DANVERS — St. John’s Preparatory School held its 112th Commencement exercises recently as Headmaster Edward P. Hardiman, Ph.D. conferred diplomas upon 268 seniors during an outdoor ceremony held on the School’s campus. The program captured the determination and hope of a newly rising generation while also recognizing the turbulence of our times and the uncertainty and challenges that the future holds.
More than 3,100 friends, relatives, parents, faculty, staff, fellow students, and alumni populated the expansive canopy tent decorating Ryken Field as attendees cheered, applauded, nodded in approval and shed tears throughout the one hour and 45-minute ceremony. For many graduates, it marked the end of an unmatched period of enrollment at the School: This class is the first in school history to feature graduates who began their studies at the Prep in Grade 6. For the Prep, the 2022 commencement was the first in three years that was not postponed or scaled down and socially distanced.
St. John’s Valedictorian was Charles C. Kirby of Marblehead, and the Salutatorian was Gar R. Rudnyai of Topsfield. The senior class speaker, chosen by his peers, was Marc Gaudin of Boxford, who will attend Boston College. Conor Beswick of Andover received the Xaverian Award, the highest honor the school can bestow upon a graduating senior, presented to the class member who best epitomizes the values and tradition of Xaverian education. Beswick will matriculate at St. Anselm College this fall.
In his remarks to graduates, Dr. Hardiman challenged the graduates to embody a source of hope in the world.
“We can all easily focus on all that is wrong with the world, all that we disagree with and all that needs to change,” he said. “However, we need prophetic and inspirational moments in which we come to see and embrace the sources of hope in our world. Today, you are not just high school graduates, but extraordinary seeds of the profound love and faith that truly animates authentic hope. Embrace the call to servant leadership and be a source of hope by ensuring that all whom you encounter leave your presence feeling known, valued and loved.”
Introduced by Rudnyai, who will attend Duke University, the 2022 Commencement student-selected keynote speaker was math teacher Evan Korol. An Everett resident, he delivered a stirring address that sparked a long ovation.
“Most of the lessons I learned in life, and especially in the military, were negative ones, but it inspired me to be better,” he said. “Will you take the opportunities provided to you and live a good, comfortable life? There is no shame in that. You can continue to be ordinary, for you, and ignore the extraordinary opportunity and ability you’ve been presented with. What can’t be crushed, however, is your potential. You can choose to reclaim what it means to be extraordinary.
“Right now, none of you is smart enough to solve the world’s problems,” he continued. “But you could be. You can choose to do something with the knowledge, experiences and observations you have made and been given. You can choose to make a difference in the world. This is a responsibility we all share — one that requires only that we immerse ourselves in our own communities.”
In all, this year’s seniors represented 52 cities and towns across the Commonwealth, including as far south as Medford, as far west as Westford, and as far north as Amesbury. Five class members were international students. A class-high 21 seniors hail from Marblehead, while another 21 commuted from out of state (20 from Seacoast and southern New Hampshire, and one from Maine).
In his valedictory address, Kirby urged his classmates to remember to regularly step back, gain perspective, and assess whether their current course is aligned with their goals.” Bound for Duke University, he reflected on his own experience that led to a growth mindset. “I used to spend a lot of time playing video games,” he confessed. “The thing about our modern digital world is that it is full of distractions. And that is what video games were for me at the start of high school, a distraction. At the end of the day. they would leave me with nothing more than glassy eyes and an empty feeling inside. Interacting with others in a space where you can hit the power button and walk away seemed way too comfortable. And that kind of comfort was impeding my personal growth.”
Just over half of the graduating seniors are members of the National Honor Society, while 14 were National Merit Scholar (NMS) Commended students and two—North Andover’s Ansh Motiani and Andover’s Colby Crews—were NMS Finalists. There were 32 legacy graduates, meaning their father, grandfather or great grandfather also graduated from the Prep. A remarkable 45 Eagles student-athletes signed national letters of intent to continue their sports careers in college.
At 12:16 pm, the new Prep alumni turned the tassels on their mortarboards from right to left, symbolizing the official conclusion of their high school experience. State health guidelines allowed for the traditional mortarboard toss at the ceremony’s conclusion for the first time since 2019, ending a stretch of 1,099 days since its last occurrence on the Prep campus. The practice was suspended in 2020 and 2021.
College acceptances for the class included three Ivy League schools and all four schools in the UMass system as well as the University of Chicago, Georgetown, Duke, the University of Virginia, Notre Dame, UCal-Berkeley, Tufts, Northeastern University and the University of Toronto, among acceptances to 369 possible higher-education destinations to date.
Graduating Eagles will fly away to locales as far west as Northern California, as far north as Canada, as far south as Texas, and as far east as NYU’s Abu Dhabi campus, along with many states in between, including Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, Utah, and Wisconsin, among others.
2022 St. John’s Prep Graduates, Local Students
Amesbury
Kaie Aran Bolger
Nicholas Grant Brescio *, Latin Award
Peyton John McKee *, Computer Science Award
Georgetown
Henry H. Blouin
Sean Michael Brown
William John Bryce III
Declan Thomas Kelley *, Academic Excellence
Christian James Rooney *
Samuel Denver Sheahan *
Shane Christopher Williams *
Ipswich
Jack Robert Blizard *
John Patrick Kenny Calzini *
Michael Scott Daley Jr. * Social Studies Award, Chinese Award, Art 2D Award
Andrew John Knox
Ryder Charles Vigsnes
Bryan George Wolf *, Academic Excellence, Sonia Weitz Award
Newbury
Nicholas Ryan DeVito
Jack Thomas Perry *
Colton Robert Potter
Cooper Henry Trout *
Newburyport
Evan Noble Aldrich
Benjamin Arthur Buckley *
Liam Isaac Melvin * Latin Award
Zachary Noah Raposa
Rowley
Kyle Jason Desrochers *, Religious Studies Award, Computer Science Award
Brian A. Manning *
Mason A. Mysliwy
Nicholas Randazza-O’Brien
Salisbury
Django Keyes *
Charles Holbrook Murphy *
Tucker Edward Murphy *
