'Journey completed'
North Penn awards 975 diplomas in ceremony
TOWAMENCIN - North Penn High School’s Crawford Stadium was fifilled on
Wednesday night as 975 members of the Class of 2014 received their diplomas. “You’ve completed the journey that began in September 2001,” said NPHS Principal Burton Hynes. “This is the best day of your life.”
Hynes congratulated the graduates for all of their accomplishments, ranging from national academic competitions to athletics state cham- pionships. In the past few years, North Penn has been nationally recognized as one of the best schools in the state by The Washington Post and U.S. News & World Report, he said, rankings made possible by the Class of 2014.
Valedictorian Samuel Curlee reminded his class- mates to take a minute and recognize this important moment in their lives. “It can be very diffificult to impress yourself,” he said. The members of the Class of 2014 have post-graduation goals, and it’s easy to look at graduation as
merely a step on the way to greater things.
“We must be careful not to overlook the past and the present while chasing the future,” Curlee said. “High school graduation is ultimately meant to be a step, not a destination, but that doesn’t mean this step isn’t meaningful.” He is headed to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute next year to study mathematics.
Next to speak was class salutatorian Amanda Kloth, who will be attending Cairn University in the fall as an English major. She spoke about the lessons that we can learn from elephants. For example, elephants are very strong creatures, but it takes only a small rope tied to its ankle to keep an elephant from escaping, Kloth said. The elephant wasn’t strong enough to break away from the rope when it was smaller, and so it doesn’t even bother to try to break away now.
People, too, are often held back by invisible strings or past failures, Kloth said. As they move on from high school, she challenged her classmates to step out of their comfort zones. “Now is the time to take calculated risks, to learn new skills, to dip our toes in new waters,” she said. “Don’t be afraid to fail.”
The final student speaker was Isabelle Torhus, who has been president of the Class of 2014 for the past three years. She spoke about all of the memories she has made during her years at North Penn. “Although there may be some memories I regret, there were many, many more memo- ries I will treasure,” she said. No matter where the Class of 2014 ends up, they will always have their time at NPHS.
North Penn School Board President Vincent Sherpinsky challenged the graduates to do three things after they leave NPHS, the first of which was to become leaders. “Your teachers have helped you … to become global citizens,” he said. “To make a difference, you must be involved.”
Secondly, he challenged the graduates to invest in themselves, which he called “the only true path that will guarantee success.”
His third challenge to the students was to never forget where they came from. “You will always be a part of North Penn,” Sherpinsky said, “and North Penn will always be a part of you.”