On June 04, 2022, Mount Carmel School presented her 2022 valedictorian Aleia Carlinne Hofschneider Santos and her salutatorian Richard Jesus Mafnas Villagomez during the annual commencement ceremony at Mount Carmel Cathedral.
To be considered for this prestigious award, graduating high school students must complete at least two consecutive years of credits from Mount Carmel School, take at least two Advanced Placement courses, and earn the highest grade point average.
In addition to Aleia Carlinne Hofschneider Santos’ award as class valedictorian, she received the Most Outstanding Female Award from the Women’s Affairs Office, Social Science Award, Theology Award, Computer Science Award, and Speech Award.
During her valedictorian address, Aleia acknowledged that while her hard work and efforts are recognized during the commencement ceremony, more often than not, “many of the strongest, bravest, and most deserving individuals don’t get recognition for the great obstacles they’ve overcome or the fantastic feats they’ve accomplished.”
She then used her moment to thank the many people in her life that have supported her throughout her academic journey stating, “Thank you to my friends- each and every one of you has a piece of my heart forever. The closest I’ve ever been to having abs was all the times we laughed so hard that no sound came out-and the reason why I don’t have those abs is because of all the food we ate together. Thank you to the endlessly patient and dedicated administrators, teachers, faculty, and staff at Mount Carmel. To the people I was lucky enough to study under Ms. Lucero, Mr. Camacho, Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Buenaflor, Akemi Sensei, Mr. San Nicolas, Ms. V, Mr. Z, our fearless acting president Mrs. Taimanao, and of course, our legendary, Jedi Master slash keynote speaker Dr. G- thank you. I’m sure it isn’t easy caring for over three hundred students that possess varying levels of control over hormonal reactions. And last, but certainly not least, chebut na si yu’us ma’ase to my family. They’ve showered me with love, support, and what I like to call nicknames, such as ka’duduka, tumalu’ si tan loliga, and the only serious one: maga’neni. I will forever be indebted to and in awe of all them.”
On the class salutatorian’s part, Richard Jesus Mafnas Villagomez earned more than the graduate with the second-highest grade point average. During the ceremony, Richard also earned the Bishop Christian Service Award, the President’s Award for Meritorious Achievement, the Governor’s Leadership Award, English Language Arts Award, and Mathematics Award. He was also awarded the MCS Class of 1990 Scholarship of one-thousand dollars.
Throughout his salutatorian address, Richard shared his story about the stereotypes he assumed was true about Mount Carmel School, sharing, “The first time I heard about those stereotypes was before I moved to MCS. I was told to be careful because there’s so much drama here (Mount Carmel School)—or that MCS kids are stubborn or privileged or aren’t studious at all.”
In the latter half of his speech, Richard debunked all the misconceptions and noted, “I noticed a lot of things when I first moved here. I noticed the diversity in our student community—not just in terms of ethnicity, but in terms of personality and passions, talents, and abilities. I noticed the vast opportunities at MCS in terms of both academics and extracurriculars, and how involved the student body was. I noticed that most students were not, in fact, stubborn, privileged kids—they knew the sacrifice that their parents were making to send them here and worked hard to make the most out of their education. Although we are neither far from perfect nor free of drama, I can proudly say that the people who warned me against moving to MCS were wrong. In fact, there’s a lot that they left out.”
Focusing on the authentic qualities of Mount Carmel School, Richard shared, “They left out the part about how supportive MCS students are of each other, even when we slip up. They skipped over the part about how we work through our struggles and strive for excellence. The people here at MCS have taught me a lot about who I am and what it means to be strong. They have helped me grow within and beyond the classroom—and that’s more than I could ever ask for from a school.”
To conclude his speech, Richard expressed thanks to all his teachers, administrators, friends, and family members who helped him finish his high school career as strong as he has, stating, “Thank you to everyone here at Mount Carmel School for proving my doubts wrong.”
For their undergraduate degree, Aleia Carlinne Hofschneider Santos has committed to attend the University of Washington and major in public health, and Richard Jesus Mafnas Villagomez will attend the University of California, Berkeley, to pursue a degree in computer science.
For more information about Mount Carmel School, visit www.mountcarmelsaipan.com.
