Oak Knoll gathered on Friday, April 17, 2026, in the Mother Mary Campion Center for the Performing Arts to celebrate the creativity, dedication, and achievements of students involved in the arts during the 2025-26 school year.

The annual Arts Recognition Awards honored students across disciplines, recognizing not only their accomplishments but also the commitment, persistence, and growth behind their work. 

“That kind of growth doesn’t happen overnight or in a single moment,” reflected Lillie Accetta Arts Department Chair and Theater Director. “It happens in rehearsals, in sketches that are erased and redrawn in articles revised again and again, and in performances that require courage and persistence before they feel certain.”

In the opening prayer, Upper School Division Head Laura Hollenbaugh invited the community to reflect on the deeper purpose of the arts.

“In a world that often moves too quickly, their work asks us to pause, to pay attention, and to recognize the beauty that surrounds us,” she shared.

Creative Arts President Delilah Rowe ’26 offered a personal reflection on the role of the arts in shaping community and identity at Oak Knoll. 

“For many of us, the arts at Oak Knoll have become a place of connection and belonging,” she said. “The arts teach us how to show up for one another, take risks, be vulnerable, and be part of something bigger than ourselves.”

A highlight of the ceremony was a keynote address from alumna Erin Strong ’96, a professional dancer, educator, and performing arts coordinator. Reflecting on her own journey, Strong emphasized the lasting impact of her Oak Knoll experience. 

“My journey launched here at Oak Knoll,” she said, noting how her early involvement in dance, music, and performance laid the foundation for her career.

Strong encouraged students to embrace creativity as an essential part of their lives, regardless of their chosen paths. “You’re all artists,” she said. “Every single one of you is asked to learn how to express yourself.”

She also reflected on the enduring influence of Holy Child values, sharing a quote from founder Cornelia Connelly that has guided her throughout her career: “What one is called to do, she is called to do with all her might.”

Throughout the ceremony, speakers emphasized that the arts are not defined solely by final performances or finished work, but by the process behind them — the rehearsals, revisions, and collaboration that shape both the work and the individual.

Student Award Recipients

Scribes:

• Leadership: Abby Han ’26 (President) 

Untucked (Newspaper):

• Leadership: Catherine Luzzi ’26 (Editor-in-Chief)
• Service: Grace Bienstock ’26 (Editor-in-Chief)

Dancers:

• Leadership Awards: Cara Rodgers ’26, Grace Bienstock ’26 (Co-Presidents)

Literary Magazine:

• Leadership: Grace Bienstock ’26 (Editor-in-chief)
• Achievement: Anna Chamberlin ’26
• Service: Savannah Ramdass ’26

Dramatica:

• Leadership: Penelope Muirhead ’26, Scarlett Mahoney ’26 (Production Managers)
• Achievement: Sydney Maslovsky ’31
• Service: Aria Thiga ’29

Musical:

• Leadership: Delilah Rowe ’26 (Production Manager), Krysta Pumarada ’28 (Production Manager) 
• Service: Ava Matina ’26
• Achievement: Scarlett Mahoney ’26

Ensemble:

• Leadership: Magdalene Battista ’26 (President)
• Achievement: Emmanuella Chukwukere ’26
• Service: Delilah Rowe ’26

Aquila (Yearbook):

• Leadership: Anna Chamberlin ’26 (Co-Editor)
• Service: Grace Bienstock ’26 (Co-Editor)

Lighting Crew:

• Leadership: Katherine Alibhai ’30 (President)

The ceremony concluded as a celebration not only of artistic excellence, but of the courage, discipline, and creativity that define an Oak Knoll education.

As Strong reminded students, “ Please continue creating with all of your mind, and to everyone else, consider this a call to action to express yourself. Tell your stories, sing your songs, create engaging experiences, and please dance through life and do it with all of your might, knowing that all your voices, all of them, they matter.”