CHS grads turn the page
Class of 2017, administrators look forward
PROVIDENCE — Since Valedictorian David Cabatingan was not allowed to perform a saxophone solo in lieu of giving a speech, he decided to do what he felt was the next best thing: Talk about inequality and injustice.
“We as a country, as a nation, as humans, succeed best when we all succeed,” Cabatingan said. He added that we succeed when we reject leaders who divide based on race, identity or origin.
While defining the world as “deeply imperfect,” he ended with a positive message by saying that he and his peers are “the next generation of selfless leadership.”
“Let’s live with compassion and live to help others,” he concluded. “Let’s make this world we are entering as great a place as we know it can be.”
He stood on the stage of Providence Performing Arts Center, where friends and family gathered between the gold-plated walls on Monday evening to celebrate the 277 graduates of the Cumberland High School Class of 2017.
It was also a graduation of sorts for the leadership team at the high school, considering Principal Alan Tenreiro, Assistant Principal Jessie Butash and Assistant Principal Adolfo Costa are all leaving CHS for positions elsewhere.
Tenreiro and Butash are headed to Mount Saint Charles while Costa will be the principal of Lincoln Middle School.
Cabatingan got applause and cheers for his playful jab at them, “We have our whole lives ahead of us do great things, whether we’re
headed to college or into the military or employment or Mount Saint Charles.”
The valedictorian also spoke of the impact of the compassion and selflessness of the parents and teachers gathered around them for their commencement.
“We owe a grave debt to these people, which much like student loans we can’t repay,” he said.
In a similar vein, Colleen Enestvedt spoke of parents and teachers as cheerleaders, supporting those who contributed to CHS with their artistic abilities and athletic skills and vocal talents.
“Our group of cheerleaders will grow bigger as we meet more people in the future,” Enestvedt assured her classmates.
In his brief remarks, Tenreiro advised the students, “All I can say is: When you come to a fork in the road,” take it. He paused briefly before continuing on, “Wait, what? That’s right.”
He asserted that the most successful people are the ones who pick a path and look forward to what’s ahead instead of what is behind.
The principal got a shout-out from Oluwatona Campbell, student government president and master of ceremonies.
As an example of how the graduating class is family, he recalled, “We laughed together when we saw Mr. Tenreiro’s selfie with Usher pop up on Twitter, when we were diligently working on our Chromebooks.”
(This selfie was taken at Michelle Obama’s Reach Higher event in Washington, D.C. at the beginning of the year.)
Campbell noted that the graduating class is a family despite differences in ethnicity and economic status, and despite “petty high school drama.”
“The community I’m so blessed to grow up in not only believes in tolerance and respect, but also believes in love for one another,” he said.
Cumberland School Committee Chair Raymond Salvatore encouraged students to make decisions based on their legacy, saying, “If you follow this you’ll make more good decisions than bad ones, and even when you make mistakes, they’ll be good ones.”
He also spoke of how people are always selling something because they’re always trying to persuade in some form, and that the focus of sales should be on honesty, empathy, showing what makes you unique and compromise.
Salvatore’s voice grew passionate as he ended his remarks by saying, “You have one chance to write your story, so after tonight start a fire within your soul. Start carving your legacy.”
Superintendent Robert Mitchell politely eschewed the norm of giving advice to the graduates, saying, “Deep down in our hearts and in our minds, I think most of us already know how to be successful in what we choose to do in life. The question is: How do we pull it off?”
So instead of giving his own advice, he offered the advice of the departing seniors, given in their Senior Oratorical presentations.
He named seven graduates and cited their advice: Don’t procrastinate, look for the silver lining, overcome fear, be courageous, accept responsibility, be grateful and be positive.
In addition to speeches, Tenreiro presented the 50th anniversary diploma to Deborah Garabedian, Class of 1967. The award-winning Clef Singers, a select choral group at the high school, performed a moving rendition of “Homeward Bound.”