Sacred Heart seniors share pasta dinner, stories, and memories before graduation

More than 100 Sacred Heart University seniors gathered at the West Campus Guest House on April 9 for the inaugural Pasta with the Petillos, a three-course Italian dinner that doubled as storytelling night and class-gift fundraiser. Hosted by university president John Petillo and his wife, Sabina, the evening gave the Class of 2026 one more shared memory before commencement.

The dinner was built around pasta with a clear regional identity. Dr. Petillo prepared the meal with help from Chartwells resident district manager Mark Tammone, while Sabina Petillo walked students through the cultural background of the dishes and tied them to Sicilian and Positano traditions. The menu spotlighted Pasta alla Norma and Orecchiette alla Positanese, two plates that gave the night a distinctly Italian character instead of a generic campus buffet feel.

For the seniors in the room, the draw was more than the food. Sacred Heart framed the evening as a blend of community, storytelling and celebration for the Class of 2026, and the format fit a campus where senior traditions already carry real weight. The university says Senior Week is a final chance for graduating students to come together as a class and share memories before commencement, and this dinner extended that idea into a more intimate setting at the West Campus Guest House in Fairfield, Connecticut.

The event also carried a fundraising purpose. Tickets cost $26, with each purchase contributing to the senior class gift, a tradition Sacred Heart describes as a bridge from undergraduate life to alumni status. Students who give $100 or more through the class-gift campaign receive a silver graduation cord, underscoring how closely the university ties class participation to the finish line of senior year.

Petillo has led Sacred Heart since March 2011, and Sabina Petillo has previously appeared in campus programming as a moderator and public-facing participant, giving the event a familiar face for students who have spent four years on campus. That familiarity helped make the night feel less like a formal reception and more like a ritual.

Senior Week 2026 is set for Tuesday, May 5 through Friday, May 8, and Sacred Heart’s 60th Commencement for the Class of 2026 will be held in three ceremonies, two for undergraduates and one for graduate students. With the pasta plates cleared and the stories shared, Pasta with the Petillos gave seniors a final campus memory rooted in food, place and a class that will soon move from Sacred Heart to alumni status.