‘Your character is your destiny,’ Portsmouth High grads told

198 members of the Class of 2019 receive diplomas at commencement ceremony

By Jim McGaw
Posted 6/8/19

PORTSMOUTH — Jane Addams and Joshua Chamberlain, Portsmouth High School social studies teacher Michael Marra told graduating seniors during Friday night’s commencement exercises, …

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‘Your character is your destiny,’ Portsmouth High grads told

198 members of the Class of 2019 receive diplomas at commencement ceremony

Posted

PORTSMOUTH — Jane Addams and Joshua Chamberlain, Portsmouth High School social studies teacher Michael Marra told graduating seniors during Friday night’s commencement exercises, have always struck him as “noble souls who deserve a bit more of our attention.”


READ: First diploma is awarded to the late Connor Peckham, who died in April.


The reason he’s so taken with Addams, considered to be the “mother of social work,” and Chamberlain, known for his gallantry at the Battle of Gettysburg during the Civil War, was that they both possessed an extraordinary amount of character.

“Your character is your destiny,” Mr. Marra said while speaking to graduates, family members, friends and school officials seated on the PHS baseball field. “In brief, character is what you do when no one is looking.

The Noble Peace Prize-winning Addams “lived a life that was, at its core, kind and useful,” he said. Chamberlain, meanwhile, was probably his favorite historical figure ever. 

“In modern-day terms, this guy was a beast,” Mr. Marra said.

During the three-day battle at Gettysburg, Chamberlain’s 20th Maine was tasked with defending the Union’s left flank, and retreat was not an option, he said. After repelling countless uphill charges by rebel forces, Chamberlain had lost a third of his men and the unit was running out of ammunition. He then ordered his men to fix bayonets and charge downhill at the advancing southerners. 

“That day, Chamberlain’s character, and the influence on his men, most certainly played a vital role in protecting the North form a catastrophic defeat,” Mr. Marra said.

Chamberlain, wounded six times as a soldier, would later be elected governor of Maine and president of Bowdoin College, where he also taught and introduced a more modern curriculum. He died of his wounds in 1914 at the age of 83.

Joshua Chamberlain lived a life very much like Jane Addams, he said. He urged graduates “to further develop and nourish those character traits that have well-served so many others who came before you. In doing so, not only will your own lives take on a greater depth of meaning but, more importantly, your children and grandchildren will have your example as a guiding light.

“Be kind and be useful,” Mr. Marra said in closing.

Ben Levy, vice-president of the senior class, said Mr Marra was chosen as the guest speaker for graduation because of his great influence on the class. 

“He has taught us about the importance of history as a U.S.history teacher, the seven essentials of wealth-building as economics teacher, and taught us thousands of life lessons as someone that we look up to,” he said. “Mr. Marra’s classroom, much like Mr. Marra himself, provides a wealth of both knowledge and comfort.”

Mr. Marra began his speech by reflecting on how young the graduates before him were. “I tend to look at the year most of you were born, 2001, as just a few years ago. In fact, I have shoes that are older than you.” 

As proof, he then produced a hiking boot from under the podium. “These are vintage L.L. Bean, 1994,” he exclaimed.

The year 2001, of course, was marked by major terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C., which Mr. Marra said appeared to have to brought Americans together in a “more dignified manner than we seem to be operating at today.”

Student speeches

There were two seniors chosen to be graduation speakers: Jane Kaull, selected by the faculty, and Evan Ramroth, chosen by his classmates.

In her speech, Ms. Kaull referenced the recent college admissions scandal in which several celebrity parents and others attempted to buy their children’s way into college. “While the story angers most people, I believe there are some important observations and positive lessons that we can take away from this,” she said.

The first is that life isn’t always fair, but people who work hard shouldn’t let those injustices discourage them. “There will be times when people cut corners to get to the top, but I believe this is no excuse to give up our values,” said Ms. Kaull.

The other lesson that came out of the scandal concerned the value of rejection, which the rich parents eliminated as a possibility for their children, she said.

“Rejection, disappointment and failure can ultimately lead to greatness if we use it to motivate us,” Ms Kaull said. “Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team and writer Steven King’ first novel, ‘Carrie,’ was rejected 31 times before getting published.”

At the start of his speech, Mr. Ramroth admitted he was a little nervous. “But I figured if my speech bombs, it doesn’t really matter. I’m going to URI, so I’ll only have to see half of you there anyway,” he joked.

No one should really be nervous about what lies ahead, however, as PHS has armed seniors with the tools necessary to succeed, he said. 

“No, I’m not just talking about the technical aspects of it,” Ms. Ramroth said. “I’m sure none of us are going to need to know the rules of floor hockey or how to draw Punnett squares. I’m talking about the deeper, more meaningful lessons that we learned from spending the last four years of our lives here.”

Then he brought up a topic that seniors, he said, probably never wanted to hear again: “Patriot P.R.I.D.E.,” which usually stands for “perseverance, respect, innovation, dedication and engagement.”

He changed the acronym to represent the tools he said students have collected over the past four years: patience, risk, impassioned, dependability and everlasting.

That last word, he said, has great meaning for classmates who are leaving the nest that is Portsmouth. 

“To my friend David Silvia, who is going all the way out to Utah, and my friend Shea Burnley, who is shooting down the coast to Tampa, and the rest of my URI classmates, who are making the long trek to Kingston in the fall, this place is not going anywhere,” he said. 

“Portsmouth and Little Compton will be here when you get back. That wind turbine will hopefully still be spinning. Portsmouth PD will still be posted on East Main trying to catch us speeding. A1 Pizza in Little Compton will still be slinging pies. Sandy Point will still be there for us to enjoy. And the mark that we’ve made on this school and this community will never go away.”

Record-breakers

In her welcome address, senior class president Alexis Alvanas applauded her classmates for achieving so much throughout their 13 years of education. “We’ve broken school, state and even national records. We’ve saved hundred of lives donating blood, we’ve fund-raised to have special events throughout the year, and we’ve come together as a community even in the hardest of times,” she said.

In his opening remarks, PHS Principal Joseph Amaral implored graduates, “When traveling down your new path, take the lead with your heart and mind.

“Class of 2019, may all your dreams come true.”

School Committee Chairwoman Emily Copeland said members of the Class of 2019 are particularly talented and the town was proud of everything they’ve achieved.

“You’re also a very caring class that has supported each other through highs and lows and has given back to the community,” she said.

“Do what you can. Small steps can lead to great progress.”

Senior members of the school band left their seats to play their final song with the other musicians: “Stars and Stripes Forever,” directed by Donna Valente. Senior members of the combined chorus did the same on “Seasons of Love,” directed by Shawna Gleason.

Portsmouth High School

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