The Cranston High School West community gathered on Saturday morning at the Providence Performing Arts Center to celebrate the 307 graduates of the Class of 2017. The auditorium was filled with proud parents, family members, friends and graduates as the ceremonies began.

The Cranston West senior choir members sang “The Star Spangled Banner,” accompanied by Philip R. Lachance. Following the salute to the flag, Principal Thomas Barbieri was introduced by Student Council President Cadri “CK” Folami. Barbieri welcomed guests and gave a special welcome to dignitaries and honored guests from the Cranston community, who filled the stage. Barbieri also acknowledged this year’s 2017 banner, created by graduating senior, Keara Pedroso, who will be attending Salve Regina in the fall. The banner will hang in the school auditorium among previous years’ banners.

‘That’s the power we have’

Mayor Allan Fung was the first speaker to address the graduates, passing along greetings from the city as well as some advice for the students as they move forward on their life’s journey.

“You are Cranston at its best and you’ve been prepared for the next steps in life,” Mayor Fung said. “Many of you are starting jobs, going to college or taking a break to find yourself, but no matter what you do and where you go, each one of you have been prepared for any challenge that life will throw at you by the people up on stage as well as those people behind you: your parents, family and friends.”

He reminded the students to always believe in themselves and to know that it is their actions that define who they are. He encouraged them to make a difference in the acts that they make as they go about their everyday lives and he told the students one story of his own when he was able to make a difference in someone else’s life, not in his capacity as mayor of the city, but in his capacity of someone who could just sit and listen to the woman and need, hear her concerns for an elderly family member, and share with her his own experiences with his own elderly father.

“‘That’s the power we each have,’” he said and he concluded his speech with a quote from Desmond Tutu. “As former South African leader Desmond Tutu once said, ‘Do your little bit of good where you are, it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.’ As I finish my thoughts today, I urge you, the class of 2017, to continue to work hard for all the moments in your life and to make a difference in someone’s life every day.”

Cranston School Committee chairperson and parent of graduate Theodore, Janice Ruggieri brought greetings from the school committee, holding back her emotions as she began to speak.

“As I see you all today in your caps and gowns, ending one part of your lives and ready to begin another, I want to stop and go back in time for a minute and hold your hands, wipe your faces, read you a story or even make you one more school lunch, but not really, no more school lunches, before it all ends. But I can’t, so I will take a few minutes to try to give you some words of wisdom that you can take with you.”

She encouraged the students to be proud of their paths that got them to their graduation day, no matter what it looked like.

“This is a major life accomplishment and I think I speak for everyone here today when I tell you that you are amazing and that you should hold onto the feelings of pride and love in this room for as long as you can.”

She reminded the students that for all the advice that will be passed along to them, the final forming of their character is in their own hands.

“In the simplest terms, find joy in your life, joy in your family, your friends, your work, and I the world around you and remember to bring joy to others, give it freely and give it often,” she said. “Take time to find the joy, be present during the big events in life and in the small ones too, notice the colors and the sounds around you, look people in the eye and smile, do something nice for yourself, be forgiving, be a good friend and don’t hold on to hurt and anger.”

She concluded her speech with a quote from Albert Einstein.

“He said, ‘There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle, the other is as though everything is a miracle.’ I hope you choose to look at everything as though it is a miracle,” she said. “Because, it truly is and you are all proof of that.”

‘Dash between the dates’

Superintendent Jeannine Nota-Masse spoke to the audience as both a parent and an administrator, noting that as a parent she could sympathize with the parents in the audience who were experiencing feelings of both joy and sadness on such a bittersweet day. As an administrator and teacher, she could identify how important the occasion was, a culminating event after more than a decade of schooling. She addressed the students, reminding of the power that was now in their hands as high school graduates.

“As you walk off this stage today, diploma in hand, realize the power you have over your destiny,” she said. “I am sure many adults sitting here today wish they could go back in time to this moment in their lives, or a similar moment when their destiny was their own. You are living in the most exciting time of your lives. It is you who can decide which profession you want to explore, it is you who can decide to travel and visit places and people you’ve only seen on Instagram. It is you who can decide to perform acts of kindness and love and humanity. It is all up to you.”

She spoke of the advances in technology that now exist and the access to information that this generation of students have, that others before them did not have.

“If you use this information to expand your opportunities and grow, then we, your parents and your teachers, have done our jobs,” she said. “We have given you the tools, the guidance and the support to make your own decisions.”

Nota-Masse told the students about her recent experience reading aloud to the kindergarten class at Arlington Elementary School, the students just beginning their own educational journeys, and she stated that some of what she read aloud to those students was applicable to the students who now sat before her, having reached the end of theirs. She passed along those words to them.

“The book was called, ‘I Wish You More,’ and while you are clearly no longer kindergarteners, hopefully you’ll take these wishes with you as you depart,” she said. “’I wish you more ups than downs. I wish you more pause than fast forward. I wish you more umbrella than rain. I wish you more bubbles than bath. I wish you more treasures than pockets. I wish you more stories than stars. I wish all of this for you…and more.’”

The CHSW Concert Choir performed two musical selections for the audience including, “Go the Distance,” and “And As Now.”

President of the class of 2017, Abigail “Abby” Shideler, brought greetings to the students next. She spoke to them about the importance of not just this day, the day they’d imagined since they were young, but of all the days that led up to it, and all the days that would be beyond it as well.

“Today is a day to celebrate us, to celebrate our time at West, both good and bad, to celebrate the final page in a very long book,” she said. “But most importantly, to celebrate the beginning of a brand new book, colorful and boundless. Seven hundred and twenty days have been spent at West. These 720 days encompassed much more than the hours we spent learning, creating or advancing our minds in the classroom. Each day was significant and special, maybe even heart-breaking.”

She recapped some of the historically significant days that took place in their four years at West, from the anointing of a new pope to the opening of the One World Trade Center 13 years after the September 11 attacks, to the latest political campaigns that were introduced while they were students.

“I was once told that on the day we die, on our tombstones, the most important inscription is the dash between the dates, the dash that encompasses everything that occurred between the day we arrived in this world and the day we left it,” she said. “That dash is our lifetime; it is a representation of our character, it is filled with both colorful and dark memories we share with others, it is filled with the moments others share with us, it is each day of each one of our lives, it is a testament to who we are. It is a reminder to us and an inspiration to work towards being the best version of ourselves.”

Shideler reminded the students of one more event that took place as they were about to enter their freshman year of high school, the Boston Marathon bombing which took place on April 15, 2013.

“The first responders and complete strangers who stepped up that day and showed their best selves, and after, decided, ‘We must not be victims of hate, but ambassadors of peace,’” she said. “Just as these people did, we must use the darkest of days to spread kindness and to work together as humans helping humans, despite our differences. What we all have are the days to fill our dash, to wake up each morning, ready to live that day to our fullest potential, becoming the best versions of ourselves, taking each one of these ‘one days,’ and collectively changing the world. Now is our time, now is our time to take this leap, bringing along all the lessons we have learned in these past four years on this next journey.”

Top of the class

Principal Barbieri introduced Salutatorian Sophia Perrotta, a student graduating with a 5.027 grade point average and completing 25 advanced placement and honors classes. He noted that Perrotta was a member of both the National and Rhode Island Honor Societies and is the recipient of a Scholastic Art Silver Key Award, the Bausch & Lomb Science Award and the CHSW Excellence in Science Award.

“Here at Cranston West, Sophia has served as Co-President of our school yearbook, and has also served as a Freshman Mentor and member of our esteemed Theater Board. In our community, Sophia serves as a Eucharistic minister for her church and has dedicated over 100 hours of community service through various organizations. She also traveled on a church mission trip to Jamaica, volunteering for children in need. Sophia is known for her art work. Whether it be on the walls at Cranston West or in a Jamaica missionary, her art brings an element of pride and beauty that personifies the community,” he said. “Sophia was accepted to eight colleges and universities, including the University of Rhode Island, Providence College, Northeastern University, Emmanuel College, Union College, the University of Rochester and Boston College where she plans to attend this fall to study biology. It is with great pleasure that I present to you the Salutatorian of the class of 2017 Ms. Sophia Perrotta.”

Perrotta spoke to the students about their ability to be in charge of the choices that lead to their successes, from choosing to study for a test or not, from choosing to focus on work or on social life, but that they all had chosen to accept knowledge and further their curiosities, as was evident by the fact that they were all there, awaiting the receipt of their diplomas.

“At the start of high school, we chose our classes, our friends, and the direction we wanted to wander in as high school students for the four years ahead of us,” she said. “Navigating more twists and turns, we shaped our interests, from history to engineering, from mathematics to English, from science to business, and we slowly began to recognize our paths. Day to day, as Cranston West students, we made choices that eventually led us to excel in our classes, explore activities, to complete portfolio, and most of all to be able to walk across this stage today. We are exiting the maze of our childhood, ready to venture in a new direction and make the choices of where we wish to go next.”

She reminded the students to remember and to say thank you those who had helped and supported them along the way, including teachers, coaches, guidance counselors, friends and family members.

“I would like to leave you with this idea,” she said. “The idea that what you earn and choose to work hard for is something no one can ever take from you. As you live your future, these are the people who will be by your side always wishing you the best, and that is a gift.”

Principal Barbieri recognized Valedictorian Anita Fang, who would be addressing the students next.

“Anita graduates with a 5.13 cumulative grade point average, completing twenty-three Advanced Placement and Honors level courses. Anita was recently named a 2017 National Merit Scholarship recipient for her high score on the SAT. Anita is also member of the National, RI and Spanish Honor Societies and is the A-Team Captain of our Math Team as well as the Math Team High Scorer. She received a medal for Geologic Mapping on her Science Olympiad Team and was the Top Scorer for the American Mathematical Competition. Anita is a peer tutor and a devoted volunteer at the Cranston Public Library, working with children from around our city as a Reading Buddy,” he said. “Anita is best known around Cranston West for her unparalleled talent in the visual arts. She is nothing less than a prodigy in terms of her artistic talent. She placed first in the Senator Jack Reed’s High School Arts Competition and received an Honorable Mention in the Congressional Art Competition. She has also received numerous Silver and Gold key awards in the Scholastic Art Competition and three awards at the Providence Rotary Street Painting Festival. Anita is also a practiced pianist, competing six times in the New England Music Competition and Festival. This year, she was the recipient of the Robert Blake Memorial Art Scholarship as well as the Excellence in Spanish, Mathematics, Science and Art awards.”

Barbieri stated that Fang was accepted to six colleges and universities, including the University of Rhode Island, the University of Connecticut, Connecticut College, Northeastern University, Boston University and Tufts University, where she plans to attend in the fall to pursue her undergraduate studies in biochemistry.

Fang addressed her peers, noting that upon realizing that she would be valedictorian and hence, expected to speak to the thousands gathered at the graduation ceremonies, she at first hesitated, not really comfortable with the prospect. However, after asking around, she decided to step out of her comfort zone and to pass along her words of wisdom based on the past four years of school at West. She spoke to them about the successes and the failures that went along with high school, especially during their senior year.

“Senior year arrived and you finally owned the halls. On top of that, many of you began driving yourselves to school. Many of you found jobs and many of you rejoiced when you opened your college acceptance letters,” she said. “For those of you who didn’t have such a successful year, do not despair. You are not alone. I have failed three interviews, received two college rejections and faced two job rejections. On top of all that, I still haven’t taken Driver’s Ed. However, it is rare to live life unscathed by failure. You have to pick yourself up after these downfalls, figure out what you did wrong and then try again later. If you are not given the chance, then create your own opportunities.”

She told the students that although she would like to be able to predict success and prosperity for all in front of her, in reality, no one can know who what will be in store for each of them.

“Who am I to tell you what your future holds or who you will become,” she said. “Actually, there will be many people who will try to dictate your life. People who will try to push you forward and people who will try to pull you back, but your future is ultimately in your hands. You are the one who is responsible for your future, not your parents, teachers, friends or some stranger. It is up to you to decide if you want to become a teacher or be in the military. It is up to you to decide if you want to try something a little more risky, like a career in the arts, but if you do, please give it everything you’ve got because by only giving a half-hearted attempt, you are making it much more difficult for those who come after you. If you decide to take the risk, then you better make that risk count, like I did by choosing to give this speech today.”