WOONSOCKET — With only a few minutes left before their graduation on Sunday, June 7, the students of Mount Saint Charles Academy’s Class of 2015 shuffled themselves into two lines in the school gymnasium. Susan Tessier, the school’s Director of Guidance, addressed the students on how to arrange the tassels on their caps.
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“Since I’ve been at Mount, the tassel’s been on the left,” said Tessier. “Everyone else does it on the right. And every year I say to the seniors, do you want to be like everyone else?”
With a shout of “No!” that echoed round the gym, the Class of 2015 arranged their tassels on the left and began the long march down the hill to Brother Adelard Arena, where 153 students would graduate. The arena, a converted airplane hangar purchased in 1961, has long been used to house both graduation ceremonies and the school’s iconic hockey games.
Graduation day wasn’t the first time the students declared their uniqueness. With four international students, one set of triplets and six sets of twins, the Class of 2015 is memorable by its numbers alone. Principal Edwin Burke recounted an exceptional moment when members of the class came to him and told him they didn’t want to do a senior class prank. Instead, he said, the students bought doughnuts for the entire school.
Musical Director Marc Blanchette led the Senior Band in Pomp and Circumstance as the Class of 2015 began their procession into the arena. The graduates wore red and blue robes that matched the many athletic banners hanging around the room and were greeted with bursts of applause from family and friends. Closing the procession were members of the faculty, administration and school board in academic robes.
Mistress of ceremonies Lauren Eberhardt welcomed graduates and guests. Eberhardt, a graduate from Franklin, Mass., will be attending the University of Pittsburgh Honors College in the fall. Following the welcome, school chaplain Father Brian Sistare opened the proceedings with an invocation.
Per Mount tradition, the Class of 1965 preceded the graduates into the arena and received honorary 50th anniversary diplomas presented by President Herve Richer. Eberhardt congratulated the honorary recipients and recounted their graduation in a different time when civil rights marches topped the headlines and the school had an all men’s graduating class.
Other speakers for the day included salutatorian Jacob Haddad of Lincoln and valedictorian Jeffrey Cimmino of Wrentham, Mass. Haddad made his fellow students laugh as he recounted the memories and anxieties of high school and the college application process. He urged his classmates to look ahead, telling them, “It’s time we say goodbye to Mount Saint Charles and look forward to the bright future ahead of all of us.” Haddad will attending Boston College in the fall.
Cimmino, who will be attending Georgetown University, had his fellow students close their eyes as he took them on a trip down memory lane. He brought to mind the sounds of hockey games and evacuation drills in the arena before asking his classmates to consider the implications of their actions and presence in the world.
He continued to say that as students, they must prepare themselves to be active citizens in the world. “We have been given indispensable tools to help us achieve,” said Cimmino. “Mount is truly a community of faith and family that we experience in our own unique ways.”
Students paid tribute to both faith and family in the decorations on their caps and excited waves to parents as Mr. Burke called them up to receive their diplomas. Following the distribution of diplomas, the senior class officers led their classmates in moving their tassels — opposite other schools, from left to right.
The ceremony concluded with the awarding of the school’s two highest honor prizes, the Excelsior and the All-Mountie awards. Both awards are selected by a majority vote of faculty. The Excelsior Award recognizes good leadership and excellence in academics and human relations and is sponsored by the McLaughlin family in memory of John McLaughlin. This year’s recipient was Trisha Bhatia of Bellingham, Mass. The All-Mountie Award recognizes excellence in academics and athletics as well as contributions to the welfare of the school and is sponsored by the Parent Council. Thomas Marcet, of Blackstone, Mass., was this year’s award recipient.
In his concluding remarks, Mr. Burke noted the class’s special significance for him, as the graduating students were incoming seventh graders during his first year as principal of the Academy.
“Know that you are loved,” he told the graduates. “Know that you are God’s sons and daughters, and that you have the ability to make a difference in the lives of others.”
With these words echoing through the room, the graduates of the Academy’s 91st class processed up the aisle, tassels on the right, to join their family and friends in celebration outside the arena.
CLASS OF 2015
Lauren Jeanne Adler
Greenville RI
Erin Marie Allen
Johnston RI
Brianna Leigh Arnold
Bellingham MA
Jake Normand Bacon
Cumberland RI
Jake Paul Baker
Cumberland RI
Graham R. Balog
Wrentham MA
Molly Catherine Berard
Woonsocket RI
Colin A. Berg
Franklin MA
Jarret A. Bergeron
Douglas MA
Trisha Bhatia
Bellingham MA
Jonathan Peter Blanchette
North Smithfield RI
Daniel Atwood Bowen
Cumberland RI
Renee Pauline Brien
Woonsocket RI
Shauna Anne Brown
Mendon MA
Ross Christopher Burch
Woonsocket RI
Sarah Erin Butler
Cumberland RI
Emilia Marta Cadden
Wrentham MA
David B. Capparelli
Johnston RI
Mitchel Albert Carlin
Bellingham MA
Edward Q. Carroll
Lincoln RI
Sean Frederick Cerqua
Walpole MA
Casey Ann Chabot
Cumberland RI
Bernadette Kathleen Charland
North Scituate RI
Ryan Richard Choate
Douglas MA
Jeffrey Nicholas Cimmino
Wrentham MA
Siara Christine Clemmey
Wrentham MA
Jonathan M. Cohen
Franklin MA
Rachel Bethany Coia
Greenville RI
Megan Julia Collamati
North Smithfield RI
Christopher Glenn Cote
Mapleville RI
Shane Patrick Curran
Franklin MA
John Michael Cutler
Mendon MA
Justin D'Abrosca
Cumberland RI
Natalia DaFonte
Cumberland RI
Angela Catherine Dansereau
North Smithfield RI
Judith Nicole Tejada Dayaw
Bellingham MA
Katrina Isabel Tejada Dayaw
Bellingham MA
Cristina Caseiro DeOliveira
Bellingham MA
Taylor Judith Dill
Bellingham MA
Victoria Claire Dill
Bellingham MA
Michael Robert Dixon
Mendon MA
Matthew Louis Donato
Milford MA
Michael John Doody
Franklin MA
Kara Elizabeth Dore
Franklin MA
Deandra Marie Duarte
Cumberland RI
Meaghan Suzanne Dubois
North Smithfield RI
Melissa Leigh Duffy
Woonsocket RI
Madeleine Rachel Dulude
Harrisville RI
Madison Rae Dumas
Woonsocket RI
Nicholas J. Duquette
Cumberland RI
Lauren Anne Eberhardt
Franklin MA
Catherine Joan Embree
Plainville MA
Samantha Marie Fagan
Scituate RI
Chloe Rose Fasano
Harrisville RI
Gabriella Reise Ferri
North Providence RI
Kylie M. Fitzgerald
Mendon MA
Shannon DeCourcey Flaherty
Upton MA
Annelise Elaine Freund
North Smithfield RI
Courtney Rose Gale
Upton MA
Shannon Jo Gavin
Upton MA
Robert Jacob Gieseke
Pascoag RI
Nicole Karina Giordano
North Smithfield RI
Alexander Carl Godfrin
Woonsocket RI
Jonathan David Goff
Millville MA
Colin Michael Goffe
Cumberland RI
Ethan Paul Guevremont
North Smithfield RI
Jacob Nicholas Haddad
Lincoln RI
Shane Robert Hanahan
Cumberland RI
Monica Joy Hardesty
Franklin MA
Sarah Elizabeth Hodgens
Mendon MA
Patrick Brian Holmes
Norfolk MA
Carly Marie Imbriani
Foxboro MA
Madeline Sara Kilburn
Franklin MA
Eun Hee Kim
Yangcheon-gu, Seoul South Korea
Jake Christopher Kozimor
Wrentham MA
Madeline Alida Lacman
Franklin MA
Annmarie Danielle LaDuke
Belmont MA
Timothy G. Lagesse
Pascoag RI
Matthew David Landry
Cumberland RI
Tate Jules Laquerre
Bellingham MA
Lexa Emily Lauzier
Smithfield RI
Evan Michael Laverdure
Milford MA
Celsea Taylor Leclair
Bellingham MA
Sean Joseph Leehan
Plainville MA
Sean Henry Leeming
Lincoln RI
Kaili Lei
Guiyang City, Guizhou Province, China
Christopher Michael Lepine
Cumberland RI
Jennifer Lynn Lepine
Cumberland RI
Brendan Keith Lewis
Franklin MA
Brianna Marie Luciani
Bellingham MA
Jason Nicholas Luisi
Cumberland RI
Katherine Elizabeth Machione
Mendon MA
Thomas Steven Marcet
Blackstone MA
Elizabeth A. Marcos
Woonsocket RI
Julia Nicole Martin
Cumberland RI
Erin Claire Mastaj
Milford MA
Jordan Pace McComb
Cumberland RI
James Edward McDermott, IV
Cumberland RI
Colin Charles McNulty
Franklin MA
Jack Meehan
Millis MA
Sean Daniel Meehan
Millis MA
Adam Joseph Mercier
Cumberland RI
Tyler Michael Mitchell
Franklin MA
Luke Lorenzo Moniz
North Providence RI
Kyle P. Murphy
Cumberland RI
Marin Joan Murphy
Mendon MA
Owen Patrick Murphy
Whitinsville MA
Emma Reilly Murray
Pawtucket RI
Kyle Joseph Neenan
Franklin MA
Shane Patrick O'Leary
Mendon MA
Austin Louis Paolino
Lincoln RI
Danny Alberto Parenteau
Millville MA
Anish V. Patel
Pawtucket RI
Sarah Elizabeth Payne
Franklin MA
Emma M. Pereira
East Providence RI
Adam Pereira
East Providence RI
Keith Tyler Phaneuf
Blackstone MA
Marissa Lyn Piedmonte
Blackstone MA
Lauren Marie Piette
Blackstone MA
Elizabeth Joyce Pontes
Bellingham MA
Teresa Elizabeth Prata
North Smithfield RI
Brian Francis Reilly
Holliston MA
Trevor Raymond Roberge
Seekonk MA
Melissa Ann Rocchio
Cranston RI
James Paul Rolleri
Millville MA
John Andrew Rolleri
Millville MA
Michael Ryan Rolleri
Millville MA
Olivia Ann Ross
Johnston RI
Patrick Paul Salley
Woonsocket RI
Alec Harrison Sanderson
Smithfield RI
Marissa Danielle Santucci
Greenville RI
Stephanie Lynn Sarza
Uxbridge MA
Matthew Jeffrey Saviano
Wrentham MA
Maxwell Joseph Schlott
Cumberland RI
Alec Matthew Sheran
Pascoag RI
Haein Shin
Busan, South Korea
Peter Gerard Soucy
Woonsocket RI
Meredith Irene Souza
Cumberland RI
Erika Paige St. Germain
Woonsocket RI
Matthew T. Stone
Wrentham MA
Jacob Michael Sutherland
Bellingham MA
Catharine Victoria Trice
Uxbridge MA
Andrew William Uttermann
Bellingham MA
Brenden R. Vadenais
Woonsocket RI
Kevin J. Valentine
Milford MA
Zachary Thomas Vanasse
Milford MA
Ian M. Vescera
Uxbridge MA
Jamie Villanueva, Jr.
Blackstone MA
Steven T. Ward
Cumberland RI
Brendan J. Watson
Cumberland RI
Benjamin Walter William Weiss
Franklin MA
Daniel W. E. Weiss
Franklin MA
Yuye Zhou
Changzhou Jiang Su, China