For the first time in Old Rochester Regional High School history, the senior class enjoyed the Annual Senior Breakfast off-campus. Usually the breakfast, which brings the senior class together on their last day of classes for a meal and some socialization, is held in the school’s cafeteria. This year, the Marion V.F.W. was gracious enough to open its doors to the Class of 2012.
Instead of going to school for homeroom and the first block class at 7:30 am, the seniors drove to the Marion V.F.W. where they savored a meal of eggs, pancakes, French toast, sausages and bacon, courtesy of Matt’s Blackboard. Parents were on hand to decorate the hall and serve the food and many teachers attended the breakfast, as well.
As part of the celebration, seniors wore college shirts to represent their plans for the next year. Most seniors are eager to leave ORR, although many expressed feelings of nostalgia.
“It’s been six years of my life,” Kurt Correia said. “The stereotypical ‘I loved high school!’ is how my life turned out to be. I got involved in everything.” Correia will be attending Worcester State University come this fall as a Criminal Justice major.
As Justin Galipeau phrased it, life at ORR has had its good and bad moments.
“It was real, it was fun, but it wasn’t real fun,” he joked. Planning to attend Suffolk University, Galipeau will be an English major.
Many seniors have ambitious plans for their years after ORR. One senior, Mikayla Florio, will be going to UMASS Dartmouth for nursing.
“I’m going to take my EMT courses because I’m EMT Basic,” Florio added. “[I want] to continue that. I’ll probably be continuing music somehow.”
Lauren Sylvia, a senior who will attend Rhode Island College for accounting in the fall, will also continue her dancing.
“I’m joining Festival Ballet Providence as a professional ballet dancer,” Sylvia said of her future.
Tom Tucker jokingly said, “I’ll be doing the French Foreign Legion.” He declined to reveal his future plans at Saint Michael’s College, professing that he would undoubtedly join the Legion.
College and university programs for nursing, pre-med, engineering, and education seem to be popular with the ORR seniors. Both Nathaniel and Walker Fuchs, identical twins, are planning to pursue pre-med. They will be going to different colleges, Nathaniel attending University of Vermont and Fuchs attending Wheaton College, although they said the decision wasn’t because they are sick of each other.
Chris Amicucci, who will be studying biochemistry, hopes to become an orthopedic surgeon. Jewel Medeiros, who will be studying biology, plans to pursue studies in either dermatology or pathology afterwards.
Megan Pierce, Ashley Hall and Ashley Perry plan to become teachers. Pierce will be attending Fitchburg State University and plans to attain double licensure for elementary and special education. Hall has the same goal, although she’ll be attending Bridgewater State University. Perry will be attending Bristol Community College for early childhood.
“There’ll be further education after BCC,” she said.
The teachers and school administrators who were present at the Annual Senior Breakfast were proud of the Class of 2012. Erich Carroll, a history teacher at ORR whose first homeroom is graduating, said that this year’s class was very nice.
“They are always thoughtful and concerned about each other,” Carroll said. “[They were] a class that seemed to get along with each other for the most part … a bunch of nice people, good hearts.”
Principal Michael Devoll was blown away by the positivism of the Class of 2012.
“As I walked in [to the Marion V.F.W.] everyone was sitting and eating and I thought, ‘Wow, what a great class.’ They’re always doing the right thing, always supporting each other, and are well-respected by the staff,” he said.
The seniors had until the start of second block to enjoy themselves off-campus. Finishing the breakfast around 8:15 am, many seniors drove to the Tri-Town waterfront. Most of the seniors went to Silvershell Beach in Marion where they entertained themselves on the playground, took pictures, and waded in the ocean. A group of senior boys even went swimming.
At 9:00 am, the seniors headed back to their cars for the short drive to the high school, where they waited in the front lobby until the bell rang to go to their next class. The class event was a total success and a day beloved by all attendees.
By Anne Smith
