westchester, and for Youth INC.
Today, Robert is Vice Chairman of Nasdaq, responsible for leading business development for new listings in both Latin America and Asia Pacific, as well as overseeing relationship management with companies throughout their corporate lifecycle. Prior to joining Nasdaq in 2006, Robert founded and served as the Chief Executive Officer of The Griswold Company brokerage firm.
The roughly 90-minute ceremony will feature valedictory and salutatory addresses from Gregory Johnston, 17, of New Rochelle, and Alessandro Caio Adornetto, 17, of Yonkers, respectively.
A Peer Minister and member of the Leadership Committee, Johnston graduates with a 100.41 GPA. He was president of the Bring Change To Mind Club, co-president of the Biology Club and a singles player on the tennis team. Gregory will be attending the University of South Carolina Honors College this fall, majoring in biological sciences on the pre-med track with plans to become a physician. Caio Adornetto has maintained a 100.21 GPA over seven Advanced Placement and eight Honors classes. He is the president of National Honor Society and a member of the National Science Honor Society and National Italian Honor Society, as well as an AP Scholar. Caio
Adornetto is also the president of the Chemistry Club, vice president of the STEM Club and the Fratelli d’Italia secretary. He has authored and self-published an introductory book on theoretical physics and is a member of the three-year Science Research Program, studying Brownian particle self-assembly. Caio Adornetto will attend the University of Pennsylvania in the fall.
Collectively, the Class of 2023 has amassed more than $35 million in academic scholarships, with more than 82 percent of the graduates receiving merit-based awards averaging $60,000 per scholarship – meaning an Iona Preparatory education all but pays for itself. Over the last 10 years, graduating classes have earned nearly a quarter of a billion in scholarship.
