Ligonier Valley graduates 126 students

The Ligonier Valley class of 2015 is outgoing and ambitious, according to student Luke Smetak.

“Everyone here has different personalities, but we all reach for the same goal,” Smetak, 18, said.

Smetak was among many students excitedly crowding into the high school auditorium last week, anxiously awaiting their symbolic walk across the stage.

The Ligonier Valley School District held its graduation ceremony June 5, marking the end of another school year and the beginning of a new chapter for 126 students.

“I feel amazing,” Smetak said. “I‘ve been working my whole life for this, and it's finally here.”

The ceremony was held inside the high school auditorium as a threat of inclement weather loomed over the day. Nearly every seat was filled as the ceremony started at 6 p.m.

Allison Diana Fox sang “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Samuel Maust, class president, welcomed his classmates and their friends and family.

“Four years ago we were young kids with only the loosest idea of what it meant to be an adult,” Maust said. “But now, with four years of our lives behind us, we are prepared to take our next steps into this vast and fully chaotic world, and we have all of you to thank for that, because, quite honestly, saying, ‘We made it,' doesn't seem to do justice to what we have all just been through.”

Maust's speech focused on fear and desire, as he urged his classmates to have a desire to succeed in life, follow their dreams and dismiss the fear of failure.

“Do not fear following your desires and dreams because you can see the potential of failure along the way,” he said. “You've all heard I'm sure that Thomas Edison failed over 2,000 times to create the common incandescent light bulb. When he was asked, however, he responded that he did not fail. He simply found 2,000 ways to not make a light bulb.”

Maust's academic honors include National Honor Society, of which he was treasurer, and German National Honor Society, of which he was vice president. He served as co-president of student council and president of the Alliance of Student Athletes. He participated in swim team, track and field, PrimeTime and Christ Happening in Lives. He also plays piano.

He received the Bausch and Lomb Science Award, the 2014 and 2015 Trib Total Media Outstanding Youth Citizen Award, the Judge Driscoll Scholar Athlete Award, Blairsville Dispatch student of the year and the Western Pennsylvania Golf Association Scholarship. The son of Michael and Melissa Maust, he will attend Penn State University, majoring in molecular biology and biochemistry, after which he will go on to medical school.

A senior ensemble sang “On Top of the World” by Imagine Dragons.

Salutatorian Zoe Bergman called her classmates “a mosaic of various talents academically, athletically and artistically.”

“Every one of us graduating possesses unique gifts,” she said. “Without those gifts, abilities and talents, we would not be receiving our high school diplomas.”

She told students she hopes that “we write ourselves a great life story” through the choices they make in life.

“Write well,” she said. “Edit often, and don't let anyone else hold the pen.”

Bergman's academic honors include National Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, National Art Honor Society, Distinguished Honor Roll, Academic Student of the Month, Rotary Club Student of the Month, Blairsville Dispatch student of the year, Social Studies Outstanding Student Award and Air Force Junior ROTC Outstanding Student Award. She served as class secretary, vice president of student council and ski club president. She was a four-year letterman and captain on the track and field team and three-year letterman on the soccer team. She was a peer mentor and participated in the Alliance of Student Athletes, One Road, Current Events Team and Valley Youth Network Leadership and Mission Trip Team. She received the Krichbaum-Bossart Scholarship. The daughter of Aron and Misty Bergman, she will attend Kenyon College as a pre-medical student majoring in international studies. She plans to volunteer with the Peace Corps after college and then continue her education to become a pediatric surgeon.

Salutatorian Emily Bucklen touted the educational opportunities offered at Ligonier Valley, like the Youth in Business program, and she emphasized the value of teamwork. She told her classmates to live their lives with integrity and “don't allow others to change your purpose.”

“Ellen DeGeneres once said, ‘Follow your passion, stay true to yourself. Never follow someone else's path, unless you're in the woods, and you're lost, and you see a path. By all means, you should follow that,'” she said, as the audience laughed.

Bucklen's academic honors include National Honor Society, Rotary Student of the Month and Citizenship Student of the Month. She participated in soccer, track, Air Force Junior ROTC and quiz team. The daughter of Lorrie and Todd Bucklen, she will attend the University of Pittsburgh to major in Russian.

Salutatorian Nicole Cramer spoke highly of her classmates, highlighting some of the lessons she learned from them, like learning that school shouldn't be very stressful.

“My classmates have also motivated me more than anyone else,” she said. “Whether it was through encouragement or in competition, without them, I could never have achieved what I did.”

Cramer's academic honors include Rotary Student of the Month. She participated in soccer, track and field, dance, school musicals, One Road, Alliance of Student Athletes and Christ Happening in Lives. She was Athletic Student of the Month and Most Valuable Player of the soccer team. She is a member of the United Methodist Church of New Florence. She received the Ligonier Business Professional Women Scholarship and New Florence VFW Scholarship. The daughter of Diane Cramer, she will attend Pennsylvania State University to major in hospitality management.

Valedictorian Christopher Huber, a self-proclaimed history buff, gave a timeline of significant moments in U.S. history, adding the class of 2015's milestone.

“These historical events have their differences,” he said. “Some are positive and beneficial, and others produce pain and destruction, but there is one undeniable factor that unites them all, and that is change. The change that they cause is what makes them a part of history.”

He told students to examine how moments in life change them, hold onto their beliefs and keep their “eyes and mind open for change because opportunities will surely come.”

“These opportunities for change are what scientists, inventors, politicians, teachers and all people take advantage of,” he said. “Having an opportunity is the first step to making a timeline and leaving a mark.”

Huber's academic honors include National Honor Society, of which he was president, Spanish National Honor Society, Distinguished Honor Roll and Lions Club Student of the Month. He served as president of the One Road Club and participated in the Alliance of Student Athletes, Valley Youth Network, PrimeTime and Air Force Junior ROTC. He was a four-year letterman and two-year captain of the soccer team and a four-year letterman and one-year captain on the track team. He was Athletic Student of the Month. He received a four-year Army ROTC scholarship and Madison Achievement Scholarship. The son of Brian and Kathleen Huber, he will attend James Madison University, majoring in international affairs and participating in Army ROTC.

Principal Tim Kantor encouraged students to find their passion, while Superintendent Dr. Christine Oldham urged them to create hope.

Oldham presented several scholarships. Rebecca Kromel received the $3,000 Abigail Noble Scholarship. Taylor Ankney, Emily Bucklen, Nicole Cramer, Samuel Maust and Madison McLaughlin received $4,000 Thoburn Foundation scholarships.

In addition to receiving their high school diplomas, Zachary Andrew Homyak, Renee Marie Kisic and Abigail Rose Pelger earned associate's degrees from Penn Highlands Community College.

As excited, emotional students and families gathered outside to share their joy, a storm moved into the area. Still, students snapped photographs with each other to mark their triumphant day before rain began to fall.

Nicole Chynoweth is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 724-850-2862 or nchynoweth@tribweb.com.