Spotlight: Nicholas Albano ’09

The Big Questions

Lafayette is a small community, and, as you know, there aren’t too many unfamiliar faces. This environment has allowed me to ask and answer some important questions about my life and myself. I have made some incredible friends here at Lafayette, but I have also screwed up a couple of great friendships. Because Lafayette is so small, we can’t avoid dealing with all kinds of people – even some that we just don’t get along with. These encounters force us to ask ourselves important questions. What do I like? Why does this person bother me? What kind of person am I, and what kind of person would I like to be? My experiences with each and every one of you have taught me how to understand myself and better understand other people. All of you have helped me to answer and better understand the big questions.

Excerpted from farewell remarks given by Nicholas Albano ’09 at the 174th Commencement May 23. Albano, of Cortlandt Manor, N.Y., is the 2009 recipient of the George Wharton Pepper Prize, awarded annually to the senior who “most closely represents the Lafayette ideal.” He graduated with a B.S. in biology summa cum laude.