Austin Preparatory School celebrated its 43rd commencement this spring, awarding diplomas to 110 graduates of the Class of 2008, including four from Andover.

The following Andover residents received diplomas from Austin Preparatory School, according to the school: Jillian R. Deliago, who will attend Westfield State College in the fall; Melissa C. Pettini, who is heading to Lesley College; Bridget E. Sheehy, who is bound for New York University, and Katherine A. Weidlein, who will attend Cornell University.

Sheehy and Weidlein are members of the National Honor Society, according to the school.

The Rev. Gary McCloskey, dean of Merrimack College and chaired professor of Augustinian pedagogy, gave the keynote address. He invoked the lessons of St. Augustine, calling on the graduates to find Augustine's definition of maturity through a balance of education, experience and talent. He implored the graduates, "Do not settle for the world of talk-show sound bites. Even though it is tempting, do not just experience a prolonged adolescence."

McCloskey also advised the graduates to stay close to God as they enter a troubled world.

"St. Augustine had the best of educations, and the best of jobs as the spokesperson for the Roman emperor. But he felt unfulfilled. It was in listening to God as the inner teacher that St. Augustine found his happiness and his success," McCloskey said. "In a world that does not value God, or sees belief as something private, do not shortchange or limit yourself by putting God on the shelf. Seek all the possibilities of happiness and success by including God in your seeking and by discovering the best you that you can be."