Gianna Pagliaro ’29 and Finn Mara ’29, incoming first-year students for next fall, received the exciting news Friday morning when a team of Quinnipiac ambassadors, accompanied by Boomer, made surprise visits to their high schools. Both students were presented with their official acceptance packages as their family, friends and members of the school community surrounded them with cheers and applause.

Quinnipiac, founded in 1929, will mark a milestone next year by welcoming its 100th graduating class of students. Pagliaro and Mara are the first two students to join this historic class.

The morning began at Sacred Heart Academy in Hamden, where high school senior Pagliaro said she had no idea what was happening when her teacher called her out of English class. Just that morning, she had been on the Quinnipiac admissions portal, checking her application status to see if she had been accepted.

“I’m so excited and just filled with joy at this moment,” said Pagliaro. “I was stressing up to this point because I knew Quinnipiac was the school I wanted to be at from the first time I was on campus. I knew it was everything I was looking for in a university and the people around me were so welcoming. I’m just so happy!”

Beaming through her tears, she welcomed hugs from the large group of family and friends who were on hand to surprise her, all enthusiastically wearing Quinnipiac shirts and waving pompoms and signs. Pagliaro plans to pursue her degree in nursing.

Her mother, Lauren, became emotional when she recounted Gianna’s journey over the past several years.

“Quinnipiac was her first choice, her only choice. It’s the place she wants to be,” she said. “We are all here today because we have been rooting for Gianna. We are so proud of her. I truly believe this is 100% the workings of her father, Joe, who is up in heaven watching over her. He passed away when she was 11 and that is the reason she wants to be a nurse. She wants to help other people by going into the healthcare field.”

Chief Experience Officer Tom Ellett greeted Gianna and officially handed over her Quinnipiac acceptance envelope before welcoming her to the Bobcat family.  

“Here is your four-leaf clover,” said Ellett, warmly referencing her college admission essay and the personal meaning clovers symbolize to her. “Congratulations, you are the first student accepted at Quinnipiac this year for the class of 2029.”

The Quinnipiac team then traveled to Fairfield College Preparatory School to surprise high school senior Finn Mara with his own acceptance letter. Finn was joined by members of the Fairfield Prep community along with family, mother, Erica, father, Aidan, and his two younger brothers, Harrison and Oliver, all outfitted in new Quinnipiac T-shirts.

“We saw seven or eight schools, and every time he would go back to Quinnipiac. It was the only school that resonated with him after all the schools we visited,” said his father, Aidan. “It’s just the right fit for him.”

Surrounded by his family, Finn took it all in stride as Senior Associate Director of Undergraduate Admissions Jeanne Liu handed him his welcome package and spoke about his achievements academically and athletically that helped to lead him to this moment.

“I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing your application, and it was an excellent application. Not only academically but with lacrosse, wrestling, you even taught yourself to play guitar,” said Liu. “But what sealed the deal was your holistic approach and your essay. We think at Quinnipiac, you will definitely excel.”

Arriving as an undeclared liberal arts major in the fall, Finn is interested in pursuing his degree in sports management or business analytics.

“I am so surprised right now,” said Finn, as he proudly donned his new Quinnipiac sweatshirt and baseball hat before posing for pictures with his family and Boomer. “I’ve been online every day, checking to see if I was accepted. I’m just so excited that I get to be a part of this community.”