PROVIDENCE — The red and gold interior of the Providence Performing Arts Center reflected in the maroon and gold caps and gowns of LaSalle graduates on Wednesday, June 3. Four years of study had brought them just under four miles from their school to say goodbye to what most called “a family.”
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“La Salle had been like a family to me. Everyone is so respectful,” said Nicole deRouin, a future accountant major at The University of Rhode Island, for whom attending La Salle was a family tradition. “These are the four years I’ll never forget.”
“Everyone is close. La Salle is a real community with a family atmosphere,” said Nonely Flores. “I’m really going to miss it,” sighed Flores, who will study marketing at Salve Regina University this fall.
“I really feel like I’m friends with everyone,” said Henry Dunphy, a parishioner of St. Luke’s Church in Barrington. “It’s a tight knit community, like a family.” He will especially miss Michael Pare, his English teacher, “a really fun, nice guy” who also helped coach him in basketball. Worcester Polytechnic Institute will welcome Dunphy in the fall, where he will major in engineering.
Students had several stellar teachers to thank for their success at the academy. Another fan of Mr. Pare is St. Kevin’s parishioner Olivia Nappi, who plans to study communication disorders, while Spanish teacher Jessica Weber inspired gratitude in Nicole deRouin. Graduate Justin Tavares, from St. Robert Bellarmine Parish, will remember his physics teacher Ann Kaiser, who inspired him to pursue aerospace engineering at WPI.
Hailing from St. Agnes Church in Providence, graduate James Fanning plans to study medicine at Providence College, while continuing to practice what he learned from David Ricci, his AP government teacher.
“Mr. Ricci was a huge help to me here,” said Fanning. “He taught us world politics while trying to remain neutral. I learned Christian morality and ethics from him. He inspired me to help others as Jesus did.”
St. Gregory’s parishioner Tessa Fielding echoed this thankfulness toward McNamara. “He’s just the sweetest man, he goes out of his way for students.” From a family of brothers who attended Bishop Hendricken, Fielding had an athletic career at the high school, playing field and ice hockey as well as lacrosse.
“I’ll miss this,” she said. “La Salle is full of good people who stand by each other.”
This fall, she’ll be pursuing bioengineering at Northeastern University. Fielding feels well-prepared by La Salle for her challenging career choice, as do the other graduates.
“The strong academics is what brought me here,” claimed Caroline Fazio, who plans to enter the medical field at the University of Delaware.
Graduate Julianna Marandola, a parishioner from Immaculate Conception Parish, offered the welcoming speech and took home four of the eight “Excellence Awards,” claiming highest honors in Religious Studies, Languages, English, and Social Studies.
“I ask you to imagine a familiar path for all of us: a walk down the mural-covered hallways of La Salle Academy. In a sense, we, the Class of 2015, have created our own mural on La Salle Academy’s walls. Tonight, the paint is just beginning to dry.”
Julianna went on to thank parents, teachers, administrators and the Brothers of the Christian Schools for teaching the graduates “to live not for ourselves but for the betterment of our society, for the good of our community, and for the person standing next to us.”
The graduate up next was Brendan Nigro, who began the Student Address with the first verse of the La Salle Academy Spirit Song: “On La Salle Rams . . . up the mountain climb . . . On La Salle Rams . . . Fight on for her fame! Fight Maroon and White (Fight, Fight) We’ll Win this game!”
Reflectively and with humor, Nigro had words of praise for “our caring dean, Mrs. Kelly” and for being able to “experience La Salle through our academic work, involvement in extracurricular activities, and daily encounters with classmates, teachers, parents, and administrators.
“You were not merely teachers of subject matter,” he said. “You were teachers of life. [We will be] remembering God’s holy presence and allowing Jesus to live in our hearts calls us to live out the Gospel and serve the poor, the marginalized and the neglected in our society, as is La Salle Academy’s Mission.”
