Chouaib Saidi also contributed to this article.
The Malden High School Alumni Association hosts a Hall of Fame Induction every other year to honor individuals who have graduated from Malden High School, as well as their legacy and their successes at Malden High.
Prior to the Hall of Fame Induction on May 1st, the Alumni Association hosted a luncheon in the Gallery, which allowed alumni to be joined by their peers, friends, and family members to collectively reminisce on their time together at MHS and celebrate their successes throughout their careers and lives.
This year’s inductees, who were being celebrated, were Arlene Vellemen, Dr. Philip Conti, Michael Souza, Kevin Jarvis, Dr. Alan “Lanny” Berman, and Phyllis Karas.
Arlene Vellemen is a part of Malden High’s graduating class of 1973 and has worked as an educator for over 40 years, where she has specialized in working with hearing-impaired students and teaching American Sign Language (ASL).
Her passion for ASL was sparked through reading and memorizing Lottie Riekehof’s Talk to the Deaf in elementary school, which led her principal to put her together with a girl who was deaf. ”Her whole family was deaf, and the mom gave me my name sign. The rest was history,” Vellemen explained.
Vellemen’s choice to continue pursuing learning ASL in college and beyond with the National Theater of the Deaf was a “no-brainer”; she was then able to transfer her skills into her first teaching position at the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown.
The hands-on experience proved to be valuable as she transitioned to teaching special education at Waltham High School and started the ASL program as the first ASL teacher in the school’s history. Aside from her role as educator, Velleman supported the Watertown Children’s Theater with ASL interpretations.
Vellemen’s mission as an impassioned advocate of meeting the needs of all students emphasizes that “if people feel like giving up, to continue and keep going because you never know whose life you’re going to touch.”
Dr. Philip Conti of the graduating class of 1953 has also dedicated his life to serving his community. After attaining his Bachelor’s in Biology at Brandeis University and his Doctorate of Dental Medicine at Tufts University, he administered dental services in communities such as Malden for 60 years.
He simultaneously studied voice at the New England Conservatory of Music, a passion he originally fostered at MHS through Green Room Dramatic Art Society and Choral Arts and his relationships with his directors that carried over into his life outside of high school.
He started Project Triangle in 1971, a non-profit organization focused on empowering the careers and lives of people with disabilities. “What I learned growing up, with my family being involved with the Order Sons of Italy in Malden and through their charitable organizations, you got the feeling that you have to get back to the community. You can’t just be taking,” Dr. Conti highlighted.
Vellemen and her graduating class unanimously voted to generously donate all of their senior class funds to Project Triangle, making them the largest donor that year. Singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder heard of their class’ selflessness and visited Malden High’s Jenkins Auditorium to play a private concert for them.
Both Vellemen and Dr. Conti’s stories emphasize the indelible impact educators can have on one’s life in and outside of the classroom. Vellemen’s teachers, Elizabeth Gowell and Jim McCann, encouraged her to pursue being a teacher, and Dr. Conti had a lifelong friendship and musical partnership with his chorus teacher Robert K. Love that pushed him to further his musical career.
1975 graduate Michael Souza also credits his experiences growing up in the supportive environment of Malden High, leading to his “whole life trajectory” changing. Souza played both football and baseball throughout high school, which led his guidance counselor, Mr. Marino, to aid him in finding colleges and connecting with coaches.
After committing to Amherst College, Souza went into business, where he aids financially struggling companies and explores his interests in poetry simultaneously. Souza has served as the first Chief Executive Officer of Beth Israel Deaconess Health System’s Affiliated Physicians Group and the CEO and President of New England Life Care.
Souza echoed that if you “stick to your values” and lead a life of honesty, you will find success, as he learned from his mentors throughout his college search process.
Kevin Jarvis of the class of 1974 served in the Marine Corps out of high school, quickly assuming the position of Staff Sergeant. After his duty, he worked in Federal Law Enforcement until he eventually returned to Malden as a Veterans’ Services Officer.
To serve and honor the community he and his family were raised in, Jarvis “dedicated six lifetime bronze statues of combat veterans” throughout the city alongside renovations, such as his work on Devir Park and Bell Rock Park.
“You can do whatever you want. It’s not going to be easy and you’re going to need help from friends and family. When you get into a job somewhere, coworkers will help you, I found that out,” Jarvis added.
Phyllis Karas, Class of 1961, described her time at MHS as “beautiful, and just fun.” Karas was an assistant editor for the Malden High School Newspaper, The Blue and Gold, and used it as a foundation to begin her writing career, as she has published numerous young adult novels, such as “Living the Life: Wit, Wisdom and Woe”.
Karas primarily focuses her work on crime as she has collaborated with authors like Kevin Weeks while co-authoring Brutal: The Untold Story of My Life Inside Whitey Bulger’s South Boston Mob.
When Karas is not writing about crime, you can find her writing about celebrities in People Magazine as well as numerous memoirs, such as the memoir of Academy Award winner Louis Gossett Jr. titled An Actor and A Gentleman.
Karas is a professor at Boston University operating out of the School of Journalism, for which she has received great recognition in her time as professor by accepting awards from the New England Press Association, such as the Best Feature Story, as well as the Simone Rockower Award for Excellence in Feature Writing in Moment Magazine.
“I feel very honored and very humbled. At this stage of my life, it’s nice to be honored for anything, and especially this, because the school meant a lot to me. It’s just more than just a building. It was my whole life. Very, very special, it’s very powerful,” Karas claimed.
Dr. Alan “Lanny” Berman from the graduating class of 1961 received his BA from Johns Hopkins University as well as a Ph.D from the Catholic University of America. He is a world-renowned specialist in suicidology as well as saving the lives of veterans, women, and men who are determined to end their lives.
Dr. Berman worked as the Director of the National Center for the Study and Prevention of Suicide at the Washington School of Psychiatry, in which he specialized in an authoritative role to bring attention to the matter at hand, while also progressing to become the Executive Director of the American Association of Suicidology.
Dr. Berman’s hard work is a testament to his roots that originally started to sprout here at Malden High School.
“Being back in Malden High is sort of unreal. I mean, it’s been 64 years since I was in this building. I’ve been back in the city about five times. It’s wonderful, it brings back a lot of memories,” Berman mentioned.
Dr. Berman has received the 1982 Shneidman Award for Outstanding Contributions in Suicidology Research as well as the Louis I. Dublin Award in 2006; on top of that, he was also elected President of the International Association for Suicide Prevention twice. Berman is also one of only seven civilians to receive a Congressional appointment to the Department of Defense Task Force (DDTF) among members of the Armed Forces.
“ I don’t know if I deserve this. You know the goods of life, I have a career, and do what I do. How does that compare to 100 other people who probably deserve it more than I do? It’s humbling,” Berman expressed.
Later on that night, the Alumni Association hosted their Annual Induction Night, hosted at Anthony’s at 105 Canal Street, Malden, and run by Arlene Cepetelli and Camille Colantuoni. The night started off with everyone casually settling in, grabbing drinks, and acclimating themselves to the environment.
As everything settled and everyone had enjoyed their delicious meals and fulfilling appetizers, Malden High School Principal Christopher Mastrangelo started introducing the inductees.
The night elicited a lot of emotions, from reminiscence, laughs about old times, and memories made through various inside jokes and sports references. The ceremony was bittersweet and tender, all the right emotions that made this Induction night as special as it needed to be.
However, the Induction Ceremony was not the only highlight of the night. The Alumni Association prepared a surprise for Principal Mastrangelo to celebrate his departure from Malden High School, as they gifted him an award of their own to celebrate the difference he has made at Malden High.
“To those who know me, I am often never this speechless when it comes to things like this,” Mastrangelo claimed at the conclusion of the ceremony.
In times of gratitude and remembrance, Malden High School is a common ground that Hall of Fame Inductees, as well as departing principals, can look back on and hone the impact that they have had at Malden High, and how that bittersweet feeling will always be close to the heart.
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