LWN0610_Grad

JUNE 10, 2021
WEEKLYNEWS.NET - 978-532-5880
G29
Fenwick honors Class of 2021
PEABODY — The 145
members of the Bishop Fenwick
Class of 2021 are from more
than 30 communities spanning
the Greater Boston area as well
as foreign students.
Seniors are required to choose
and execute a service project as
a graduation requirement. As a
result, the class has given well
more than 6,000 hours in community
service this year.
The Senior Class Gift was
the creation of a service award
in memory of Mr. John Meehan,
Director of Facilities at Fenwick
and previously at St. Mary of
the Annunciation. Mr. Meehan
died this spring and was a much
loved and long-time member of
the Fenwick Community. The
award will be given each year
at graduation to a member of the
Fenwick community.
The class includes 34 members
(more than 23 percent)
who committed to play a sport
in college 17 members of the
class have parents and/or grandparents
who also graduated
from Fenwick Valedictorian is
Meghan Cabral of Stoneham
who will be attending Boston
College in the Fall Salutatorian
is Samantha Cahill of Peabody
who will be attending Northeastern
in the fall.
Class Officers are:
Elani Gikas of Peabody, Student
Activities Council President
Alexa Bettencourt of Peabody,
Senior Class President
Colby Browne of Peabody, Senior
Class Vice President
Alexandra Pignone of Stoneham,
Student Activities Council
Secretary
Ryan O'Connor of Melrose,
Student Activities Council Treasurer
THE ST. JULIE
BILLIART AWARD
Alexandra Pignone of Stoneham
THE O'ROURKE
SERVICE AWARD
Tess Nally of Salem
THE HOWARD T. McCOR-
MACK AWARD
Ryan O'Connor of Melrose
SR. MARY
LOUISE BURNS, SND
SCHOLARSHIP AWARD
Lily Brown of Salem
SR. MARGARET
MELVILLE, SND AWARD
Swetha Saravanakumar of Peabody
ALBERT C. PLANTE
SCHOLARSHIP AWARD
Emma Rotondo of Winthrop
LESLEY ANN OLIVER
MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP
Shannon Corcoran of Beverly
CHRISTINE O'DONNELL
MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP
Colby Browne of Peabody
JAMES BRADY MEMORIAL
SCHOLARSHIP AWARD
Jake Connolly of Salem
HELEN GAIESKI
MEMORIAL
SCHOLARSHIP AWARD
Emily DelBene of Peabody
BISHOP FENWICK STU-
DENT COUNCIL SCHOL-
ARSHIP
Elani Gikas of Peabody
DONALDSON AWARD
Daniel Richard of Peabody
ROSS KETCHOPULOS
MEMORIAL SCHOLAR-
SHIP AWARD
Breanna Benoit of Salem
NOTRE DAME AWARD
Mia Tsaparlis
STUDENT
ATHLETE AWARD
Jimmy Espinal of Salem, Veronica
Tache of Middleton
Best Athletes:
Tucker Destino of Gloucester
and Paige Littlehale of Melrose
ATHLETIC
INTEGRITY AWARD
Aidan Dwyer of Peabody &
Brynn Bertucci of Beverly
ST. GENESIUS
AWARD FOR DRAMA
Erica Dellisola of Peabody
NATIONAL SCHOOL
CHORAL AWARD
Brianna Harding of Salem
RECOGNITION FOR
HIGH SCORER ON THE
MATH TEAM
Alexa Bettencourt of Peabody
SCHOLASTIC
ART AWARDS
Hanna Johnson of Peabody, Serena
McCarthy of Topsfield, and
Charles O'Hare of Salem
JOHN PHILIP SOUSA
BAND AWARD
Johnathan Rutkowski of Salem
ACADEMIC
EXCELLENCE AWARDS
Theology Emma Rotondo of
Winthrop
English Meghan Cabral of
Stoneham
Math Meghan Cabral of Stoneham
Science Meghan Cabral of
Stoneham
Foreign Language Ryan Stolarz
of Marblehead
Social Studies Grace Wagner of
Melrose
Fine Arts Samantha Summa of
Chelsea
Bishop Fenwick awards diplomas to 145 graduates
By Steve Krause
PEABODY — Bishop Fenwick
High School conferred 145
diplomas during its 59th graduation
ceremony Thursday night at
Donaldson Field on May 27.
New to the ceremony this year
was the John J. Meehan Service
Award, which was given to a person
on campus for distinguished
service. In the future, that award
will be voted upon by the student
body. This year, however, the
award was given by acclamation to
school nurse Jennifer Faragi.
Meehan, who died suddenly
this spring, was the director of facilities
at Fenwick and previously
worked at St. Mary of the Annunciation
in Danvers.
Principal Cecilia Marquez presented
the Bishop Benedict Joseph
Fenwick Award to a male and female
student who, in the eyes of
the administration and faculty, best
exemplified the ideals on which the
school was built. This year's winners
were Jenna Barbara Durkin
and Matthew Joseph Juneau.
The COVID-19 pandemic and
its effects were much on the minds
of the graduates Thursday night,
from the greetings by Class President
Alexa Morgan Bettencourt to
Salutatorian Samantha Jane Cahill
to Valedictorian Meghan Leigh
Cabral.
"It's especially nice to see so
many smiles as the world slowly
returns to normal,” Bettencourt
said. “We went through something
no other graduating class has gone
through.”
Bettencourt also thanked the
faculty and the administration for
"making students feel like coming
to school every day was more than
just going to class."
"We made it through a global
pandemic together," said Cahill,
who will attend Northeastern in the
fall, "and we persevered. We did
not quit."
Cahill also talked about her
theology teacher at Fenwick, who
said, "you are all unique individuals
and your own masterpieces."
That was true, she said.
"We have grown into what
we're meant to be, and we will
continue to grow into what we're
meant to be."
Cabral also touched on the pandemic,
but also talked about relationships
and connections among
people.
"We have endured the storms
of some of the most unfathomable
events," Cabral said. "We've yelled
at each other through plexiglass dividers,
and looked at each other on
computer screens."
But, the Boston College-bound
student said, despite the hardships
of remote learning and other
COVID-19 protocols, she also talked
about her own self-discovery, as
expressed in one of the essays she
wrote when she was applying for
college.
We all, she said, "see ourselves
as the sun. Our friends and family
orbit around us … we are the centers
of our own solar systems.
"I'm sure we all have our own
internal challenges, and internal
demons," she said. "But you are
not the only stars in the universe.
Everyone is their own sun, hissing
with hurt and glowing with accomplishment.
"We have changed each other's
lives," she said.
Seniors were required to choose
and execute a service project as a
graduation requirement. As a result,
the class has contributed more
than 6,000 hours in community
service this year.
Steve Krause can be reached at
skrause@itemlive.com.
Intelligence plus character - that is the goal
of true education. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Congratulations Fenwick Class of 2021!