Cranston East senior Sean Clapprood was recently recognized by Cranston High School East Assistant Vice Principal Kaitlin Hitchings for his essential work during the pandemic.

Clapprood, now 17, has been working part-time on weekends and after school at the St. Elizabeth Home in East Greenwich; this organization provides a variety of quality care for older adults and individuals with physical disabilities. While Sean originally sought employment at age 16 to purchase himself a car, his mission soon became much more significant.

Clapprood began working at St. Elizabeth in September 2020 as a culinary aide following the pandemic’s first summer lull. As part of his job, he prepares meals to be distributed to residents, distributes those meals and cleans up afterward. His mother, Gina, however, had trouble hiding her parental instinct watching her son enter such a high-risk environment every day.

“I felt like a bad mom,” Gina said. “Sending my kid into a Covid unit when I’m trying to keep my other kids safe.” Sean lives with his mom Gina and dad Jason, as well as younger brother and Cranston High School West student, Joshua, 15, and a seven-year-old brother Reid.

“I said ‘Sean, you’re seeing stuff you shouldn’t see and experiencing stuff you shouldn’t experience’,” Gina said.

“I felt like I was needed, and I really liked my job, so that’s why I stuck there,” Sean said.

Sean gained Assistant Vice Principal Hitchings’ attention during an audit of seniors’ community service hours, when she noticed Sean had thus far recorded none.

“The student actually reached out to me,” Hitchings said. “Because he was on our list of students who hadn’t completed any community service hours. I thought that was a little weird.”

Hitchings explained that she met with Clapprood, who explained he was very worried about taking time off work to complete his community service. Hitchings prodded further and learned that Clapprood had been working up to 25 hours a week at the nursing facility, sometimes wearing full PPE.

“I just felt like that was something that deserved to be celebrated,” Hitchings said. “To think about a 16, 17-year-old kid doing this kind of service while we all sat at home is pretty poignant.”

After that discussion with Clapprood, the administration determined Clapprood had fulfilled his community service requirement.

Hitchings went on to say, “I can’t think of a greater gift to our community. We’re really proud of the work that he’s done. He never asked for attention. He never asked for any special treatment. He did all his classwork. He did what he was supposed to do while doing this at the same time.”

Clapprood’s supervisor at the St. Elizabeth Home, Don Greenwood, shared similar sentiments.

“He’s a friendly, nice kid,” Greenwood said. “He’s great with the residents. He’s very liked. Everyone knows who he is, and he’s great.”

Greenwood said that Sean serves around 120 residents per shift, and that he’s maintained his resilience even through some very tense pandemic times. Greenwood explained that employees, at one point, were being tested for Covid twice a week, and that even when Sean was not scheduled to work, he would report to the facility for tests.

“He’s very committed,” Greenwood added.

As for pandemic worries, Sean appears to have none. “I mostly look forward to seeing the residents and building a connection with all of them.”

Sean is finishing up his senior year, with a hope he may graduate early, and continues to work at St. Elizabeth’s Home 25 hours a week.

Sean was also proud to announce that he had earned enough money from his job to purchase a Honda Accord.