Inclement weather doesn't dampen BEA grads' spirits
By Ed Mahon
- emahon@centredaily.comSchool: Bald Eagle Area High School.
Craig Houtz
Bald Eagle Area High School choral members sing selections during commencement on Thursday, June 11, 2009.
The ceremony: 7 p.m. Thursday at Alumni Stadium.
Number of graduates: 168.
Weather: Despite the gray clouds and rain earlier on Thursday, school officials decided keep the ceremony outdoors. “Thus far it looks like the window may last until the graduation is complete,” Superintendent Dan Fisher told the audience minutes before the ceremony started. “So let’s pray for that.”
Close calls: The first rain showers began as the students were processing onto the football field, but stopped after the class president’s speech. However, later in the ceremony, with about 50 names to go in the presentation of diplomas, the rain returned in a torrent. Students finished the ceremony outside, but they and their parents rushed indoors for pictures.
How audience members stayed dry: Blankets, trash bags and umbrellas. Some took shelter under concession stands.
How the graduates stayed dry: “Didn’t,” said Kyle Spotts. “It’s all right. We’re graduating. So it can’t dampen our spirits.”
Colors: The grads wore navy blue, with navy blue and gold tassels.
What the valedictorian said: “We haven’t walked alone,” said Danielle Reese who thanked her two sisters, parents and the teachers who helped her and her classmates understand calculus “or what Shakespeare must have meant.”
Biblical reference: Reese refereed to a passage from the book of Jeremiah, which says, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”
What the salutatorian said: Dominic Lacivita Jr. praised the camaraderie in his class. “Everyone seems to mesh together in an indescribable form of awesomeness.”
Loudest Applause: Audience members sounded cowbells and air horns after students received diplomas. But the winner is probably the superintendent’s shoutout to the girl’s softball team, which will compete in the state championship today. “We are hoping for just one more breathless moment. ...Go, Eagles,” Fisher said.
Cap toss: It happened after all the students received their diplomas. Students also threw confetti and a beach ball.
What students will remember most about Bald Eagle:
“Just all my friends,” said John Dreese, who will be studying mechanical engineering at Gannon University in the fall. That, he said, and the rain. “That’s the fun of it,” said Lisa Veneziano, who will be studying social work at Lock Haven University in the fall.
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