PORTSMOUTH — Through discipline, love, respect and obedience to Catholic tradition, the 93 graduates of Portsmouth Abbey have personified the core characteristics of a healthy Benedictine community.
During the Abbey’s 83rd commencement exercises last Sunday, the class of 2013 was not only celebrated for their academic achievements but also for their great kindness and humility.
It was a day for giving thanks, said John M. Regan, III, chairman of the Board of Regents and member of the class of 1968.
“Graduates, you have received a great gift during your time at the Abbey,” he shared. “Together, you have visibly grown in mind, body and spirit; and perhaps less visibly, but in even more important ways, in knowledge and grace.”
Regan not only gave thanks for the success of the Class of 2013, but also for the leadership of Headmaster Dr. Jim DeVecchi who will retire in June after 40 years of service to the school, 13 of which will have been as headmaster.
“I ask that we offer special thanks for the leadership of Jim DeVecchi and the constant support of [his wife] Deb. Please join me in congratulating both of them on a job very well done and a mission well lived.”
Headmaster DeVecchi told the graduating class that they are leaving a wonderful legacy at the Abbey, adding that they have personified what he and his wife valued most in their 40 years at the school.
“As each of you has distinguished yourself and enriched our campus community over these past 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 years, so will you continue to distinguish yourselves and enrich society in your after-Abbey life,” he said. “In life, you surely will distinguish yourselves through your achievements and successes, but the contributions of the Abbey Class of 2013 to society will not only come through your accomplishments, but also through the example of how you achieved those accomplishments.”
DeVecchi also thanked the parents for their commitment to their children’s education and spiritual formation, adding that they should be very pleased and proud.
Andrea Keough, mother of graduate Isabel Margot Keough of Litchfield, Conn., expressed how very proud she is of her daughter. She shared that she feels fortunate that Isabel was able to attend Portsmouth Abbey.
“It’s bittersweet. It’s been a wonderful place for her,” she said. “The religious component has been great. She’s really grown as a person and made wonderful friends and she looks up to the faculty. More kids should come here.”
Tim Niles, who traveled from Austin, Texas to attend his daughter Hannah’s graduation, said that he is very grateful for the opportunities she has had there.
“She’s grown here academically and she’s grown spiritually as well,” he said. “I’m so very proud of her. The whole family is.”
Headmaster DeVecchi was honored to welcome this year’s commencement speaker, Tim Flanigan, M.D., (Class of ‘75) to the Abbey.
Flanigan now works as infectious diseases specialist and educational advocate for the underprivileged. A member of the school’s Board of Regents, he was also recently ordained a permanent deacon for the Diocese of Providence and is associate director of The Miriam/Brown Fogarty Program, which trains and mentors overseas investigators in HIV/AIDS.
A great supporter of the Abbey, Flanigan recalled fond memories of his time at the Benedictine boarding school, and encouraged the graduates to be prayerful and “listen with the ear of the heart.”
“You are special in a deep and mysterious way,” he said. “Listening is absolutely critical in determining who you are called to be. It will help you when you feel lost and out of place and open you up to laughter and joy when you least expect it.”
During a commencement address to her fellow students, Allison Bolles recalled how the Abbey helped graduates overcome fears and gain self-confidence despite humbling moments.
“If the Abbey never made us put ourselves out there we wouldn’t grow,” she said. “I challenge you to continue trying after you leave the Abbey. Get out there and do it. Be vulnerable. You’ve got one chance, don’t waste it on fear.”
Nicholas Medley of Portsmouth shared that he was grateful to the monks of Portsmouth Abbey for their spiritual example, inspiring students to live with grace and dignity.
“It was an honor to serve with them,” he said. “Four years have gone by so fast at the Abbey and our journey has come to a close. We have been changed for the better.”
PORTSMOUTH ABBEY CLASS OF 2013
Peter Hugh Barlow
Shiloh Victoria Barry
Laura Jane Baudet
Allison Lynn Bolles
Fletcher Michael Bonin
Melanie Alexandra Camacho
Yixian Chen
Minjae Cho
Sa Uk Brian Chung
Coleman Joseph Clark
Nicholas Joseph DeLieto
Dorothy Carol Dickmann
Pinyuan Dong
George Andrew Evans
Sebastián L. Ferré
Steven Joseph Foster
Ann Marie Gallagher
Catherine Kennington Glosson
Claire Lily Gralton
Katharine Coulter Haines
Caroline Faber Hall
Kelsi Claire Harper
Hunter Bradford Harries
Meredith Clare Horan
Daniel Joseph-Villenueve Jackson
Emily Margaret Kelley
Mitchell J. Kelln
Jordan Romeo Kenny
Isabel Margot Keogh
Mary Frances Kielb
Annalise Danielle Kirscht
Reaves Holton Klipstein
Sean Michael Knowlan
Marilyn Mossiah Yvanne Kouassi-Brou
Austin Lee Kreinz
Laura Ashley Lansing
Xiang Li
Zelong Li
Andrew Geoffrey Lowis
Anna MacGillivray
Rhoads Walker MacGuire
Charlotte Elizabeth MacKinnon
Michael Francis Madigan
Rasaanh Solomon Eulipion Matra
J. Hadley Matthews
Nicholas Gordon Medley
Kimberly Brooke Mehrtens
Michelle Tess Mehrtens
Gabriel John Miller
Antonio Minondo Stillman
Justin Mistikawy –
Annette Michelle Monheim
Hannah Marie Niles
Julia Martha Noble
Katherine Elizabeth Normand
Kelley Nicole Oliveira
Francis Giuliano Padula
Gabriella Perez Escobar
Stacey Joyce Poon-Tip
Luisa Posada-Urrutia
Rachael Victoria Powers
Sarah Nicole Powers
Zachary Edward Pray
Phillip Alston Wilcox Bacot Purvis
Charles Francis Ramsden
William Christopher Reynolds
Maria Luisa Ruiz Vásquez
Fang Shao
Erin René Shaw
William E. Shaw-MacGillivray
Michael Patrick Sheerin
Sarah Elizabeth Sienkiewicz
Julia Janina Slupska
Christopher Mark Menchaca Soriano
Severin St. Claire
Michael Andrew Stark
Robert Huntington Sucsy
O'Callahan Rebecca Taylor
Allyson Rachel Tessier
Julia Elizabeth Thompson
Lauren Elizabeth Thompson
Zackery Michael Tipton
Garin Thomas Tracy
Claudia Isabelle Trahan
Katherine Lloyd Troutman
Monica Rocio Urquijo Zobel de Ayala
Maria Elisa Vollmer
Molly J. Wart
Xiaodian Xu
Joseph Henry Yates
Sang Seo Andrew Yi
Xijia Yuan
Toby Hyung Seok Yun