ABOUT TOWN: Pair of Distinguished Alumni Inducted into Stoughton High Hall of Fame

SHS HALL OF FAME WELCOMES TWO:  Stoughton High School held ceremonies for their Hall of Fame of Extraordinary Achievement last Friday, Oct. 5, inducting Dr. Lynda Ann Tyer-Viola (Class of 1980) and Peter David Green (Class of 1973). 

The morning ceremonies, which usually are held in a full auditorium, took place at the same time as the funeral of Stoughton High School senior David Wade.  So, attendance was not as high as in year's past, but it didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of those in the auditorium, or the two inductees for 2012.

Tony Sarno, retired Superintendent of Schools and a former Stoughton High principal, filled in as emcee of the event, in place of current Superintendent Dr. Marguerite Rizzi and current SHS principal Julie Miller (both attended the funeral). Dr. Rizzi later interviewed both inductees for her TV show, “Rizzi Chats.” 

Introduced by Jordan Angelos, a senior at Stoughton High, the first honor went to Dr. Lynda Tyer-Viola (SHS '80).

After receiving her Ph.D. in nursing, Tyer-Viola went on to work on many important health care issues around the world and has donated much of her time to help women and children in need.  

Tyer-Viola has taught nursing at several prestigious institutions of higher education, including Boston College and Northeastern University. She has also held a variety of nursing positions at some of the most well-known hospitals around the country, including UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles and Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston. She is a published author, with her articles featured in a number of medical periodicals.

Tyer-Viola has dedicated the past several years to working with AK Khan Health Care Trust. This organization helps to care for women and children dealing with illness, and is starting a health care initiative in Bangladesh, by building a children’s hospital there. She was also one of many health care workers to help restore electricity to hospitals in Haiti after the deadly earthquake there.  She came to Stoughton from Houston.

Dr. Rizzi tells About Town, “Lynda has been in many interesting places all over the world and is at the forefront of medical science. She had an interesting career path.  We tell our students now that they may have numerous careers in their lives, not like our parents. Lynda’s career has evolved in time.  She started in nursing, but through further education she got involved in things like HIV and women’s health. She has a dynamic personality in a quiet way.”   

Senior Nicole Kerman introduced the second inductee, Peter David Green (SHS '73).

In 1960, at the age of five, Green moved to Stoughton from the United Kingdom. He attended the Clapp and E.A Jones elementary schools, where recalls having both Mr. and Mrs. Perdigao for teachers.  He believes his eighth grade science teacher, Mrs. Barbara O’Donnell, was a catalyst that sent him towards science and engineering.

He still maintains that Stoughton High School was a great place to be, adding, "We were blessed with excellent teachers, beautiful new facilities, and great school spirit. ” At SHS he achieved excellent grades, while being involved in athletics and student government. He was a finalist for the National Merit Scholarship.

In 1973, Green was selected to attend the United States Naval Academy. He majored in Oceanography and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Physics. Upon graduation, he was chosen to stay at the academy and teach until moving to Pensacola to attend flight school. During his time in the Navy, he was an operation test pilot at VX-1 and led flying tests all over the world. He also was responsible for the project coordination, aircraft configuration control and test conduct of the CNO Priority One project.

After his retirement in 2001, he continued his active role in the Naval Reserves.  He received a masters degree from the University of Southern California in Systems Management and recently completed the Darden School of Business Executive Management Program at the University of Virginia.

Today, he is Wyle’s Aerospace Group president. Green is responsible for group profit and loss, business development, strategic planning, corporate development coordination and the leadership of this $500+ million per year group.

Dr. Rizzi said, “Peter was modest about his achievements in high school, but he had to do very well to gain entry in the Naval Academy. He became a test pilot, and from there, he took a CEO leadership position. He has a distinguished career. Being a test pilot requires courage, physical strength and great knowledge. I found him to be a lovely, quiet, gentle person.”

Rizzi added that both inductees shared something in common, and present a good example for the current students at SHS to follow.

“They both emphasized that you do not need to be the number one student in high school to be successful.  If you are not a top student, it doesn’t preclude you from being successful in life," Dr. Rizzi said. "It’s really a matter of finding the right fit.”

Congratulations to both of the latest inductees!

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY: To Richard Roth, an executive with Tedeschi Food Shops, and the husband of my friend, Gail; Happy 11th Birthday to Mackenzie Desmond; Also birthday wishes to folk singer Vance Gilbert and comedian Artie Lange, both PMPNetwork.com guests.

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CONGRATULATIONS: to Stoughton Firefighter/EMT Mike Carroll on his Oct. 6 wedding to his beautiful bride, Marisa.

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HAPPY BELATED ANNIVERSARY: Holly and Billy Boykin celebrated their 19th wedding anniversary on Wednesday. Holly, the former Chair of the Finance Committee, recently lost her father. She and Billy now live in Ohio.

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