St. Sebastian's Honored for 20 Years of Service to San Miguel

On March 13, during a Spring Award Luncheon at the San Miguel School in Providence, St. Sebastian’s was presented with the Outstanding Community Partner Award, recognizing a 20-year relationship rooted in service, generosity, and shared mission. Assistant Head of School Michael Nerbonne, along with several students and mothers who volunteer their time to support the partnership, attended to accept the award.

For two decades, the collaboration has made a meaningful and lasting impact on the San Miguel community. Each fall, St. Sebastian’s provides every student with a new backpack filled with essential school supplies. As Executive Director Mel Bride noted during her remarks, “There’s also something in those backpacks that might just be the most coveted item of all–a personal note of encouragement for the year ahead from a Seb’s student. Seb’s boys, you have no idea how meaningful those notes are for our guys. Thank you for taking the time to write those. They do make a difference.”

The partnership extends throughout the year: the St. Sebastian’s community delivers carloads of Christmas gifts, hosts San Miguel fifth graders on campus each spring for activities and lunch in Ward Hall, and welcomes students back each summer for a field day filled with friendly competition. Bride emphasized that these efforts—along with the planning and fundraising behind them—reflect an extraordinary commitment, particularly from the many parents who bring each initiative to life. She also underscored the deeper impact of the relationship: the consistent belief Arrows show in San Miguel boys, serving as role models and embodying values of respect, hard work, generosity, and gratitude.

Bride credited the strength and longevity of the partnership to Nerbonne’s leadership. “This special partnership would never exist if it weren’t for one person: Mr. Nerbonne. Mike, your passion for this place, your belief in us, and your ability, with great humility and deep faith, to draw others into the magic of San Miguel, has fueled brigades of moms and students whose love has enriched the lives of hundreds of Miguel Men.”

In his remarks, Nerbonne expressed gratitude to the many St. Sebastian’s mothers who have supported the partnership, with special recognition for Marie Carroll’s leadership across numerous initiatives and Sue O’Malley’s 20 years of volunteer service, including founding a campus garden and leading the school’s Green Team each week. Reflecting on the relationship, he said, “I have received, and St. Sebastian’s has received so many blessings from our relationship with San Miguel and all of you. Anything we have given has been overshadowed by these blessings which we have received from knowing all of you, from being welcomed into your School community, and from being invited to walk with you, sharing with you your most important mission.”

He also shared a story of a San Miguel sixth grader who quietly offered to share his lunch—an act of generosity that speaks to the spirit of the community—and recalled how the now 20-year Backpack Project began with the help of a dedicated group of St. Sebastian’s mothers who ensured its success from the start.

What began as a single act of support has grown into a lasting bond—one that continues to shape and inspire both communities.