Smithfield Graduates Cap Off Four Years at SHS

Editor's note: Smithfield Patch wasn't able to put names to all the photos our news team snapped during graduation. If you recognize somone we haven't ID'd, please clue the rest of us in with a comment. 

Smithfield High School graduates — 174 of them —  received their diplomas at Bryant University's Chace Wellness Center Tuesday night. 

The graduation, said Principal Dan Kelly, was the 46th for the school, and, "The first with air conditioning," a remark that drew a little polite laughter from the audience of imminent grads and their families. 

"I wish everyone the best in pursuing your dreams and being who you want to be," said Valedictorian Michael Paiva. Moments before, Paiva told the crowd, "My mom's been begging me for pictures," then produced a camera and started snapping shots of the audience, eliciting his own crop of laughs.

The jocular mood was in vogue throughout the evening, including during the address delivered by Salutatorian Alex Jenkins. "You only live once. Make sure you mess it up right," Jenkins said.