By JON BAKER

PROVIDENCE — With the pomp and circumstance of St. Raphael Academy’s 81st Commencement over, parents, family members, friends and faculty withstood Sunday afternoon’s intense heat and greeted this Class of 2008 with hugs, kisses and commemmorative photographs.

On the massive, brick-layered square outside the front stairs of the Cathedral of SS. Peter & Paul, valedictorian Kyllie Magill posed for photos with beloved classmates, then took a moment to take in the scene.
“This is something I’ll never forget,” stated the Seekonkian, who will attend the University of Massachusetts-Amherst on a softball scholarship and chase, perhaps, a medical field major. “I can’t believe these four years are over, and it makes me sad. I’m not going to be able to see a lot of my friends anymore. A lot of us are going away.
“I will say I’m going to try to see as many of them as I can over the next couple of months,” she added. “After all, we’re all one family -- one body, one soul.”
She and 119 others who excelled in academia, athletics, drama and assorted activities received their diplomas to thunderous applause from the near-capacity crowd inside the church.
The boys adorned in purple gowns and mortar boards, the girls in yellow/gold, they will move ahead to such institutions as the universities of Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New Hampshire; Merrimack College; Bryant, Liberty, Johnson & Wales and Tufts universities; Rhode Island and Anna Maria colleges; and even the Fashion Institute of Design in Los Angeles.
The ceremony began with the Class of ’08 entering on both sides of the altar, and taking their seats in the front pews. Following a rendition of “America the Beautiful,” SRA Chaplain Mark Sauriol, with the help of graduates William Lopes and Christina Santos, conducted a brief prayer service; and the Saints’ Choir performed a “Senior Song” entitled “Grateful.”
In his Salutatorian speech, John Kashmanian, who will move ahead to the U.S. Naval Academy, noted he chose to forego the wise words of Socrates and Confucius, instead choosing those of baseball great Yogi Berra, who once offered, “When you come to a fork in the road, take it!
“This quote seems to hold true for those of us waiting for our diplomas,” he said. “We are at a fork in our lives … We must choose. We must be able to move forward with life. Take a look around you. Savor it. For we will never again be together… The common threads that bind us all are the Catholic values we’ve been taught. These values, I believe, have prepared us to take our journeys.”
Stated Magill during her Valedictorian address, “In 20 years, it won’t matter who got an A in English or if you just passed math by the skin of your teeth. God does not judge us on our grades; He looks into our hearts and judges us on our actions and intentions.
“If you’re striving for normalcy, that’s the weirdest goal in itself,” she added. “Go somewhere different, and do something different. Be who you are, and don’t conform to other people’s expectations.”
Bro. Daniel Aubin, the school’s president, then presented a variety of academic awards, with Magill capturing six and Kashmanian five, both having “busy feet” with frequent trips to the altar for reception of such laurels.
In his own remarks, Aubin celebrated this particular class’ many achievements, including the football team’s undefeated season and Super Bowl triumph over Hendricken; playoff runs in other sports; etc. He said it was all accomplished with a “One School, One Heart” attitude, one coined by graduate Ryan Bradley as St. Raphael dedicated “Alumni Hall,” and helped in the fundraising of the new athletic and wellness center.
“The generosity of this class was absolutely remarkable,” he stated. “The water project, the peanut butter drive, the ‘Penny Wars’ that this class went especially wild with, witnessed to us a real sense of caring that your class has for those less than fortunate than yourselves. There is a strong and deep spirituality to this class that you have shared and clessed us with.
“In my tenure here at SAINTS, there have been none better (class)! … Let me assure you that you will be deeply missed.”
Aubin presented the prestigious Edith Peck Phillips Memorial Award, one designed for the student “who has earned the respect and enjoys the affection of all who have been associated with this senior,” to Evan Pavao.
He also honored the retirements of four staff members, including Nancy Benoit (Spanish); Sharon Stoutzenberger (theology); Rita Pratt (theology, director of pastoral services); and Principal Richard Rouleau. That quartet has contributed nearly 70 years of service to SRA.
Father Sauriol completed the commencement with a blessing before these seniors moved ahead to another crucial segment of their lives.