WOONSOCKET – Mount Saint Charles Academy celebrated the graduation of 113 students and honored the 50th anniversary of the Class of 1976 during commencement exercises on Sunday, June 7, at the Logee Street campus.
The ceremony included the presentation of the school’s highest honors and the ringing of the bell that first welcomed graduates as freshmen.
Speakers included Valedictorian Mia Rocco, Salutatorian Sophia Boisvert, Mistress of Ceremonies Sophia Baeta, and Mount President Alan Tenreiro.
The school’s three highest honors were presented, with recipients selected by a majority vote of faculty.
• The Excelsior Award went to Emma Hurley of Uxbridge, Mass., for demonstrating leadership, strong human relations, participation in extracurricular activities, service to others, and academic excellence.
• The All Mountie Award was presented to Garrett Sylvestre, of Lincoln, for academic achievement, participation in athletics ,and extracurricular activities, and leadership within the school community.
• The Ametur Car Jesu Award was presented to Andrew Burke, of Woonsocket, for academic achievement and exemplifying the Catholic virtues of faith, hope, and charity through respect for others and a commitment to service.
Members of the Class of 2026 earned more than $22 million in scholarships and achieved a 100 percent graduation rate. Some 94 percent of graduates will attend four-year colleges and universities, while 1 percent will attend two-year colleges or trade schools. Additional members of the class will complete postgraduate years, pursue junior hockey opportunities, or enter the workforce.
The class features 29 National Honor Society members, representing 26 percent of the graduates. Seventy percent completed at least one AP course, and 21 percent earned a weighted GPA of 4.0 or higher. Twelve percent were the first generation in their family to attend college.
See the full list of graduates
Tenreiro told the story of how in 1826, Father André Coindre, founder of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart, was buried in a simple grave with no monument and no inscription marking his life.
“And yet his life still speaks. Because he built something greater than stone. He built schools. He built hope. He built lives,” he said.
Added Tenreiro, “And through the work of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart, 200 years later, that legacy reached all of you. You have followed in the footsteps of people who believed education was not simply about academic achievement, but about elevating humanity.”
He continued, “And maybe that matters now more than ever. Because our world has plenty of interesting people. What it needs is more people with heart.
At Mount, it is said that students are “Known, Valued, and Treasured,” said Tenreiro. Now the question for graduates is who will feel that same way because of them.
“One of your classmates wrote this year in English class about a woman working in our cafeteria here at Mount who every day smiled, remembered students’ names, and asked how they were doing,” he said. “One day, the student stopped and simply thanked her for being so kind. The woman smiled and said, ‘You make my day brighter, too.’ That moment lasted less than a minute. But honestly, that’s probably how the world changes. Not only through big accomplishments, but through small moments when people choose kindness, compassion, patience, and grace.”
Valedictorian Rocco said she and her classmates were taught to be independent and innovative thinkers.
“We have been encouraged to achieve excellence and greatness. Mount has taught us the importance of staying informed and thinking critically about the conflicts in today’s society because, as the upcoming generation, we have a responsibility to uphold human dignity and basic human rights,” she said. “And most importantly, we have learned to live a life led by love and faith.”
She said her grandmother was a great example of that. About 30 years ago, her grandmother suffered a stroke. After that, she lost hand function and most of her speech.
“Despite the many adversities she faced, she was a woman filled with love and faith,” said Rocco. “She was a devout Catholic who, despite her inability to physically attend mass, always watched a livestream every Sunday. Even though her speech was limited, you could feel joy and love radiating off of her. She always had the biggest smile on her face that lit up any room she was in. She was a beloved wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother who never failed to share her love with the people around her.”
On April 27, her grandmother died from another stroke.
“When I reflect on my grandmother’s life, I don’t focus on the accomplishments that she had. When I think about my grandmother, I remember her kindness, her unwavering faith, her compassion, and the love she never stopped giving, even when life became difficult,” said Rocco. “That’s how you want to be remembered. We are all so much more than our achievements. We are so focused on what we produce, what we earn, or what we accomplish that we sometimes forget about the importance of who we are.”
Salutatorian Boisvert described graduating students as salt, not everyday table salt that one can get just about everywhere, she said.
“I’m talking about the salt that was once used to build empires, preserve food, start wars and even act as payment during Roman times,” she said. “Salt was so valuable that Roman soldiers were expected to be worthy of their salt. That is why it meant so much when Jesus looked to his disciples and said, ‘You are the salt of the earth.’”
Jesus does not mean that they’re just here to smile and wave at the world from a distance, she said. “We are here to fundamentally change it.”
Boisvert said she has been working hard to see God in others, and she saw God in her classmates as she looked around.
“You are all too good to lose your flavor,” she said. “You are all too special to not recognize the amazing plan God has set out for you. There will be challenge after challenge, and failure after failure; but you are meant to serve others and reflect God’s love because that is what it means to change the world for the better.”
Mistress of Ceremonies Baeta urged graduates to stop and smell the roses, saying it’s the seemingly ordinary memories that people long to return to. She said they shouldn’t leave anything on the table, but put in the extra time and effort to reach their highest potential and run toward the things that brighten their lives.
