KINGSTON – Sacred Heart High School in Kingston awarded diplomas Monday to its final graduating class.
An outdoor baccalaureate mass, officiated by Father John Graham of Sts. Mary & Joseph Collaborative, was celebrated on the front lawn of the high school. The event marked a new beginning for members of the Class of 2020 and the final chapter for the high school which announced in February that it would discontinue grades 9-12 at the end of this school year due to declining enrollment and budget deficits.
Following the mass, Class Valedictorian Lily Lonergan, Salutatorian Paulina Spacek, and President Michael Hurm each addressed their fellow graduates and their families.
Academic awards and scholarships were presented to individual students. Mrs. Diane Hunt presented the William Christopher Hunt ’87 Scholarships to William Mayo, Michael Hurm, Paulina Spacek, Samantha Latini, and Scott Hokanson. The William Christopher Hunt ’87 Scholarship Fund was established by the Hunt family in honor of Sacred Heart alumnus Billy Hunt, who loved his time at Sacred Heart especially his friends and baseball. He had a deep devotion to Sacred Heart and the lessons he learned during his time there. Billy was killed on September 11, 2001 in the terrorist attacks in New York City where he worked as a bond trader.
To commemorate the final graduating class and to further honor her son’s legacy, Mrs. Hunt announced that, in addition to the five scholarships noted above, every graduating senior would receive a $1,500 scholarship from the William Christopher Hunt ‘87 Scholarship Fund.
The Class of 2020 received their diplomas from Head of School Sister Alice Marie Lyon and Principal Jean Marston. A keynote address was delivered by Marie Kenniston Bruninghaus ’83, an alumna and beloved former teacher and coach. Ms. Bruninghaus, who was awarded the Ketteler Medal Award at the ceremony, reminded the Class of 2020 that, as graduates of Sacred Heart, they are members of a small army who can call on each other any time, any decade, to join together to serve others. That, she said, is the fabric of Sacred Heart.
Attendance at the ceremony was limited due to social distancing requirements. Thirty local members of the Class of 2020 received diplomas yesterday. The graduating class included eight international students, who had returned to their hometowns in China due to the pandemic; these students will receive their diplomas by mail. The ceremony was live-streamed on social media for the international students as well as extended families and friends of all the graduating class.
Below is a list of the Sacred Heart High School Class of 2020:
Maxwell Allen of Bridgewater plans to attend Bridgewater State University
Maddison Larsen-Molina of Bridgewater plans to attend Boston University
Paulina Spacek of Bridgewater plans to attend Bentley University
Tyler Murphy of Carver plans to attend University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
Zhuo Sun, an international student who stayed with a family in Duxbury plans to attend Bentley University
James Tierney of Duxbury plans to attend Seton Hall University
Margaret Bulger of Hanson plans to attend Marist College
Ryan Graham of Hingham plans to attend Johnson & Wales University
Michael McPhail of Hingham plans to attend Lynn University
Cameron Dwyer of Kingston plans to attend University of New Haven
Kevin Fehrm of Kingston plans to attend University of Denver
Yu Fu , an international student who stayed with a family in Kingston plans to attendUniversity of Connecticut
Scott Hokanson of Kingston plans to attend Maine College of Art
Michael Hurm of Kingston plans to attend Saint Anselm College
Lily Lonergan of Kingston plans to attend Baylor University
William Mayo of Kingston plans to attendStonehill College
Julia Ward of Kingston plans to attend Fordham University
Siqia Weng, an international student who stayed with a family in Kingston plans to attend the University of Southern California
Chaofan Wu , an international student who stayed with a family in Kingston plans to attend Boston College
Zachary Crossman of Lakeville has not made his plans known
Ethan Secakusuma of Lakeville plans to attend Wentworth Institute of Technology
Valerie Downey of Marshfield plans to attend Mass College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences
Samantha Latini of Middleboro plans to attend Clemson University
Kayla Turner of Middleboro plans to attend Syracuse University
Leo Darling of Pembroke has not made his plans known
Peilin Jiang, an international student who stayed with a host family in Pembroke plans to attend New York University
Yirui Zheng, an intrnational student who stayed with a host family in Pembroke plans to attend American University
Hannah Boyd of Plymouth plans to attend University of North Carolina Wilmington
Sophia Capone of Plymouth plans to attend Florida Gulf Coast University
Anabella Driscoll of Plymouth plans to attend Dean College
Edward Kiesewetter of Plymouth plans to attend Plymouth State University
Hanyi Li , an international student who stayed with a host family in Plymouth plans to attend Pratt Institute
Wenrui Li, an international student who stayed with a host family in Plymouth has not made their plans known
Jonathan Menard of Plymouth plans to attend Johnson & Wales University
Ariana Murphy of Plymouth plans to attend Baylor University
Benjamin Andrade of Plympton plans to attend Bryant University
Matthew Day of Plympton plans to attend University of Rhode Island
Luke Harrenstein of Plympton plans to attend Villanova University
Name Hometown College Attending
Maxwell Allen Bridgewater Bridgewater State University
Maddison Larsen-Molina Bridgewater Boston University
Paulina Spacek Bridgewater Bentley University
Tyler Murphy Carver University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
Zhuo Sun Duxbury * Bentley University
James Tierney Duxbury Seton Hall University
Margaret Bulger Hanson Marist College
Ryan Graham Hingham Johnson & Wales University
Michael McPhail Hingham Lynn University
Cameron Dwyer Kingston University of New Haven
Kevin Fehrm Kingston University of Denver
Yu Fu Kingston * University of Connecticut
Scott Hokanson Kingston Maine College of Art
Michael Hurm Kingston Saint Anselm College
Lily Lonergan Kingston Baylor University
William Mayo Kingston Stonehill College
Julia Ward Kingston Fordham University
Siqia Weng Kingston * University of Southern California
Chaofan Wu Kingston * Boston College
Zachary Crossman Lakeville Unknown
Ethan Secakusuma Lakeville Wentworth Institute of Technology
Valerie Downey Marshfield Mass College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences
Samantha Latini Middleboro Clemson University
Kayla Turner Middleboro Syracuse University
Leo Darling Pembroke Unknown
Peilin Jiang Pembroke* New York University
Yirui Zheng Pembroke* American University
Hannah Boyd Plymouth University of North Carolina Wilmington
Sophia Capone Plymouth Florida Gulf Coast University
Anabella Driscoll Plymouth Dean College
Edward Kiesewetter Plymouth Plymouth State University
Hanyi Li Plymouth* Pratt Institute
Wenrui Li Plymouth* Unknown
Jonathan Menard Plymouth Johnson & Wales University
Ariana Murphy Plymouth Baylor University
Benjamin Andrade Plympton Bryant University
Matthew Day Plympton University of Rhode Island
Luke Harrenstein Plympton Villanova University
(*) denotes the host family hometowns of Sacred Heart’s international students
About Sacred Heart School
Sacred Heart School is a private Catholic coeducational school for children from age two through Grade 8. Welcoming students of all faiths, Sacred Heart offers a supportive learning environment where equal emphasis is given to academic and moral development. With rigorous academics, faith-based learning, and an emphasis on service to others, students feel comfortable challenging themselves in a safe and nurturing environment. For more information, visit www.sacredheartkingston.com.