Valedictorian: 'Mount is truly a community of faith and family'

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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

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