WEEDSPORT - They marched into the Weedsport Junior/Senior High School Friday night as students - and walked out as graduates.
Following school tradition, the seniors marched in accompanied by bagpipes.
After an invocation by the Rev. Valerie White, Superintendent Shaun O'Connor welcomed everyone, asking various groups - students, faculty, family and friends - to applaud each other.
O'Connor read a passage from “Season of LIfe,” by Jeffrey Marx, called “Going On.”
“You know, you don't go away,” he read. “I don't like the word ‘go.' You don't go, you're sent.”
He stressed community and connectivity, which characterizes Weedsport.
“You are not going away; you are being sent,” he said. “Always champion integrity and empathy.”
Class president Sharra Brentlinger spoke of diverse talents and career choices among her peers.
“Knowing how to work well with others has helped us shape each others' personalities,” she said.
Valedictorian Zachary Field recalled knowing what he wanted to be in eighth grade - an architect or an orthodontist - but he changed his mind a few times during high school years. Responsibilities increased with sports practice and a part-time job.
Thinking about college, Field settled on engineering as his life's work.
He will study mechanical engineering at Rochester Institute of Technology, hoping to earn a bachelor's and master's degree in four years. This gives him the option to work for government or in the automotive industry, he said.
Salutatorian James Hickel added some humor as he repeated the old high school question, “When are we ever gonna use this?” He said, “Now is the time when we finally find out how we will use everything we have learned.”
“Once we get out of college, the world is ours,” he said. “Our brains will be full of knowledge and our wallets will be empty.”
He told graduates to get a job based on the $100,000 spent on learning, then do what they want. He saw himself skydiving, driving a dragster, and being a pilot, even sailing in the middle of the Bering Sea on a gigantic crab boat.
His little saying, “If you live like there's no tomorrow, there won't be,” cautioned his classmates to remember the past, live for today, and prepare for tomorrow.
Hickel will study aerospace engineering at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla. He said he's always been amazed by flying things and would like to get his pilot's license, as well.
Board of education president Allan Breese and principal Brett Fingland presented honors and awards. Michael Reese walked away with the largest scholarship, $5,000, given by the New York State Lottery.
Staff writer Kathleen Barran can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 238 or kathleen.barran@lee.net
After an invocation by the Rev. Valerie White, Superintendent Shaun O'Connor welcomed everyone, asking various groups - students, faculty, family and friends - to applaud each other.
O'Connor read a passage from “Season of LIfe,” by Jeffrey Marx, called “Going On.”
“You know, you don't go away,” he read. “I don't like the word ‘go.' You don't go, you're sent.”
He stressed community and connectivity, which characterizes Weedsport.
“You are not going away; you are being sent,” he said. “Always champion integrity and empathy.”
Class president Sharra Brentlinger spoke of diverse talents and career choices among her peers.
“Knowing how to work well with others has helped us shape each others' personalities,” she said.
Valedictorian Zachary Field recalled knowing what he wanted to be in eighth grade - an architect or an orthodontist - but he changed his mind a few times during high school years. Responsibilities increased with sports practice and a part-time job.
Thinking about college, Field settled on engineering as his life's work.
He will study mechanical engineering at Rochester Institute of Technology, hoping to earn a bachelor's and master's degree in four years. This gives him the option to work for government or in the automotive industry, he said.
Salutatorian James Hickel added some humor as he repeated the old high school question, “When are we ever gonna use this?” He said, “Now is the time when we finally find out how we will use everything we have learned.”
“Once we get out of college, the world is ours,” he said. “Our brains will be full of knowledge and our wallets will be empty.”
He told graduates to get a job based on the $100,000 spent on learning, then do what they want. He saw himself skydiving, driving a dragster, and being a pilot, even sailing in the middle of the Bering Sea on a gigantic crab boat.
His little saying, “If you live like there's no tomorrow, there won't be,” cautioned his classmates to remember the past, live for today, and prepare for tomorrow.
Hickel will study aerospace engineering at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla. He said he's always been amazed by flying things and would like to get his pilot's license, as well.
Board of education president Allan Breese and principal Brett Fingland presented honors and awards. Michael Reese walked away with the largest scholarship, $5,000, given by the New York State Lottery.
Staff writer Kathleen Barran can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 238 or kathleen.barran@lee.net
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