York High School Valedictorian Kayla Peard leaves the stage after delivering her commencement speech with the silver bowl she received as this year's Grant Award winner.
Photo by Tori Rasche
Courtney Hodurski and Alex and Michael Hymanson wait to be seated after receiving their diplomas during York High School's 2008 Commencement. Valedictorian Kayla Peard spoke of the Hymanson twins and their early years in the York Schools during her valedictory address.
Photo by Tori Rasche
Erin McGarry and Jocelyn Reppucci await the beginning of the 2008 commencement ceremonies at York High School on June 12.
Photo by Tori Rasche
YORK - It could not have been a more perfect evening for the 168 members of York High School's Class of 2008 to turn the first page of the brand new chapter in their stories.
On June 12, the graduates and their families and friends flocked to the York High School football field for a ceremony to honor four years of hard work and dedication, and to celebrate the next step for these future athletes, scholars, business people, performers, musicians and leaders.
On a cloudless summer's evening, graduating senior Sarah Loeffler began the ceremony with a clear and pure singing of the national anthem. Loeffler, the recipient of multiple awards for good citizenship and leadership, was a fitting representative to put the Class of 2008 on their way.
Salutatorian Katherine Rasche followed with words of encouragement and thanks, telling her fellow graduates, "The path to get here has not always been smooth, but through it all we've demonstrated to ourselves and our peers, that we're capable of great things, that whatever trials the future may hold, we'll press forward, and that, as we've shown over the past for years at YHS, we plan to do so with character, style and more determination than I think is possible to recognize."
In addition to honoring each and every graduate, the ceremony also featured a long list of scholarship awards - some honoring beloved members of the York community who have passed on, others provided by service organizations, clubs and businesses. In total, about 40 scholarships and awards were presented at the commencement exercises.
Valedictorian Kayla Peard was among those who addressed the crowd, speaking of the importance of the phrase "be yourself."
Sometimes, she said, being an individual is not easy.
"It means we have to stand out and be unique despite what others say. We don't conform to the set image that society provides of a person; we are forging our own path," Peard said. "To stand up under that pressure takes real determination. Those people who do so are the ones we should aspire to be."
Rasche urged her fellow graduates not to forget those who have given guidance, help and inspiration during the journey from childhood to adulthood.
"Life's lessons are not confined to the classroom but can be found where we choose to look for them, and where would we be without someone to show us where to look? We are grateful for the unwavering support that we've received in the past four years from the YHS faculty and staff, and from our family and friends," she said. "You have paved the way and provided a strong foundation for us to push off of. And now it's with this basis of knowledge you have given us that we move on in our lives."
Peard, too, described just a few of the many teachers and classes - from Village Elementary School to Coastal Ridge, from York Middle School to York High School - that have shaped the path of the Class of 2008.
"Without the opportunity to experience a little bit of everything, some of us sitting here might not have been able to find our passion," she said. "Those chances to try new things have opened doors for us into new areas of study that we could never have imagined we would enjoy. We are all now traveling off into a greater area of change. Some of us will be going to colleges to further our education, others into the armed forces and still others will be going right into the world of work. Each of these paths will lead us toward our future career, and we must follow that path that is right for us."
She urged her classmates to remember the opportunities they have had to grow as individuals during their years at York High School.
"Remember this one idea: by being true to ourselves, we have accomplished the greatest thing we could ever accomplish," Peard said.
Or, as Rasche put it, "It's time for the Class of 2008 to go out into the world, to make a name for ourselves, to learn and to grow, and to go exploring, because the greatest of life's lessons are still waiting to be found."
