WOONSOCKET – On Sunday, June 12, Mount Saint Charles Academy celebrated their 98th commencement with graduates of the Class of 2022, while at the same time honoring the Class of 1972 for their 50th anniversary.
The week of celebratory events culminated in the school’s gymnasium, where Master of Ceremonies Brian Giles led those gathered through the proceedings.
After an invocation from Deacon Anthony Gagliani, Mount’s President Alan Tenreiro spoke to the Class of 1972.
“The world feels alien and different since 1972. The good isn’t always easy to see … but it’s there. I see the good right now. It’s sitting right in front of me,” he said.
Tenreiro ended his reflection on the past 50 years with a simple yet powerful summation: “Being good to people is a wonderful legacy to leave behind.”
After his remarks, 50th anniversary diplomas were handed out to the Mount Saint Charles Class of 1972.
Olivia Antonelli, Class of 2022 salutatorian, followed with an address to her fellow graduates that took them on a journey from 6th grade through their senior year.
“9th grade: Finally, high school! With that, two words: grout fit. (My fault.) I went to my first Patriots parade, even though my football knowledge was simply Tom Brady. Not his stats, just his name. I went to semi! And Ireland! I broke the pole vault school record because shockingly, no woman before myself decided they wanted to run full speed with a stick in their hand, in an attempt to jump over, yes, another stick. I met so many new friends, and I couldn’t have been happier,” Antonelli said.
Antonelli also recalled their time online during the pandemic, from cutting her hair to laughing good-naturedly at the struggles of distance learning.
“11th grade: I cut my hair, again. The gym basically became my personality, but according to some, I still could not bench the 35 pound bar. During distance learning, I laughed as people changed their backgrounds, froze their screens, and continuously unmuted themselves ‘just because.’ I experienced a pandemic, but was somehow still stuck working at Chelos. I became very close to my cat, and she definitely couldn’t have been happier.”
Antonelli parted with a lengthy thank-you list, one of which included her recently-passed grandmother. “Grandma, just weeks shy of a seat up front, you have taught me to trust that your seat from above is far better. As you always instructed, I’d like to pass on your advice to my graduating class today: ‘Do your duty, do your best, leave unto the Lord the rest.’”
Antonelli’s speech led into valedictorian Chau Le’s thanks, wisdom, and an unconventional metaphor.
“I have one final piece of advice and that is to approach life like it’s a video game – just hear me out on this one. Growing up, one of my favorite video games to play was Super Mario Bros.,” Le said.
She explained to all that no matter how many times she “died” while playing the game, she always tried and tried again until she reached the subsequent, more difficult stage of the game.
“I prompt you all to continue to press that metaphorical ‘try again’ button until you come out triumphant and can proceed to the next level. Sometimes you may need to try one or five or even 20 times and that’s okay. As long as you keep trying, you will continue to improve and will be able to conquer whatever level you set your minds to,” Le told her classmates.
“Another one of my favorite video games growing up was Minecraft. For those of you who don’t know, Minecraft is an interactive game where players can break and collect various resources and blocks while exploring a unique three-dimensional world. The true beauty of this game lies in the fact that there is no correct way to play it,” she said, continuing on with the video game metaphor. The significance of having no correct path leads everyone to use their own skills at their own pace, Le said.
Following the salutatory and valedictory speeches, Principal Julie Beauvais conferred and handed out the new graduate’s degrees, followed by a distribution of honor awards. The awards were granted by subject materials, demonstrated leadership, above-and-beyond academic work, devotion to the Catholic and Brothers of the Sacred Heart mission, and healthfulness.
Further details about Mount’s Class of 2022 graduates:
• There were 97 graduates with a 100 percent graduation rate.
• Graduates were accepted to over 150 colleges and universities.
• Graduates were offered over $22 million in scholarship funding.
• 98 percent of students will attend a four-year higher education program, 1 percent will be attending a two-year higher education program.
• 15 graduates will be the first in their family to attend college.
• 23 percent of graduates will be attending a Catholic college or university.
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