On May 22, 199 graduating seniors in the Cranston High School West class of 2019 were honored with induction into the Rhode Island Honor Society, scholarships and departmental academic awards.

According to Principal Tom Barbieri, school records were set with 55 percent of the graduating class being honored during the evening and $200,000 in local scholarship money awarded. That is five times the amount awarded when Barbieri arrived at Cranston West seven years ago.

In his opening remarks, Barbieri expressed pride in the students being honored and acknowledged the support and love of their parents, family members and friends, as well as the faculty and staff at the school. He spoke from the perspective of both an administrator and a parent, as his son Thomas is also a member of this year’s graduating class.

In attendance were members of the Cranston Public Schools administration, Mayor Allan Fung, representatives from the Cranston School Committee and members of the Cranston West Parent Board and Alumni Association. In addition, many members of the school administration, faculty and staff were present.

Assistant Principal David Schiappa welcomed guests to the auditorium and introduced the members of the Cranston West choir and orchestra, who performed the national anthem.

In his opening remarks, Barbieri encouraged students to have no regrets, whether it be in their dedication to their school community, academics or outside activities.

“This is only the beginning of your successful journey,” he said. “It is a long night, but well-deserved. Listen and take it all in. You’ve earned this life moment.”

Barbieri thanked all those who helped the students reach this point on their journey and also thanked the staff members who organized the evening’s event.

Fung congratulated the students on behalf of the city and noted that the capacity crowd filling the auditorium was a testament to the hard work that the students, faculty and staff do each and every day. He also noted that in his 10 years as mayor, this was the largest group to be honored.

“This is about your entire career, your legacy in the Cranston public school system, and it in the city itself,” he said. “I have seen you over the years in the classrooms, out on the athletic fields and on the stage, out in the community in your churches, and with organizations you’re passionate about.”

Michael Crudale brought greetings from district’s central office and noted that both he and COO Ray Votto were among the Cranston West alumni present that evening. They graduated in 1989 and 1971, respectively.

Crudale asked the students to reflect on their journey, from the first day of kindergarten to the evening’s ceremony.

“That journey has paved the road for your future successes,” he said.

Janice Ruggieri spoke on behalf of the Cranston School Committee and told the students that they should all be proud of their accomplishments. She encouraged them all to listen to the speakers who would be giving out the scholarships and to listen to the stories they told about the people behind the awards.

As approximately 40 scholarships were given out, with many being given to multiple students at a time, one heartfelt story after another was told by those loved ones there to present the dozens of monetary awards.

Ron Gill Sr. received a standing ovation after his speech, which honored his son, PS3 Ronald A. Gill Jr., who lost his life while serving in the Coast Guard. This year marks the 11th year a scholarship has been given in Ronnie Gill’s name. Seven Cranston West students received a Ronald Gill Jr. Memorial Scholarship.

Ronald and Lisa Picerene gave out 11 scholarships in the amount of $10,000 each.

For the first time this year, the Abbey Tilton Passion Award was given out in honor of Cranston West alumnus Abbey Tilton, who died unexpectedly in December 2018. Hannah Torres received the award.

Dr. Andy Lemoi spoke at length about this year’s recipient of the Ed and Marie Lemoi Memorial Scholarship, Olivia Perrotta, and it was with much emotion that he described how similar Perrotta’s story was to his own.

“If we gave out this award for 10 more years, we would not have a better recipient than we have tonight,” he said. “Her high school career mirrored mine more than I could believe.”

Perrotta and Lemoi had both been athletes in high school and both had suffered injuries that had derailed them, only to teach them the grit and perseverance that would later help them with future challenges.

“One day I guarantee she will look back on this injury and her frustration and realize that it made her a better person,” Lemoi said.

The family of Melissa Saccoccio also spoke with a great deal of emotion as they honored Melissa, who lost her battle with metastatic breast cancer just four months ago. The family gave three scholarships instead of their original plan of giving out just two. Mia Gershon, Maria Vose and Rachel DeBlasio received the scholarships.

As Jim D’Ambra gave out this year’s Rhode Island College Book Award, he passed along important advice to the students.

“Follow your dreams and follow your passions and you will never regret a moment,” he said.

In addition to the scholarship awards, departmental awards were given out from the art, business, career and technical center, English, math, music, physical education, unified sports, world language, science and technology departments.

At the conclusion of the evening, class salutatorian Logan Chin and class valedictorian Virak Pond-Tor were both announced, and 177 students were inducted into the Rhode Island Honor Society.