Boston, Massachusetts Local News
Lowell High Distinguished Alumni span classes, centuries, contributions
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LOWELL — They spanned ages, backgrounds and experiences — even centuries — but the achievements of five Lowell High School graduates were recognized during the 20th annual Distinguished Alumni Award Reception on Thursday.
The honorees represented the Classes of 1846, 1942, 1952, 1964 and 1997, who had gone on to fields in education, community service and business.
The event was held in Lowell High’s Riddick Athletic Center, which opened in 2022, while the Cyrus Irish Auditorium is being renovated.
Master of ceremonies and 2017 honoree Brian Martin said Mary Elizabeth Ordway, Class of 1846; Rita Sharcoff Mizner, Class of 1942; B. Douglas Townshend, Class of 1952; James Cassin, Class of 1964; and JuanCarlos Rivera, Class of 1997, excelled in different fields, but they all shared a common foundation.
“The 2024 Class of Distinguished Alumni carries on the tradition of excellence, achieved by the previous 19 classes before them,” he said.
The honorees were introduced by senior class student presenters Caroline Chhim, Mia Simunang, Gabriela Falcon, Jack Soucy and Kendrick Del Orbe, who were selected for their scholarship, leadership and community service, qualities that may one day earn them the coveted school honor.
Lowell High English teacher Kendra Bauer accepted the award on behalf of Ordway, who died in 1897. Ordway began her teaching career in 1850. She moved to Seattle, Washington in the mid-1860s to help educate the growing pioneer population.
Although separated by almost 200 years, Bauer said she was “humbled” to accept the award on Ordway’s behalf.
The daughters of Rita Mizner represented their deceased mother, who Judith Mizner said was smart enough to help her with her advanced-level homework. Rita Mizner was a top graduate of her LHS class, majored in physics at Simmons College and later worked at MIT, contributing to nuclear-powered submarine research.
The third honoree was posthumously represented by his son, Bruce, who remembered his father as “kind.” The longtime Lowell High music and choral arts teacher inspired thousands of students with his motto, “Keep music in your heart, and you’ll always have harmony in your life.”
His son said he grew up in a home that was a “refuge” for his father’s students.
“Dad made them feel welcomed,” Bruce Townshend said, pausing to collect himself. “Each and every one of them felt valued and accepted, safe and even loved. He was a teacher, a mentor and a friend.”
In his closing remarks, Bruce Townshend recognized dozens of his father’s students in the audience, people, he said, who had become his friends, too.
“I have an overwhelming sense of gratitude that he would receive this honor,” he said.
Two of the five recipients personally received their honor, which lent a more present-day vibe to the ceremony.
Cassin opened his remarks with kudos for the “amazing” new gymnasium and school, a far cry, he said, from the building he played and taught in.
“I’m really blown away by this facility,” he said.
His teaching career spanned 40 years at LHS and Greater Lowell Technical High School. In his off time, he coached youth baseball and football, served on Lowell’s Zoning Board and on various business boards and worked with community organizations.
He offered the students in attendance the keys to success that guided his life.
“Think about what you want to accomplish,” Cassin said. “Be active in your community, volunteer at local charities, get to know the people in your city. These are the keys that may open the doors to your success.”
Rivera, as the newest graduate honored, said “showing up” was his high school — and life — mantra, taught to him by a teacher who wouldn’t accept incomplete work and gave him a “second chance.”
He said he built a life around living up to the promise he made then of always being his best self.
Leading by the example set for him long ago, today Rivera serves as the deputy executive director for the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Lowell. He was a founding member and director of operations for the United Teen Equality Center, now just known as UTEC.
In his closing, he gave a shout out to his mother, who was in attendance.
The goal of the annual awards reception, said Head of School Mike Fiato to the hundreds of students present, was to instill a sense of purpose and perspective on their personal life journey.
“You all have your own journey that you’re working on now, and you’ll have an opportunity to showcase your own talents and all the amazing things you’ll accomplish,” he said. “But it’s also important to reflect on what other people have done before you.”
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Melanie Gilbert
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