PROVIDENCE – Ninety young men and women received their high school diplomas to cheers and a standing ovation at SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral Sunday in a ceremony steeped in fond memories of their four years at St. Raphael Academy as the graduates open the next chapter in their lives.
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The Class of 2012 may have gotten off to a rough start, but it eventually found its way and succeeded, said Salutatorian Michelle Torres, in an address titled “Oh the Places We Have Been,” adapted from the Dr. Seuss book, “Oh, the Places You’ll Go.”
Recalling Dr. Seuss’ exhortation that life is a “great balancing act,” Torres, who heads off to Boston College in the fall, reminisced about the experiences that brought the class together as a family as they learned to balance their spiritual, academic, social and extracurricular lives. “For the seniors sitting before you, this ceremony is a tribute to our long dedication to the pursuit of a Catholic and Lasallian education,” she said.
“Today closes a major chapter that lasted four years. However, we could not have gotten here alone,” she added, thanking teachers, who became a “second family” at school and parents—students’ “own personal cheering squads.”
The Class of 2012 received a four-year total of $11 million in college scholarships. One third of the class is a member of either the national or state honor society—or both. The class also logged in 12,000 hours of community service. Graduates also are leaving their mark on St. Raphael, where the class founded the Thespian Honor Society, the first Spanish student exchange program, and the volleyball and mock trial teams.
The class valedictorian, Juan Bedoya, is the first in his family to go to college. Next fall, he will attend Harvard University, with $172,000 in scholarships.
In his valedictory address, Bedoya urged his classmates to use their intelligence, athleticism, character, and compassion to make a difference in the world. “Start small. Teach a child to read. Stand up for someone. Volunteer at a local soup kitchen. Donate your old clothes to the poor,” Bedoya said. “But then, dream big. Make the changes that will change the world entirely. Search for a cure for cancer. Develop something no one has seen before. Discover some unknown planet. Save the world from global warming.
“Don’t merely chase your dreams, catch them,” he added.
The most distinguished award of the ceremony, the Edith Peck Philips Memorial Award, went to Anamaria Arteaga. The award recognizes a student for “overall achievement and excellence” as well as contributions to the school. “I feel grateful,” Arteaga said. “I hope to live up to it.”
In her remarks to the graduates, Principal Maryann Donohue-Lynch encouraged them to put God first in their lives, to celebrate and embrace their uniqueness, and to be people of gratitude and generosity. “The world is ready for you, Class of 2012,” she said. “The world needs your intellect, your creativity, your passion, your good will.”
Donohue-Lynch is also moving on from St. Raphael, but says she will maintain ties to the school through her new job as the Associate Executive Director for Mission and Ministry for the Brothers of the Christian Schools, District of Eastern North America.
“It has been an honor to serve as president-principal of St. Raphael Academy. St. Ray’s is truly a school where the individual student is attended to and provided with the foundation for future success,” Donohue-Lynch told the Rhode Island Catholic.
For students such as Julian Diaz, earning a diploma was an award all of its own. A teacher in a middle school summer program once told the college bound graduate that his academic performance was so poor that he would never finish high school. Diaz credits his mother and grandmother for helping him to turn his life around, noting he would never have made it without the encouragement of the teachers at St. Raphael. For the remainder of his life, Diaz said he will always cherish his experience at the academy.
Bishop Robert C. Evans delivered the benediction at the ceremony, calling upon God to let the light of his divine wisdom guide the graduates in all their actions as they begin their new lives.
St. Raphael Academy Class of 2012
Devon J. Andrews
Anamaria Arteaga
Christopher D. Attardo
Kensey Auguste
Ariana Barbosa
Juan E. Bedoya
Dominique Brown
Cameron Bryce
Matthew Sable Burke
Meaghan Burns
Ysmabel Canela
Tiffani M. Carcieri
Tess Carvalho
Nicholas Cesino
Derick Ramon Contreras-Munoz
Taylor N. Cote
Gianna Mercedes DeMedeiros
Julian Angel Diaz
Caitlyn Donnelly
Joao Carlos Taveira Duarte
Caitlin Dunne
Christopher Ellis
Natasha Ferreira
Samantha Filliatreault Ferreira
Matthew Robert Findesen
Tyler Fortin
Nicholas Joseph Gagnon
Jessica Garvey
Kristen Rose Gauvin
Jonathan Geller
Ashley M. Giordano
Antonio Humberto Goncalves
Leen Hajou
Justin Charles Haney
Connor James Harrington
Michael Hinojosa Maria
Thomas Hurley
Amanda Christine Interlini
Kytresa Ivey-Jones
Kaitlyn Amanda Jacques
Baindu Zinna Kamara
Jennifer Gabriela Keane
Alisha Rose Kearney
Brendan-Patrick K. Kelahan
Jaron Keough
Brenden Christopher Knight
Christian Andres Lampinski
Alexander M. Lazieh
Jordan Alexis LeFort
Tyler Lockley
Kelsey Malloy
Mackenzie M. Matook
Zachary Mays
Cesar Justin Enrique Mejia
Esi Mensah
Christian James Microulis
Nicholas Arthur Microulis
Emily V. Millar
Patrick Miranda
Henry Mota, Jr.
Julia Aleksandrovna Nefedova
Cory Dillon Norberg
Xavier C. Nunez
Tiffany M. Otis
Zachary Owusu
Whitney Palavra
Robert Parker
Lucas Jonathan Pavao
Katelyn M. Pendergrass
Dianne Maria Peralta
Junior Peralta
Adrienne Pereira
Brenden Pike
Catherine Piper
Taylor Pires
Darshelle Ramos
Samuel Shea Reinhardt
Kelsey E. Richardson
Davon Robertson
Manuela Destinee Rocha
Kaseem Sams
Alicia Marie Sousa
Nicole Tellini
Michelle Torres
John Tougas, Jr.
Cory Alexander Tweedie
Troy Valdivia
Darshaun Vargas
Malcolm Williams
Alexander Wisnewski
