Christopher Reeve, the actor paralyzed in an equestrian accident seven years ago, yesterday called the more than 900 graduates of the New England Institute of Technology an inspiration.
Speaking at the school's 61st commencement, Reeve praised the graduates for taking up the technical curriculum in an effort to better their lives. "I want to salute the courage of all of you," he said.
Reeve, who was well-known for his movie portrayal of Superman before becoming paralyzed, joked about his condition and said it was the graduates who deserved admiration for pursuing a degree in midlife or avoiding trouble on the streets.
"I look out at this vast body of people, and I think, yes, yes, people doing the right things with their lives. That inspires me, too," he said to a crowd of 5,000 at the Rhode Island Convention Center.
Reeve was awarded an honorary degree along with Frank J. Montanaro, president of the Rhode Island AFL-CIO. Guest speakers included U.S. Rep. James Langevin, who read a congratulatory letter from President Bush.
Providence Mayor Vincent A. Cianci Jr., who said the graduates would enjoy success because of their hard work, received repeated applause for self-deprecating comments referring to his ongoing federal corruption trial.
Saying he had just met a student who wants to design roller-coaster rides, Cianci quipped he had never met such a designer before, but "if there's anyone else who needs a roller-coaster designer in their life, it's me."
New England Tech, as the Warwick college is known,awards associate and bachelor's degrees in fields varying from cabinetmaking to occupational therapy to telecommunications technology.
Alejandro G. Marino, a native of Queens, N.Y., who now lives in West Warwick, studied automotive technology and is on track to get a job servicing cars at a Mercedes-Benz dealership.
Marino, 25, lauded the hands-on, technology-based instruction, and said he would cherish his natural gas and fuel classes with Norman Messinger Jr. "He made it fun. There wouldn't be a day we didn't laugh," Marino said.
Brenda J. Aleksandrowicz, 50, of Blackstone, Mass., enrolled after sending her youngest son off to college and facing either rejection or the prospect of "low-paying, nothing jobs" from prospective employers.
Aleksandrowicz said she learned how to use computers to manage an office and act professional in a business setting. Now she runs a doctor's office in Milford, Mass., and she thanked her children for urging her on.
"They kind of turned the tables on me when I complained about homework," she said. "It will be worth it when you finish," the children told her. "It seems funny to have them helping me," Aleksandrowicz added.
Adriane L. DesMarais, 20, of Bellingham, Mass., operates a computer for turning architectural ideas into practical designs at a Woodstock, Conn., company after studying architectural building engineering technology.
She will cherish Thomas Lonardo's strict teaching style, she said, but mostly she will remember the after-class dinners at a restaurant down the street with her fellow graduates.
