Greater New Bedford Voc-Tech Hall of Fame inducts its Class of 2023
The GNB Voc-Tech Hall of Fame inducted its 2023 Class during a ceremony on Sunday night at the Century House in Acushnet.
Here’s a look at the inductees (in alphabetical order):
Ben Andrews (1990-1993: Football, basketball and baseball)
Andrews was a two-year member of the football team, three-year member of the baseball program and four-year member of the basketball program during the early 1990s.
In the fall, Andrews was an instrumental part of the football team and earned Standard-Times and South Coast Conference All-Star recognition for the Bears.
On the diamond, Andrews played three seasons for head coach John Quintal and consistently improved his skills as he worked his way up through the Bears’ lineup. Andrews peaked during his senior season, matching his football accolades by earning both Standard-Times and SCC All-Star status.
While being known as a well-rounded multi-sport athlete, Andrews’ impact was felt most on the basketball court. Well known and respected Standard-Times sports writer Buddy Thomas named Ben the eighth best basketball player in the history of GNB Voc-Tech. According to Thomas, “Ben sparked the 1991-92 team to a 13-7 regular-season record and through a memorable four-game postseason run that ended in the South Sectional Semfinal.” Andrews averaged 15.9 points a game his junior season. He was even better his senior season, averaging an eye-popping 23.2 PPG. Andrews had one of the most impressive single games in Bears’ history when he scored 42 points in a win over Martha’s Vineyard.
Andrews currently works as a telephone tech with Verizon Communications.
Stephanie Antoine (2009-2012: Volleyball, basketball and track)
Antoine was an all-around superstar while at Voc-Tech and helped lead the school’s female athletes to the biggest stage they have ever competed on.
In just two seasons on the volleyball court, Antonie quickly picked up the sport and became a dominant force as an outside hitter. She recorded 194 kills, obliterating the previous record of 109. She also had 23 blocks on the defensive side. Antoine was named SCC All-Star and Standard-Times Super Team member after her senior season.
Antoine was just as dominant on the track during the spring. In a meet against Bourne during her senior year, Antoine broke her own record in the triple jump (35-11.5) and set a new school record in the 400 meters (62.8). During that meet, she also won the long jump and 100.
Antoine was a four-year starter of the girls basketball team and helped take Voc-Tech from a perennial last-place team to the cream of the crop of the SCC and beyond.
Antoine helped lead the Bears to the TD Garden, winning back-to-back South Sectional titles and a State Final appearance her senior season. This would be the first State Final appearance for any GNBVT team in school history.
By the end of her career, Antoine was the school’s all-time leading scorer with 1,426 points, a three-time SCC All-Star and two-time Standard-Times Super Teamer.
More: Fairhaven High Athletic Hall of Fame inducts its Class of 2023
Jasmine Burris (2009-2012: Volleyball and track)
Burris was a four-year member of the volleyball, winter track and spring track programs during the late 2000’s and early 2010’s. By the end of her career, she had compiled an undeniable Hall of Fame resume.
During the spring, Burris was part of the group of female athletes that turned a historically weak volleyball program into an annual powerhouse. During her senior season, the team won the State Vocational Championship and made the MIAA Tournament for the first time. Burris earned SCC All-Star status and broke the school-record for aces.
In the winter, Burris spent her time in the fieldhouse throwing the shot put for the Bears and by her junior year, she had become the best female shot-putter in the SCC. She also earned SCC and The Standard-Times All-Stars honors. Jasmine dominated the SCC her senior season repeating as league champion in the shot put and competing in the state tournament.
Burris continued her dominance of the shot put during the spring season, winning the SCC championship and State Vocational Championship. According to head coach Mark Thornhill, she was so dominant in the spring season she won the SCC shot put championship by a foot with a throw of 33-8. She finished seventh in the Div. 2 State Meet.
Burris is currently giving back to her community with her volleyball program, Next Level Volleyball. She also works full-time as a medical tech at Women’s & Infants.
Jordan Burris (2007-2010: Football, basketball and track)
Burris has gone down as one of the most dominant multi-sport athletes in Voc-Tech history.
On the basketball court, Burris used his versatility and natural athletic ability to be a force on both the offensive and defensive ends. During the spring season, Burris was able to win an MSTCA State Championship in the decathlon with teammates Cory Mitchell, Willliam Barbosa and fellow Hall of Fame Member Andre Medeiros.
On the gridiron was where Burris truly showcased his athletic talent. He didn’t join the football team until his junior year, but became an instant impact player on both sides of the ball. Burris’ senior season will go down as the most impressive in school history. He was the team’s leading receiver before being asked to play running back due to an injury and by the end of the season, he had set a school record for touchdowns in a game with four and touchdowns in a season with 20. Both records still stand today. He was named the Otto Graham Award winner and earned SCC and Standard-Times All-Star recognition. He was selected to play in the Mass Shriner’s Game.
Burris currently lives in New Bedford and has two young daughters, Layla, 4, and Kai, 1.
More: Bishop Stang's new boys basketball head coach has deep roots to the SouthCoast
Flavio Carvalho (2009-2012: Soccer)
Carvalho is one of the very few single-sport athletes that have been inducted into the GNB Voc-Tech Hall of Fame. His skill on the soccer field and his incredible senior season made him an easy selection.
Carvalho was a four-year member of the varsity soccer team for the Bears. He found his way into the starting lineup as a sophomore. It was in his junior year when his play on the field caught the eye of everyone on the SouthCoast. Carvalho earned South Coast Conference, Eastern Mass, All-State, The Standard-Times and Boston Herald All-Star Recognition after his junior season which ended with an early exit from the MIAA Division 1 South Sectional tournament.
Carvalho’s senior season was a masterpiece on the pitch. He led the Bears to the No. 1 seed in MIAA Division 1 South Sectional Tournament with a record of 15-2-1. The Bears also won the State Vocational Championship for the third time in his career. The Bears won their first three tournament games by one goal against Franklin, Wellesley, Needham. Carvalho netted all three of the game-winning goals. Flavio assisted on both goals in the South Sectional final as the team went on to defeat BC High, 2-1, to win the program’s first ever Division 1 Sectional title. The dream season came to an end in the state semifinals.
Flavio currently lives in New Bedford and works as a foreman for Derenzo Construction.
Jessica Collins (2008-2011: Volleyball, track and softball)
When you look at the rise of female athletics at GNB Voc-Tech, you could say it started in the late 2000’s with Jessica Collins. She was Voc-Tech’s first 12-letter female athlete.
In the fall, Collins was a powerhouse on the volleyball court for the Bears. During her sophomore season, she was part of the first female State Vocational Championship team in school history. She became the leader of the volleyball team her senior year and earned SCC All-Star and Standard-Times Super Team recognition while leading the volleyball team to their second State Vocational Championship. Throughout the season, Collins had 366 kills and an incredible 97% service percentage.
In the winter, Collins hit the track. She won the 300-yard dash at the Auerbach Fr/So Invitational her freshman season. She was a double-winner at the Janiak Fr/So Invitational in the 4x400 and the 50m dash. Collins became a conference champion her sophomore season winning the 50-yard dash(6.6). Throughout her track career, Collins was a three-time SCC All-Star and selected to the 2011 Standard Times Super Team. She left the track and field program with school records in the high jump and 4x400m relay team.
During the spring, Collins earned another spot on a varsity team as a freshman, this time it was softball. She threw a no-hitter against Bourne her sophomore year and led the team to the school’s first State Vocational Softball Championship. No different than the other sports she played; Collins left her name in the softball record books. She owns the records for strikeouts in a game (16) and season (166), ERA (.083) and career wins (48). Collins was named SCC and Standard-Times Super Team All-Star as a softball player.
Collins capped off her high school by winning The Standard-Times Leadership Award, Carl Seales Memorial Scholarship and Voc-Tech’s highest athletic honor — the Balestracci Award — her senior year.
Drew Frenette (2008-2011: Football and baseball)
Frenette was a four-year member of both the football and baseball programs during the late 2000’s and early 2010’s. By the end of his career, he had etched his name in GNBVT athletics history.
In the spring season, Frenette was an instrumental part of the baseball program as a first baseman. He was part of the 2010 team that played their way to the South Sectional Semifinal.
It was on the football field, where Frenette rewrote Voc-Tech history books. During his three years with the varsity team, he became the most prolific quarterback in the school’s history. He used his high football IQ and rocket arm to break the single-season touchdown record his junior year with 18 touchdown passes, a mark that still stands. Frenette capped off his high school career with a 10-touchdown season and left holding the career touchdown record of 28.
Frenette was one of the driving forces to the program’s first Vocational State Championship his senior season. Throughout his football career he was a two-time Standard-Times Super Team selection, a two-time SCC All-Star and was named No. 4 on Buddy Thomas’ list of GNBVT’s Top 20 Football Players of All-Time. Frenette went on to become a record-breaking collegiate quarterback at Endicott College.
Frenette currently serves as a detective in the New Bedford Police Department.
2017 Baseball Team: MIAA Division 2 State Champions
The team was led by longtime head coach Rick Avila and a roster full of seniors, including Boston Globe Division 2 Player of the Year, Tylor Arruda, and Jared Methia, Noah Rivera, James Estrella, Kevin Santiago, Andrew Mattos, DJ Lopes, Cam Massa, Anthony Perry, Corey Viera, Jacob Mendes, Jayden Soares and Tyler Horton.
Juniors Colin Brisson, Kyle Cabral, Craig Crompton, Matthew Cummings, Drew Coutinho and Andrew Vinagre and sophomores Austin Francis and Jacob Ferreira all filled their roles perfectly and executed when it mattered most.
The Bears finished the regular season 14-6 and then defeated Bishop Feehan (13-4), Milford (2-1), Hopkinton (3-2, 9 innings), Westwood (5-3) and Danvers (6-2) en route to the MIAA crown.
Avila was named Boston Globe Coach of the Year.
The team rallied around the families of two former Voc-Tech students, Andrew McCann and AJ DaSilva, who both died in their teenage years, and provided inspiration to the Bears on their magical run to the program’s first-ever state championship.
The relationships between those two families and the team ran so deep the players and coaches insisted on both families receiving championship rings. The initials of both McCann and DaSilva were designed into the State Championship banner that is hanging in Voc-Tech’s fieldhouse and they will forever be linked to this team.
This is the first team to be inducted into the GNB Voc-Tech Hall of Fame.
CAREER ACHIEVEMENT
James O’Brien (Class of 1981)
In 1977, O’Brien walked through the doors of the new Greater New Bedford Voc-Tech as part of the first freshman class to attend the Ashley Blvd campus. In 2021, he walked out those very same doors having graduated from high school and then spending his 35-year professional career in this building, retiring as Superintendent Director.
Throughout it all, O’Brien was at the forefront of career vocational technical education, developing and implementing innovative and unique educational programs designed to advance the academic and technical skills of future artisans in one of Massachusetts “gateway” communities that has long faced difficult social and economic challenges.
O’Brien was a successful student-athlete and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1997. Over the course of his career, he spent time as a classroom teacher, coach, adult education director, and assistant principal/dean of student affairs before being appointed Superintendent/Director GNBVT in 2015 and reappointed in 2018. Under Jim’s leadership, the school’s core values – Preparation. Passion and Perseverance were developed.
Today, O’Brien is enjoying semi-retirement, working as a consultant to organizations that work in the education industry.
CAREER ACHIEVEMENT
Phil Oliveira (Class of 1981)
Oliveira was a member of the first class that spent their four years at GNBVT in the Ashley Blvd campus. During his time at GNBVT, Oliveira was heavily involved in the school’s VICA Program, serving as President in 1980. Oliveira made his way to Bristol Community College. He earned his Associate Degree in Electromechanical Engineering Technology in 1983. He also earned a Bachelor’s Program in Business from Lesley’s College.
In 1999, Oliveira started an 18-year career at EMC Corp. In 2017, he started his current role as Vice President of Supply Chain Strategy & Logistics at South Coast Health.
Oliveira has always been devoted to his community. He has served in many roles for many organizations such a School Committee Member for Freetown Lakeville School District, a Board Member for PACE, New Bedford Port Society and Friendly Sons of St. Patrick. He has also served as 2nd Vice President of Seamen’s Bethel. Oliveira has been happily married to his wife, Olivia, for 39 years and has two children, Stephen and Rebecca.
SPECIAL RECOGNITION
Anne Richard (1990-2024)
In the ever-changing world of high school athletics, Richard has been the only consistent in the GNB Voc-Tech athletic department for over 20 years. Her vibrant personality and multifaceted skill set have made her an irreplaceable cornerstone for GNBVT athletics. Since 2005, Richard has served as administrative assistant to the athletic director and coordinator of physical education & health to three different athletic directors — Lenny Sylvia, Rob Pimental and Ryan Methia.
Richard goes well beyond her responsibilities that are in her job description. Richard has done everything from bringing clothes in for athletes, sewing ripped uniforms, giving athletes snacks and enthusiastically supporting the school's teams at games. Richard has also played the role of ticket seller, concession attendant, security official and many others at Voc-Tech home games throughout the years.
Richard graduated from N.B. Vocational H.S. in 1977 (the last graduating class from the Hillman St. Campus). Two of her three sons graduated from the school, four of her five grandsons have attended the GNBVT Preschool Program with the fifth one attending next year. Richard will be retiring at the end of the 2023-24 school year after a 34-year career.
This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: 2023 Hall of Fame class for Greater New Bedford vocational technical
