Each month, we spotlight a graduate of EPHS to check up on how things are going in his or her life. This month, we focus on John Butler, Valedictorian of the Class of 2007. John was involved in student government and several organizations at EPHS. He was also a student-athlete and Editor of the Townie.
What did you go on to do after leaving EPHS?
After I graduated from EPHS, I entered Providence College as a biology major, and I am now a senior at PC.
What are the most memorable experiences from EPHS?
My most memorable experience at EPHS was the Homecoming Dance of my senior year. I had asked my friend Alison to the dance with me, and we had a great time there. We began dating shortly after Homecoming and we have been together since then. I also have very fond memories of the time I spent in Partner’s Physical Education and the friends I made in that class. Mrs. Armstrong’s English class and Mr. Perry’s Latin class stand out as the classes in which I had my first real exposure to the wisdom of the ages which now has me hooked.
If you could do it all over again, what would you do differently?
I should preface this by saying I consider my days at EPHS to be some of the happiest of my life, and thankfully, I have no real regrets. If, however, I could “do it all over again,” I suppose I would probably have spent less time on school work and spent more time with my family and friends. I also would have gone to a few more football games.
How has the education you had at EPHS helped you succeed in life?
I had no idea of this when I was a student at EPHS, and I suspect very few people–students, teachers, or administrators–realize that every student who graduates from EPHS receives a rudimentary liberal arts education. That is to say, EPHS students learn not in order to get a job or for practical means, but for the sake of learning. And an education of this nature necessarily inculcates virtue in the student. My education at EPHS prepared me for the liberal arts education I have received at PC, in which we are taught to study in order to acquire wisdom with the hope that that wisdom might allow us to live virtuously.
What is some advice that you would give to a current EPHS student?
To the current EPHS students: Gratitude and selflessness are the keys to happiness. Be grateful every day for your family and your friends. Be proud that you go to EPHS because it is a great blessing to be a Townie. Get involved at school, and lose yourself for the sake of your friends and for the sake of EPHS.
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