HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATIONS 2010

Bay View grads outstanding examples of Mercy mission

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PROVIDENCE — Empowering young women to make a difference in the world is an important part of the mission at St. Mary Academy-Bay View, a mission that the Class of 2010 took very seriously.

Bay View’s new alumnae will attend some of the nation’s top colleges and universities and have received more than $4 million in scholarship awards. Principal Colleen Gribbin shared that the 145 graduates are individually and collectively remarkable.

“They are outstanding examples of the mission of Bay View,” said Gribbin. “They are smart, organized, and ready to make their mark on the world. We are proud of each of them and look forward to monitoring their future success.”

To many, graduation can seem like the end of the road, but graduate Alexus Lee sees it more as a beginning, she said.

During the graduation ceremony, Lee, with fellow graduates in the Bay View Chorale, sang a medley under the direction of Christine Kavanagh and Diane Gualtieri. Lee, who participated in the recent Cabaret performance, said that Kavanagh has always challenged her to do more.

“She has given me parts that weren’t always easy,” said Lee, who will be attending Berklee College of Music in the fall. “She is continuously opening up doors.”

This year, Lee also helped to plan a talent show, which raised close to $1,000 for Haitian relief.

“It was a big group effort,” she said. “It was very successful and we got to see some new talent. We were able to raise money for Haiti and do our part.”

Valedictorian Ariana Santopietro offered her classmates assurance that they are prepared to step forward in their lives.

“Bay View has prepared us in terms of both strong education and enduring relationships,” said Santopietro. “I am confident that there is no group of women better than our class to take on the world.”

The accomplishments of Bay View graduates are diverse and significant. Graduate Kelsey Petrie of Seekonk, Mass., has been named a Jefferson Scholar at the University of Virginia, where she will be studying this upcoming semester. The Scholars program includes full tuition, room and board for four years, funds for books and travel and a year of study abroad.

“Graduating was amazing,” said Petrie. “I feel like I’m ready for the world now and ready to move on to new and incredible things. It is great to have closure to my days at the Bay. Now I’m ready to move forward.”

In the past year, Petrie has helped form the teen-run organization Greenlight Rhode Island, which installs energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs in low-income homes, and partnered with Project 20/20 of Brown University.

“It was a very personal experience,” she said. “It helps them with the electric bill and it helps the environment by saving energy.”

Salutatorian Gina Roberti said that her classmates have given her hope for the future.

“After four years of growing up in a world of blue lockers, tile floors, and Otis Spunkmire cookies, we have become a family,” she said in her address. “I have witnessed your intelligence, experienced your compassion, stood in awe of your talent. Shaping the future may seem impossible now, but in truth, I’ve already glimpsed the beginnings of change.”

Roberti, who has raised $6,800 for Project Have Hope, an organization that supports women in the Acholi Quarter of Uganda, said that Bay View helped her to learn to take initiative.

“Bay View has taught me to live the mission in today’s world,” she said. “That really shaped my perspective. I think Bay View gives us that mindset to get out and pursue things.”

Graduate Molly Alves will soon be studying wildlife and fisheries biology at the University of Vermont. In October 2008, Alves was selected to represent Roger Williams Park Zoo at a camp sponsored by the organization Polar Bears International. The camp brought her south of the Arctic Circle in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, to study polar bear migration, an experience she shared with her Bay View family.

“The experience really shaped my ideas of what I wanted to do and the school was very supportive,” said Alves. “It opened my eyes to being a research biologist and taking action to protect endangered species.”

Great responsibility awaits the graduates, said Bay View’s President Mercy Sister Elizabeth A. McAuliffe.

“You are vibrant young women, you are phenomenal women, you are women of Mercy, you are women with talent. And to those who have been given much, much is expected,” said Sister McAuliffe. “You are a child of a God who loves you above all measure and has given you unimaginable gifts of freedom.”

Many graduates felt a sense of accomplishment from their Bay View education, prepared to go out into the world to make a difference.

“Graduation was an uplifting time when I felt true pride in not only my own accomplishments, but those of my class as well,” said Lee. “High school was definitely a great ride, but I am now ready to see what else is out there.”

CLASS OF 2010

Nicole Acciardo

Allison Alarie

Ashley Alessandrini

Molly Alves

Alyssa Anderson

Kristen Anderson

Elizabeth Athaide

Victoria Azar

Alexandra Baccari

Ebonee Bailey

Jenna Baker

Caroline Baruch

Jane Baruch

Stephanie Beaudette

Amanda Blezard

Melissa Bobotas

Adria Bonaccorsi

Madison Brown

Santina Bucci

Sarah Burke

Rachel Caine

Marisa Capozzoli

Annalisa Carmosino

Nicole Cayer

Alexandra Cece

JeeYoon Choi

Maria Christianson

Lindsay Coffey

Amy Cola

Amanda Colafrancesco

Cassandra Conte

Briana Corsi

Katherine Coutu

Tanya Creamer

Elizabeth Creta

Olivia Culpo

Taylor Dalton

Charissa DelVecchio

Olivia DiManna

Kayleigh Doherty

Maye Emlein

Victoria Federici

Michaela Ferreira

Lauren Friel

Michaela Garrity

Bianca Gemma

Giana Gianquitti

Celine Gill

Dominique Girardi

Samantha Gouin

Merdeith Grace

Kathryn Grandchamp

Elizabeth Green

Casssandra Guercia

Carolyn Haddad

Francesca Hansen-DiBello

Kelly Harrop

Laura Hattoy

Megan Holmes

Chelsea Honour

Caroline Hurley

Sevan Janigian

Elizabeth Jones

Taylor Jones

Lauren Josephs

Jessica Keane

SoYoun Hannah Lawson

Kweon Simone Labine

Alexus Lee

Emily Lombardo

Kate Mahesh

Lauren Mancini

Helen Manzella

Cristina Marcello

Marissa Marcos

Kathryn Martin

Stephanie Martineau

Gina Marzilli

Jessica Matrone

Kelly McKeon

Aine McLaughlin

Sarah McMahon

Caroline McNally

Rachael Medeiros

Rachel Medeiros

Ashley Mello

Allison Menard

Elizabeth Miller

Kathleen Moeller

Niamh Molloy

Lauren Moore

Elizabeth Morse

Christine Nguyen

Kristen O’Neil

Alejandra O’Neill

Danielle Palms

Monica Pascoa

Courtney Patterson

Katelyn Perlini

Sophie Perry

Kelsey Petrie

Erika Pistacchio

Korinne Ponte

Kayla Prata

Rachael Quigley

Connielyn Ramos

Ashlee Raposa

Colleen Riessen

Gina Roberti

Kelsey Rohan

Victoria Rossi

Heather Sadusky

Jessica Sandoval

Ariana Santopietro

Fallon Scorpio

Jillian Sevigny

Chelsea Solomon

Jenna Solomon

Marguerite Sousa

Christine Stimson

Alexandra Tannous

Felicia Tatulli

Marie Theroux

Bryana Therrien

Katherine Topp

Giana Tortolani

Dominique Tourtellot

Haley Urbon

Audra Vadnais

Daria Valles

June Vandall

Marisa Venditti

Diandra Verbeyst

Cheyanne Viveiros

Margaret Walsh

Jordan Werner

Jessica Westcott

Andrea White

Brittany Wilkinson

Taylor Zodda

Jillian Zoglio

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