Graduates from the Class of 2026 at St. John’s Prep perform the traditional cap toss after Saturday’s commencement ceremony on the Danvers campus.
Class of 2026 feted and urged to honor humanity, defuse discord, and walk with the vulnerable
St. John’s Preparatory School held its 116th Commencement exercises on Saturday afternoon as Head of School Edward P. Hardiman, Ph.D. P’19 ’21 ’26 conferred diplomas upon 279 seniors during an outdoor ceremony held on the School’s campus. The two-hour program was characterized by themes of building upon our commonalities, investing in personal character growth, and carrying others in times of need.
The valedictory address was delivered by Ryan Yu of Boxford. Religious Studies teacher Steve Ruemenapp of Medford gave the commencement address. The Salutatorian Medal went jointly to twins Nick and Chris Sorrenti of Wakefield. Christopher Angelakis of Salem received the Xaverian Award, the highest honor the School can bestow upon a graduating senior and presented to the class member who best epitomizes the values and tradition of Xaverian education. Angelakis will matriculate at Siena University this fall.
Ryan Yu of Boxford delivered the valedictory address during the 116th Commencement Exercises at St. John’s Prep.
In his remarks to graduates, delivered under sunny, pale-blue skies with a temperature of 72 degrees, Dr. Hardiman, a Danvers resident, advised graduates to keep exploring and refining their true vocation as young leaders of character, confidence, and faith.
“In my own journey, as I get closer in age to our [50th anniversary alumni] and further from that of our graduates, like many parents and families here today, I find myself reflecting more deeply on the blessings of family, community, and vocation,” he said. “The academic content we’ve taught you is essential, the lessons of teamwork you’ve learned on the stage and playing fields, and the skills you have acquired are important. [But] your vocation, your call as a servant leader, your mission is quite simple: Embrace the reality that you and everyone you encounter is immensely, incomprehensibly, and unconditionally loved by God.”
Introduced by co-salutatorian Chris Sorrenti, who will attend Dartmouth College, the student-selected keynote speaker was Ruemenapp, a native of Michigan. He delivered an earnest, self-effacing, and spiritually openhearted address. Ruemenapp counseled the Class of 2026 to remember to carry each other and to acknowledge times when they themselves need to be carried.
“Pope Francis spoke about wanting a Church that was more like a field hospital—going out among the hurt or injured people and being present to them,” he said. “I love this idea. We are all in the field hospital from time to time. We all have struggles and we need to be carried. And in those times, and this is hard, we need to have the courage to say: I need help. As you leave here today as a graduate of St. John’s Prep, I think you could do worse than to think of your alma mater as a place where we carry each other. I truly think it’s one of the core aspects of being a part of the SJP community. We carry each other and we carry the others we encounter to God.”
Religious studies teacher Steve Ruemenapp of Medford delivered the commencement address, encouraging the Class of 2026 to carry each other and to acknowledge times when they themselves need to be carried.
Fully 57 percent of Prep graduating seniors were members of the National Honor Society, while 11 were National Merit Commended students. There were 35 legacy graduates, meaning their father, grandfather, and/or great-grandfather also graduated from the Prep. A remarkable 34 Eagles student-athletes signed commitment papers to continue their sports careers in college.
Introduced by co-salutatorian Nick Sorrenti, who will also attend Dartmouth College, the Senior Class Speaker was Chase Karagezian of Lynnfield, who will attend Bryant University this fall. He urged his classmates to keep crafting the “resume of the soul” with as much attention as they build their paper resume. “Don’t outsource your identity to the crowd,” he said. “Carry yourself with character, become consumed with personal growth and take the high road in the face of adversity. Not because it’s the easy thing to do, but because when you do, the outside noise fades altogether.”
As a whole, this year’s graduates represented 58 cities and towns across the Commonwealth, including as far south as Jamaica Plain, as far west as Tewksbury, and as far north as Amesbury. A class-high 30 seniors hail from Danvers followed by Beverly and Lynnfield with 16, while Marblehead, Georgetown, and North Andover all had 11. Five seniors commuted from cities and towns in New Hampshire.
In his valedictory address, Boxford’s Yu leveraged the nation’s forthcoming 250th birthday to juxtapose the challenging and world-shaping call the Founders answered with his own generation’s moral imperative. “If they were teleported forward to our time, they would have been our peers [some ages 18-21], sitting in these chairs, wrestling, as we are, with questions about purpose and responsibility and the kind of change an individual should strive to effect upon the world to carry it through a time of turmoil. It’s easy to see these problems as reasons for despair when they should be, as the Marquis de Lafayette tells us, ‘reason for direction,’” said Yu.
“Solutions will depend, just as they did [back] then, on our capacity for tireless effort and the courage to lead with empathy,” he continued. “I think our community has grown this strong and has supported each other through hardship, because we built off of our commonalities, just as the Founders found common cause in the natural rights [of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness] to manage their differences.”
Shortly after 12:30 pm, the Prep’s newest alumni turned the tassels on their mortarboards from right to left, symbolizing the official conclusion of their high school experience.
College acceptances for the class will send graduates to seven of the eight Ivy League schools and four schools in the UMass system as well as Bentley, Boston College, Clemson, College of the Holy Cross, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Georgetown, Middlebury College, the Indiana University Bloomington, the University of Michigan, Northeastern, Northwestern, Purdue, Ohio State University, Tufts, the University of North Carolina, the University of Virginia, Villanova, and Wesleyan University among nearly 300 total institutions.
Graduating Eagles will fly away to locales as far west as Hawaii, as far north as Grand Forks, North Dakota, as far south as Austin, Texas, and as far east as Rome, along with many states in between, including Alabama, Colorado, Georgia, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, the Carolinas, Tennessee, and Utah, among others.
Graduation News & Notes
Retiring Computer Science Teacher Lisa Standring of Marblehead led the processional with the ceremonial academic scepter, or mace, one of the earliest totems of medieval university officials.
Campus Minister Lawrence Malloy offered the invocation, leading those assembled in a prayer by entreating God to “Free us from the distractions of a world that often values more, faster, and louder, and [may the graduates] seek not the complicated path of comparison or status, but the simple path of justice, compassion, and service to others. Help them lead with courage and humility, help them to listen deeply, act justly, and love.” School chaplain and Reverend James Ronan, Ph.D. ’62 gave the benediction.
The top five percent of the senior class in academic performance (alphabetical order, excluding valedictorian and salutatorian) were: EJ Acworth of South Hamilton, Zachary Bezanson of Middleton, William Bochnak of Lynn, John Budrow of Middleton, Jacob Cranson of Peabody, Kian DeAngelus of North Andover, Leo Emerson of Burlington, Wade Evitts of Ipswich, Jonah Greenbatt of Georgetown, Patrick Kaminski of Peabody, Owen McLain of Manchester, the Sorrenti twins of Wakefield, Julian Tavarez of Peabody, and Boxford’s Yu.
The anniversary Class of 1976, having all reached “Golden Eagle” status, was asked to stand before being honored by the commencement audience.
Three seniors will attend U.S. military academies: Finn DeBiase of South Hamilton (United States Naval Academy), Philip Maestranzi of Wenham (United States Military Academy West Point), and Benjamin Masterson of Andover (United States Coast Guard Academy).
Senior Benjamin Shore of North Reading walks along in the Commencement procession.
On May 7, the School’s Senior Awards Convocation honored recipients across a variety of disciplines. Raymi Brito of Lawrence was recognized with the Multicultural Affairs and Community Development Advocacy Award. In recognition of distinction in athletics, three-sport standout Kevin Correa of Georgetown received the Scholar-Athlete Award. Football and track talent Alex Turrisi of Bradford earned the Best Athlete Award, and four seniors were honored with the Paul “Buster” DiVincenzo ’50 Athletic Director’s Award: football and rugby standout Chibueze Anasiudu of Merrimac, football and track athlete Andrew McManmon of Rowley, football and lacrosse player Bohan Minogue of South Hamilton, and football and basketball standout Brian Norton of North Andover.
More than a quarter of the class (74 members) received the designation of Eagles Wings leader, an application-only affiliation of student-leaders who introduce new students to the high school community and serve as ongoing peer mentors for the freshman class throughout the year. There were 55 seniors in this year’s Spire Society, a Prep leadership group for students in grades 9-12 where candidates can apply to help both the admission and advancement teams as ambassadors for the School.
Class officers for this graduating year were President Jeremiah Ramirez of Amesbury and Vice President Anasiudu of Merrimac along with class representatives Budrow, DeBiase, and Owen Hanson of Salem.
In the countdown to graduation, seniors took to Ryken field under the commencement tent for the True Blue Reception on May 14. The evening included the signing of diplomas by Dr. Ed Hardiman and Dr. Keith Crowley, a brief speaking program, the dedication of the Class of 2026 yearbook to the late German teacher Chris Lynch, moderator of the award-winning Spire yearbook for 25 years, who passed away at age 55 earlier this year. A video featuring 2025-26 Distinguished alumnus Brother John D. Hamilton, C.F.X. ’64, who was elected General Superior of the Xaverian Brothers last fall, was also part of the program.
On the eve of commencement, Rev. Ronan ’62 celebrated the Baccalaureate Mass honoring the Class of 2026. The liturgy included live music by the Baccalaureate Choir and representation from the 50th Reunion Class of 1976. The Mass also featured an awards presentation for select seniors. Loyalty and Service Awards are given to those seniors who have modeled the call to be servant leaders and personified Xaverian values. This year’s honorees were Acworth, Anasiudu, Budrow, Maestranzi, McManmon, and Ramirez as well as Jakob Blanchette, Owen Hardiman, and Isaac Sidmore, all from Danvers.
The Sonia Schreiber Weitz Human Rights Award went to Jacob Cranson of Andover. Christian Norena of Revere and Maddox Speciale of Swampscott won the Sean Lynch ’85 Scholarship Award, established by Lynch’s family and friends after his death on 9/11 in the World Trade Center. The recipient must be a graduating senior who will attend Boston College, must be active in his school and surrounding community, and maintain an above-average academic record.
Amesbury’s Ramirez was also the recipient of the Student Council Scholarship Award, while Hardiman earned the Margaret Klein Memorial Scholarship Award, awarded annually to a senior planning a career in healthcare.
During his homily, Rev. Ronan ’62 encouraged the Class of 2026 to lean into the power and truth of human relationships “When you and I choose to be in this relationship, that opens us to the truth, which allows us not only to find purpose in our life and meaning in our work, but also the richness and fruitfulness of collaboration as well as appreciation and recognition for the dignity of others while working for the betterment of one and all. That’s what our truth calls us to and gives us agency to do. Man sets his plans. God guides his steps. We send you forth with confident joy, praying that you carry the vitality of this truth into your tomorrows.”
St. John’s Prep will hold an eighth grade promotion ceremony on campus for the Class of 2030 on the evening of May 28. The event will serve to recognize students of the 115-member class for their resilience, leadership, and focus throughout this school year as well as honor individual and collective achievements.