DIMOCK - At Elk Lake High School's commencement ceremony Saturday, there were frequent references to several tragedies that had colored the students' high school experience.
In ninth grade, classmate Miranda Larnerd died. In the past year, the McClain family lost a father and had a very serious car accident injuring several family members.
Salutatorian Ryan Wilson was sidelined from his final season on the basketball team after injuries from a soccer game. And just weeks ago, senior Will Bennett fell while removing decorations from the gymnasium rafters after the prom, sustaining multiple injuries that cut short his senior track season.
High school principal Dr. Kenneth Cuomo addressed Will personally in his speech Saturday, saying, "Will, the class is blessed by your being on stage today. All I can say is that God spared you for a reason."
Despite the brushes with tragedy and close calls, students tried to focus on the promise of the future.
Class president and track and cross country star Maria Trowbridge said, "Each one of us has dreams that we are chasing. And now it's time to chase them. It's time to live that crazy thing they call life."
Valedictorian Cathlene Farnelli said, "There may be some things we would like to forget about our time here ... but we have always tried to come together and help with each other's problems."
Ryan, the class salutatorian, reminded his classmates the most important thing to do at Saturday's ceremony was to thank everyone who had an impact on their lives.
"My parents taught me at a young age that no matter what, I could always do better," he said.
Also at Saturday's graduation, the principal acknowledged achievements of senior class members: Ricky Guiton, who came in fourth in the nation at a national forensics tournament; Frederick Hemann, who built furniture for families who lost their homes in Meshoppen during the flood; Brittany DeLancey, who has won national cheerleading titles despite Type 1 diabetes; Jesse Borosh, who has attained the rank of Eagle Scout; and Cathlene Farnelli, Elk Lake's first National Merit Scholarship finalist.
Contact the writer: pfarnelli@wcexaminer.com
Graduates are:
Daniel Addice. Pia Barrett, Morgan Bender, William Bennett, Melissa Bird, Parker Birtch, Jesse Borosh, Douglas Brooks, Zackary Canfield, Ayla Capwell, Amanda Carney, Melissa Copes, Paul Cron, Matthew Cuomo, Jared Curry, Daniel Daly, Brittany DeLancey, Cathlene Farnelli, Samantha Ferguson, Dakota Green, Richard Guiton, Frederick Hemann, Carly Herman, Katie Herring, Dylan Hitchcock, Desiree Hospodor, Cassandra Hunter, Ryan Jenks, Tracey Johnson, Nikki Kamarauskas, Jared Kirchner, Tabitha Kittle, Johnathan Krieg, Allison Krishak, Dustin Linaberry, Lacy Marbaker, Marshall McCarty, Meggan McClain, Cody Mowry, Shante Mowry, Katie Nye, Monica Oakes, Nicole O'Dell, Megan Oliver, Vanessa Otis, Zackery Patton, Adam Phillips, Rachel Pompey, Jessica Prevost, Cody Quick, Joshua Reed, Diana Root, Melvin Route Jr., Allexa Schneider, Jeremy Schwarztrauber, Amanda Silfee, Dylan Simmons, Kyleen Sisson, Alicia Smith, Abigail Spear, Aaron Stang, Danielle Sterner, Shae-Lynd Swingle, Taylor Traver, Maria Trowbridge, Ford VanWert, Erin Walker, Tevin Wallikas, Tiffany Walter, Lydia Watkins, Harold Wehler, Curtis Whitney, Ryan Wilson and Abigail Zdancewicz.
Valedictorian
CATHLENE FARNELLI
Parents: Martin and Patricia Farnelli
Activities: National Honor Society, prom steering, band, Sweet Adelines, swimming, chorus and Keystone Girl's State
Plans: Drexel University to major in engineering.
Salutatorian
RYAN WILSON
Parents: William and Loeda Wilson
Activities: National Honor Society, Future Business Leaders of America, student council, prom steering, basketball and soccer.
Plans: Attend Rochester Institute of Technology to pursue engineering