Cheshire Academy is planning a fully in-person Commencement program for the graduating Class of 2022, with celebratory events, leading up to exercises, throughout the month of May.
This year’s keynote speaker is Nancy S. Daoud, ChFC, APMA. A champion of female-led businesses and the power of the American dream, Daoud has received many accolades, including Barron’s Top 100 Women Financial Advisors and the Financial Times Top 400 Financial Advisors for 2019, Forbes Best in State Wealth Advisors for 2020, and Barron’s Top 1,200 Financial Advisors for 2020 and 2021, and was most recently ranked by Forbes as one of America’s Top Women Wealth Advisors for 2022.
An emigrant of Egypt at just 11 years old with her parents and sister, Daoud holds professional designations as a Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) and as an Advanced Portfolio Management Advisor (APMA). Daoud is also founder and CEO of Opus: Advice First, a private wealth advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial Services LLC that employs 18 team members and handles $1.6 billion in assets. Daoud’s son, Kristopher, is a financial planning analyst who graduated from Cheshire Academy in 2011 and has been a member of the Opus team since 2020.
Also planned for Commencement is special recognition of Trustee Armando Simosa, who is the recipient of the John Bowden Distinguished Achievement Award. Simosa, who has served on Cheshire Academy’s Board of Trustees for 12 years, has supported the school throughout his tenure, oftentimes in memory of his son, Armando Simosa, Class of 2008, who died tragically in 2009. The award, given in recognition of outstanding personal and professional development, includes an original lithograph of Bowden Hall, crafted by 1896 Cheshire Academy alumnus and painter Rockwell Kent.
Other events leading up to Commencement include a flag football tournament, color run, senior sunrise, beach trip, CheshireFest carnival and celebration of the arts, and an academic awards ceremony.
Commencement is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday, June 4.
