MOUNT VERNON — Sunny skies and cooling breezes graced Yellow Jacket Stadium for the 148th annual commencement of the Mount Vernon High School on Sunday, as 314 seniors received their diplomas in a celebration of excellence in education.
High School Principal Kathy Kasler welcomed friends and family to the ceremonies, and said the students decked out in robes and mortarboards were “truly a special class, who became the leaders we knew they could be.”
“They excelled in academics, athletics and the arts,” she said.
At the request of the senior class, Kasler and the audience recognized all military veterans in the audience, those serving in the armed forces, and family members of those unable to attend the commencement activities. She also acknowledged and applauded the graduating seniors who have joined the service.
Following an invocation by senior Caleb McCoy, senior members of the high school choir performed “Corner of the Sky,” expressing their class’s desire to “be something more” and to “be where my spirit says I’m free.”
Kristen Maiorino, senior class president, next presented the class of 2008 gift to the school, a plaque for the school entrance saying, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Maiorino also wished her classmates luck and said, “I know you will be successful.”
In accepting the gift, Superintendent Steve Short expressed his congratulations to the class and praised the seniors for being great role models for the underclassmen.
Student speaker Kelsey Payne told her classmates that “our birth date and death date do not define us.”
“... People will remember us for the accomplishments of our lives,” she said.
Payne then reminisced about the different chapters in their lives, from kindergarten though high school. Kindergarten times were “the golden days,” she said, while in middle school the girls discovered that “boys really don’t have cooties.”
“Our time here at Mount Vernon High School has taught us to take advantage of our days,” Payne said. “In the words of Mr. Arnold, ‘You may now commence to begin.’”
Lauren Harvey, the next student speaker, compared the undergraduate educational experience to the county fair. Elementary school, she said, was like Kiddieland, where everything was safe. Middle school was like the
Ferris wheel, with ups and downs, and sometimes like the Scrambler. High school sometimes, Harvey said, especially in the halls and parking lot, was like the Monday night demolition derby at the fair. The wide variety of clubs and organizations available to the students she likened to fair food; there was something for everyone. Sale day, Harvey said with a grin, is graduation day, where everyone is having parties and hoping for money.
“Today we have 314 grand champions,” Harvey said. “We have reached the main event. ... We will now move on to the state fair. ... We did it.”
“Welcome to the day some of us thought would never come,” began final student speaker Matt Chacey. “We have walked a path together, some with detours and some with obstacles. Together we have conquered high school, the first leg in life’s journey. ...”
Chacey said the paths ahead may be rough, but encouraged his fellow graduates to “Release your dreams from your soul. Live out your dreams.”
“Now is our time to look to the stars,” Chacey continued, “to change the world for the better. ... Good luck on your journey to come and every day after.”
As he prepared to read the class roll call for the presentation of diplomas, Assistant Principal Sam Shuman said, “This has been a wonderful class. I love them as if they were my own.”
Following the distribution of diplomas by members of the school board, senior class officers Maiorino, James Stuart, Gregory Brenneman, Hanna Cullers and Sarah Freshwater led their fellow graduates in the ritual turning of the tassels, signifying the transition from student to alumni.
