Grad is early to rise
Goodrich Academy senior celebrates early graduation ahead of shipping off to the Marines
FITCHBURG » When Mathews Cardeal realized he would miss his long- awaited high school graduation on June 2 because he’ll ship off to the Marines two days ahead of it, he was devastated.
Word spread about the 21-year- old Goodrich Academy student’s predicament and when Principal Alexis Curry heard about it, she was having none of it. The longtime educator took it upon herself to arrange a special graduation ceremony for Cardeal during the annual Senior Celebration held last Monday and paid to rent a stage and two food trucks out of her own pocket.
“We tried to do the best we could to make it a special day for him … so he could have a special graduation before shipping off to serve our country,” Curry said, adding that they were “also celebrating six young people going into the Marine Corps, which is unusual.”
Five of the six Marines in the Goodrich senior class attended the celebration, Jayden Belcher was at work. Belcher and Yandel Rodriguez each ship out on Aug. 22, Cardeal on May 31, Brandon Franklin on Oct. 10, Dady Perez heads out on Sept. 22, Mathias Ramos on June 21, and Jonathan Troche is finalizing the process.
“It feels good, I feel very special,” Cardeal said while surveying the large crowd of people gathered at the school on May 23 for his big day with his trademark ever-present smile on his face.
Marine Staff Sergeant Wesley Ratcliff, Cardeal’s recruiter, attended the celebration and said he is “very excited” for Cardeal.
“I’m anxious, the days are going slow,” Cardeal said when asked how he’s feeling about shipping out on May 31 to Marine Boot Camp at Parris Island in South Carolina.
It’s easy to see how much the students adore Curry, who has been an educator for over 34 years — 16 of those as a guidance counselor at Leominster High School and 15 years as guidance counselor at Goodrich before she took over as principal in 2017. She greeted students, staff, and families at the celebration with a warm smile and when a
‘You’ve worked so hard to get to this point. ... So you don’t get the traditional experience, but sometimes the nontraditional path is more rewarding and right now you have a graduation all your own.’
— State Rep. Michael Kushmerek, D-fitchburg, to Goodrich Academy graduate and Marine Mathews Cardeal
student walked up to her and gave her a hug and introduced her to his girlfriend, she quipped with a smile “He gives any trouble, let me know.”
Curry said someone once referred to Goodrich as “Fitchburg’s hidden gem because so many kids go through there and do so many things for people but for some reason people just often don’t realize we are there.”
“Our teachers don’t do it for the recognition, but they are such a passionate group who works tirelessly,” she said. “What’s most important is our students think it’s a very special place a second home so even if nobody knows about us, they cherish us and that’s what’s most important. Every day of the week we have former students come back and tell us what they are doing and get help with college work. Wherever they are they stay connected.”
There are 149 graduates in the Class of 2022 out of 279 students total who hail from 30 towns or cities in the state. Over 100 of the current study body is of district, including Cardeal who quit school his senior year at Shrewsbury High School to work and help provide for his family. He lives in Worcester with his family and came to Goodrich to finish out his senior year, pouring his heart into his schoolwork and spending two hours every Friday night with teachers who tutored him until he passed the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, a timed, multi-aptitude test that is required to join the military.
Cardeal said Curry told him this was the first time they have done something like this for a student.
“It’s very exciting,” he said.
Goodrich school nurse Rachel Bordieri, Academic Interventionist Chante Coley, Career Liaison Sarah Henry, and English teacher Lindsay Page manned a table covered in bags for each of the seniors that included a t- shirt, bumper stickers, and flags personalized with each of their last names.
Six rows of chairs were set up in front of the stage, a DJ was spinning tunes including Kool & The Gang’s “Celebration,” and Fitchburg Access Television was on hand to capture the special occasion. Luccas American Kitchen food truck served up food to the long line of students and guests along with L’orgulloso De Las Dos, a second food truck that offered Dominican Republic and Puerto Rican cuisine.
Several of Cardeal’s family members including his father, mother, older sister, and cousins beamed with pride with smartphones in hand taking pictures and videos while watching him walk across the stage and receive his diploma from Fitchburg Public Schools Superintendent Robert Jokela. Mayor Stephen DiNatale, Jokela, state Rep. Michael Kushmerek, DFitchburg, and Beth Walsh, who does constituent services for state Sen. John Cronin, D-lunenburg, who was not able to attend, all spoke during the graduation ceremony and offered their congratulations.
Curry began the ceremony by thanking those mentioned above along with the central office and academy staff, “who are truly the reason this is happening.” She said each year they pick a word that best describes the senior class, with this Class of 2022’s word being courage.
“This class is all about courage, the mental perseverance and fortitude to persevere,” she said.
She described Cardeal as “such a nice guy, a gentleman,” praising him for his determination and talking about him working evenings and attending school during the day before Jokela said a few words.
“I’m proud that you’ll be serving our country and representing the best of what America is,” Jokela said to the graduate.
Dinatale thanked everyone for coming, commenting, “what a beautiful day,” and joked to Cardeal, “it took you a while, but you finally figured out where to go to school.” He praised the Goodrich alternative education model and said that it is “one of the best programs we have in the Fitchburg public schools” before addressing Cardeal.
“I was approaching boot camp at the same time in my life going into the Navy,” Dinatale said to him.
Walsh also congratulated Cardeal and handed him a personal note from Cronin, and Curry said Ward 6 City Councilor Derek Cruz, the ward the school is in, was in San Francisco and as such was unable to attend the ceremony.
“He wished he could be here,” Curry said of Cruz. “He started his campaign here … his heart is with Goodrich Academy.”
Kushmerek shared a story from his personal experience, recalling that he also “was a student who struggled in a traditional high school” and that he dropped out of high school before eventually getting his GED.
“You’ve worked so hard to get to this point,” he said to Cardeal. “Your diligence and perseverance, that’s gotten you where you are today. Now that you’re through it I promise you are richer for the experiences that got you to where you are now. So you don’t get the traditional experience, but sometimes the nontraditional path is more rewarding and right now you have a graduation all your own.”
He thanked all the Marines for their service and said “Congratulations, sincerely.”
It was then time for the graduate to shine and after receiving his diploma Cardeal said a few words. He thanked the Goodrich staff, saying “they’ve helped me out a lot being able to achieve this moment.”
“I’m very grateful for them,” he said. “I’ll definitely be paying you guys a visit when I come back, and I’d like to thank my sergeant too for being with me all this way and my mom for pushing me to become better. Thank you guys so much.”
Afterwards his family took a bunch of photos in various configurations and were all smiling with pride and joy.
“It’s such an amazing moment for us to see him accomplish such an important phase in his life,” said his older sister Suellen Diller, adding that they admire him for joining the Marines.
“What’s important to him is important to us,” she said. “He has been through so much and we are extremely proud of him. This is a dream come true.”