Saint Viator Hosts Inaugural Fine Arts Signing Day

Saint Viator’s Fine Arts Department hosted one of our final senior events earlier this week, celebrating the five seniors who plan to pursue the arts in college. Students gathered with parents and faculty on Monday to officially announce their college decisions at the school's inaugural Fine Arts Signing Day. 

 

Francesco Console will be pursuing his passion for lyric theater next year at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he was awarded the School of Music Scholarship. 

 

“I’m really excited for the next four years,” said Francesco. “I’m very thankful to Mrs. Kragt and Ms. Gray for everything, and for always pushing me to be my best self.”

 

As a recipient of the university’s College of Fine and Applied Arts Talented Musician Scholarship, Sophia Limberakis is also off to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the fall with plans to major in vocal performance.

“I’m looking forward to possibly being in an opera or musical someday,” she said. 

 

Gabriella Gozdecki, who wrapped up her Saint Viator stage work this year with a one-woman show/solo performance of Anne Ludlum’s “Shame the Devil! An Audience with Fanny Kamble,” will pursue a BFA in acting next year at Northern Illinois University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts.

 

“I’m thankful to Ms. Gray for this year. She was one of the good things that came out of Covid for me. She taught me so much. She taught me how to be a better professional,” said Gabriella. “She introduced me to a lot of different parts of theater so now I feel really prepared to go to college and interact with everyone there.”

 

Daniel Bottcher will head east in the fall to work towards his BFA in fine arts and a master's degree in art education at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. He thanks Mr. Gruenfeld for helping him start his portfolio and encouraging his interest in the arts. 

 

“My hopes and dreams are giving back to the community, maybe coming back to Saint Viator to teach, as well as working with organizations to help provide art and art education to underprivileged children,” he said.

 

Finally, Charlie Cagann plans to attend Miami University-Oxford and to major in political science while continuing to work on his alto and tenor saxophone skills and remain involved in theater. 

 

“I’d like to thank everybody in the fine arts department here who I’ve interacted with each at least once throughout this year,” he said. “Everybody has just been so friendly, so helpful to me, and really helped me to grow whether it be in my acting or my music performance.”