A Journey of Gratitude

by Bridget Steele Assistant Director of Charities

It’s been close to three decades since Sebastian Napolitano first set foot in the Newton Masonic Building in Newtonville, Massachusetts.

He had been having problems in school for some time, and after attending several appointments, he was diagnosed with dyslexia. “I don’t remember much, but what I do remember was just a struggle. Being dyslexic and going through school was very difficult,” he recalled. During one of these appointments, his family was introduced to a brandnew tutoring program through Massachusetts General Hospital.

“It was just starting. One of the clinicians there told us about it, and that’s how we got the connection,” his father Stephen said.

Sebastian was just nine years old when he began attending the Center. “Obviously, the program has evolved since then, but the tutors were very compassionate. They strived to help you to keep moving forward and never give up. That philosophy still holds true today,” he said.

Stephen called the program “Godsent” and said that from the time Sebastian began attending the Center, the changes were evident in his son. Besides improved progress reports, he gained confidence and began to believe that he could accomplish anything if he worked hard enough. He went on to be one of the first graduates of the very first Children’s Dyslexia Center in 1995.

Sebastian and his family’s involvement at the Newton Masonic Building didn’t stop when he completed his tutoring at the Center. While attending a Christmas party there, his father was introduced to members of Dalhousie Lodge which was also housed in the building. After asking some questions about Freemasonry, he decided to join the Fraternity.

Left to Right: Greater Boston Center Director Linda Pinaud, Sebastian, his mother Rose Napolitano, and his brother Stephen in the early days of the Center. Linda Pinaud continues to serve as the Center’s Director more than 25 years later.

“The Center was how I found Freemasonry,” Stephen said. “It was a wonderful thing that I did find Freemasonry, as it has made me a better man—it really has made me a better man.”

Sebastian and his family’s involvement at the Newton Masonic Building didn’t stop when he completed his tutoring at the Center.

Sebastian also remained connected to the building, volunteering at lodge events with his father. “I remember thinking, ‘maybe this is one way to give back and to pay it forward for what was given to me,’” he said. While volunteering at one of these events, he was approached about joining the Fraternity. “I still remember vividly sitting down at a blood drive with a Brother at Dalhousie, Bernie Goulding, who gave me my application. I filled it out, and the rest is history. It’s going back almost 13 years that I’ve been involved.”

Since joining Freemasonry, Sebastian especially enjoys participating in ritual and has become skilled at reading his Masonic cipher book. “It’s not easy to read. So for someone with my background, being able to read it and then being able to memorize it shocks some people,” he said.

“It's unbelievable the way he understands the cipher and reads the cipher when he had such a struggle with reading itself. To see him now at different lodge meetings, the way he can read it, understand it, memorize it, and just go right through all kinds of floor work. It blows my mind the way he can do it, and he can do it better than I can. I go to him for help sometimes just to better understand it,” his father said.

Sebastian was one of the first graduates of the first Children’s Dyslexia Center in Newtonville, MA. Here he is in one of the program’s early brochures.

Sebastian also appreciates the camaraderie he has experienced through the Fraternity. “The Brothers that I meet that I never would have met if I hadn’t joined Freemasonry: that’s what keeps me involved—that Brotherhood, that fellowship,” he said. Since joining in 2008, he has made his way through the officer line and has served as Worshipful Master of Dalhousie Lodge for two consecutive terms.

The family has also remained heavily involved with the work of the Greater Boston Center. Both Sebastian and Stephen are members of the Center’s Board of Governors and have volunteered at many fundraising events over the years to help ensure the program’s important work continues.

Sebastian’s father Stephen Napolitano (left) and Sebastian recently took part in a video shoot promoting the Children’s Dyslexia Centers.

Since attending the Center, Sebastian went on to graduate from college, and today he works as an electrical designer. Stephen said that he and his wife, Rose, are so proud of how far their son has come and will always be grateful for the help he received at the Greater Boston Center so many years ago. “Rose really holds the Center in her heart as a savior for our son. He has succeeded, where without the Center, he would not have been successful. He has done extremely well in trying to give back not only to the Center but to the lodge and the Masons. It’s been a long road, but it’s been a fulfilling road for us, very fulfilling.”

Sebastian joined Scottish Rite in 2018 and is thankful for the Scottish Rite Masons who founded the Children’s Dyslexia Centers and continue to serve as major backers of the program. It’s not lost on him that he has come full circle since his first experience with Freemasonry. “It’s important to keep paying it forward, because it’s a never-ending journey,” he said. “I was that child so long ago. If I wasn’t given the tools to become who I am today, to sit in the east of my lodge, to run my lodge for two consecutive years - I wouldn’t be the person I am today if it wasn’t for the Center.”

Left to Right: Greater Boston Center Director Linda Pinaud, Sebastian, his mother Rose Napolitano, and his brother Stephen in the early days of the Center. Linda Pinaud continues to serve as the Center’s Director more than 25 years later.