John O'Hurley, Class of 1976, who portrayed catalog-king J. Peterman on Seinfeld, tells graduates, "If you leap, the net will appear."

01:00 AM EDT on Monday, May 22, 2006

BY PAUL GRIMALDI
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE -- A leap of faith can lead to an extraordinary life.

That was the simple, uplifting message at the center of a light-hearted address delivered to the Class of 2006 during Providence College's 88th commencement, held yesterday at the Dunkin' Donuts Center.

John O'Hurley, the honey-toned actor whose portrayal of catalog-king J. Peterman on the Seinfeld sitcom made his voice instantly recognizable to TV viewers, returned to his alma mater to ease any fears clouding the minds of this year's graduates.

With gestures and intonation made natural from years standing in front of theater audiences and television cameras, O'Hurley, Class of 1976, alternately entertained and encouraged the 1,124 graduate and undergraduate students who received degrees.

"If you are sitting here today and you have even the slightest feeling of anxiety, then my remarks today are for you. If so, I know how you feel," O'Hurley said. "So I want to share something with you that I hope you will consider to help you navigate what may seem like rough waters ahead."

O'Hurley went on to relate his befriending of an elderly Russian immigrant who explained that the course of your life is a matter of choices:

"You have only two choices in life," the man told the actor. "You can have an ordinary life, or you can have an extraordinary life. That's it. It has nothing to do with money, or power. It has everything to do with the power of your choices."

At one point, the silver-haired actor fell into his trademark J. Peterman baritone and introduced The Peterman Guide to the Extraordinary Life.

Such a life, he said, includes three basic elements: achievement, meaning and reflection.

Reflection will lead to daydreams and, he said. "What you daydream about is what you are supposed to be doing."

To make that daydream come true, the graduates only need leap.

"If you leap, the net will appear."

The message hit home with Michael V. Claps, of Greenport, N.Y., on Long Island.

"I have big dreams," said Claps, who graduated with a bachelor of arts degree.

After a summer of working at a marina near his home, Claps will look for work in New York City. He also hopes to travel.

"I'll figure it out along the way," Claps said after the commencement concluded.

Aside from O'Hurley, who received an honorary doctorate of fine arts, four others received honorary degrees: Donald F. Shea, a retired Rhode Island Supreme Court justice; Dr. Edwin Forman, head of pediatric hematology and oncology at Hasbro Children's Hospital; the Rev. Robert J. Randal, who established the college's first endowed chair; and Carolyn Woo, dean of the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame.

pgrimald@projo.com / (401) 277-7356

The local graduates are:

Bachelor of Arts

Lisa Andrade

Stacy Archer

Katherine Arruda

Sheena Baptista

Candice Beckner

Kristen Bianco

Jonathan Botelho

Tamra Bouchard*

Kathryn Boyle

Kathryn Brady

Liam Brown

Cassie Butler

Susan Cabral

Lauren Camara

William Champagne*

John Clancy

Shannon Clarkin**

Raymond Concannon

Brian Cotter

Paul Cotter

Ashley Coulter

Michael DiPalma*

Lauren Dunbar

Kathleen Durigan**

Kate Fales**

Amanda Fandetti**

Alexandra Farren*

Vito Ferri

Sonia Freitas

Rebecca Gallucci**

Lindsay Gebhart**

Scott Geer

Michelle Gianfrancesco

Melissa Giardino

Kathleen Goosmann

Elizabeth Gregory

Jessica Grygiel*

Jamie Roger Heaney

Katherine Hughes

Kiara Iaconelli**

Jenna Iannelli

Ashley Jensen

Kelley Kozlowski

Ashley Laferriere*

Catherine LaFratta

Lauren Leonardo

Matthew Leveillee

Seth Linakis*

Takesha Lopes

Francis Lukowicz*

Julie Lyon*

Kathryn Mahoney

Karolina Mandes

Adrienne Marshall*

Jennifer Marvel

Cristian Maselli

Natalie Masson

Matthew Maurano

Kelly McGahan*

Erin Medeiros

Allary Montague

Lindsey Muldoon*

Owen Murphy

Susan Nerbonne*

Leslie Nevola

Meghan O'Connor

Trisha Palmieri

Eliza Parker***

Bethany Pothier

Nestor Puello

Kelly Robertson

Kristen Rotella

Heather Salapa

Frances Sariya

Kati Sepe

Christine Servant

Alana Silva

Jessica Simon

Lindsay Simon

Latdaly Sinouthasy

Doran Smith

Ana-Maria Spencer

Jessica Trejos

Jennie Trimble

Joseph Upton

Sirabel Uran

Nissheneyra Urizandi

Emanuel Vasconcelos

Jennifer Weaver

Brian Williams

Xong Yang

Adam Young

Bachelor of Science

Steven Altieri*

Jeffrey Alvanas

Jennifer Arts

Andrew Bairos

Marissa Bigelli

Cheryl Bline***

Matthew Breintenbecher

Marcus Capalbo

Eric Carreiro

Carolyn Cassiani

Christopher Civittolo

Laura Coughlin*

Sarah Custadio

Kathryn DiPalma*

Chase Fields

Danny Gennaoui

Lauren Giardino

Megan Gravel

Sara Hagan

Allison Hamilton

Peter Hanoian**

Margaret Horan

Melissa Iovino

Michelle Jarvis

Shannon Kelly

Gina Kleniewski**

Robert Koch

Matthew LeComte

Michael McNulty

James Merkel

Nathan Mockler

John Nisbet

Derek Nobrega

Richard Packhem

Lauren Palazzi

James Pemberton

Kenneth Perry

Antonio Petrarca

Jeffrey Pierre

Matthew Preiss

Yomayra Reyes

Melanie Rheaume

Colin Roberts

Nicole Robitaille*

Marisa Seander

Phouphokham Sisomboun

Filipe Soares

Andrew Sousa

Jacqueline Steiner

Michael Tasca

Zachary Tobin

Jonathan Zinno*

GRADUATE STUDIES

Master of Arts in History

Diana Anderson

Brooke Butler

John Coelho

Marc Comtois

Jason Coulombe

Patrick Franzen

Eric Hamel

Robert Howe

Michele Kelly

Zachary Martin

James Nasser

Maureen O'Gorman

Corinne Richard

Mark Stewart

Michael Sweeney

Cristina Trainer

Jonathan Woodcome

Master of Arts in Teaching Mathematics

Charlene Allwright

Heather Dailey

Shelley Hopkins

Barbara Morse

Rachel Munoz

Allison Srubas

Ronald Taylor

Master of Arts in Theology

Jo-Ann Andrews

Norman Bellemore

Sr. AnaMaria Corona, O.P.

Lesley Dubois

Abina Hansen

Daniel Hodes

Michael Lindo

Kathleen McGowan

H. Richard McSoley

Leo Mogavero

Lori Shakan

Jeremy Sperber

Jake Thibault

Sarah Wade

Master of Business Administration

Mark Abodeely

Denise Andrade

Francisco Balestrini

Joseph Bernardo

Melissa Buchanan

Robert Burgholzer III

Richard Burke

Wai Ha Cheung

Michael Coyne

Robin DeCarlo

Lisa DiMartino

Jennifer Donnelly

James Florio

Melissa Foley

Michael Gibbons

Timothy Giblin

John Jallette

Paul Keith Kelly

Min Kim

Michael Liberatore

Diana Marquez

Robert McCrystal

Ryan Mullen

David Pease

Emily Peterson

Jodi-Lyn Pontbriand

Jennifer Potocki

Kevin Reim

Stanislas Renard

Eugene Robbins

Jennifer Robbins

Benjamin Rohde

Michael Rollins

Michael Ryan

Susan Saraiva

Thomas Sheehan

Abdoulaye Signate

Will Silverstein

Kristen Terceira

Edward Thompson

Jennifer Whipple

Sara Wright

Master of Education

Erika Allen

Patricia Anderson

Cynthia Antignano

Clare Arnold

Neville Barry

Diane Bedrosian

Demetra Bianchi

Colleen Boisclair

Steven Boss

Keri Brown

Courtney Bush

Michael Byron

Kristen Cain

Mark Camara

Bryan Caswell

Erin Chabot

Cynthia Cherney

Felicia Chionchio

Donna Coderre

Megan Collier

John Corry

Cheryl Cotter

Jessica Daggett

Kristen DeAmaral

John DeCristofaro

Amanda DeSantis

Jeanne DeSantis

Lauren Dettore

Erica Dowling

Theresa Ducharme

Angela Evangelista

Stacy Fabrizio

Thomas Fennessey

Cathleen Furtado

Anthony Fusco

Sara Gaulin

Jessica Gauthier

Jodi Gladstone, Esq.

Kara Haddad

Ducha Hang

Danielle Heatherton

Therese Hem

Amy Henry

Sherry Hernandez

Janice Hoard

Jeffrey Jardin

Kevin Jones

Jennifer Krug

Joanna Krzeminska

Nicole Laurito

Christine Levreault

John Long

Daniele Mallari

Carol Manning

Trisha Marchetti

Gregory McCarthy

Alison McCrillis

Kathleen McCrillis

Carole Melucci

Sherri Mooney

Charles Moreau

Kelly-Anne Morin

Jessica Mortali

Michael Mota

Phyllis Murphy

James Nelson

Sandra Nolan

Elizabeth O'Brien

Michael Oliveira

Sr. Lisa Palazio, S.S.D.

Michael Palumbo

Sarika Parikh

Angela Parquette

Alexandra Phelan

Nancy Phillips

Heidi Pineda

Kristy Procaccianti

Keith Remillard

Tanya Romani

Joseph Rotz

Heather Ruple

Laura Ruscetta

Marilyn Salisbury

David Sheehan

Karen Skerry

Katherine Smith

Gina Soares

Susan Sullivan

Kristen Twardowski

David Vasiliauskas

Alicia Verdi

Emily Walsh

Tracy Watters

SCHOOL OF CONTINUING EDUCATION

Associate of Arts

Diamilatou Bah

Ronald Riley

Associate of Science

Kevin Sullivan

David Chartier

Bachelor of Arts

Pamela Alexander

Cathy Auger

Margaret Botelho

Jennifer Breen

Maryellen Crowley

Fatima DeArruda

Raymond DiRamo

Heather Edge

Jonathan Fusco

Christopher Gauthier

Frances Grady

Miriam Hidalgo Olivares

Richard Hilton

Johanna Jacobsen

Dorothy Jackvony

Jerald Jeffrey

Jamie Landolfi

Jeff LeBaron

Mary Lennon

Joyce Leven

Shannon Lewis

Diane Mello

Thomas Miller***

Betty Jean Perez*

Mark Rabuck

Matthew Rampone

Margaret Rebello

Grace Rivera

Luanne Santelises

Ira Shepard II

Jamie Shoup

Anna Sorensen

Edward Tetzner

Christopher Viau

Bachelor of Science

Rosamaria Amoros-Cherry***

William Bailey

Jason Bouchard

Stephen Cerbarano

John Ciambrone*

Elizabeth Crowshaw

Elena Davydova

Debra Desjarlais*

Kristine Desrosiers

Cesarina Elias

Keith Fowler

Karen Gousie**

Elliot Gulkowitz***

Lori Harrison**

Patricia Hartford***

Gina Johnson***

Donna Laferriere

Dana Loffredo

Anthony Longano

Colleen McCaughey

Cindy Molina

John O'Brien**

Lucy Pacheco

Jennifer Rivera

Ya Sarr

Roman Skorik

Kendall St. Louis

Nathan St. Pierre

Eliana Tellini

Evelyn Velasquez

Philipp Weis

*** -- summa cum laude

** -- magna cum laude

* -- cum laude