'Quiet Giant' Takes Big Step at EPHS Commencement 2013

The “quiet giant” graduated from East Providence High School Friday evening, June 14. 

But the commencement of the Class of 2013 was hardly that as an estimated 2,800 parents, family members and friends joined 354 graduating seniors to whoop and holler and laugh their way through a 90-minute ceremony at Pierce Memorial Field.

Clear skies and a temperature around 70 degrees made it a very pleasant evening as the sun set behind the west grandstands, which were filled from the north end zone to the 5-yard line at the south end of the stadium.

Principal Janet Sheehan described the Class of 2013 as the “quiet giant” because they won state athletic championships and academic honors and gained entry into many prestigious colleges without seeking much fanfare. 

The class simply went about its responsibilities in “an unassuming manner” and without a lot of “fuss” that she said leaves her with “no doubt” that this class will succeed in whatever they do.

The Class of 2013 also was the first class that Sheehan watched over from their first day as freshmen to their last day as seniors. She is finishing her fourth year at the high school.

Superintendent Kim Mercer, speaking at her first East Providence graduation exercise, told the class: “You have much to celebrate and many fond memories to take with you.”

Valedictorian Isabel Newton, salutatorian Nicole Strik and avedictorian Tony Hu also spent some time addressing their classmates.

Strik was particularly pointed as she left the Class of 2013 with three simple rules: “Remember where you came from. Fear nothing but be ready for anything. Find something you truly love doing and then go do it.”

Sheehan and School Committee Chairman Joel Monteiro handed the diplomas to the grads as hundreds of people crowded around taking photos and video on cameras and smart phones. There was hardly a graduate who did not get some type of congratulatory yell from somewhere in the crowd.

Click here to see the complete list of graduating seniors.