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Class of 2011 sets standard for success
(by Sue Hoffman - June 08, 2011)
Class of 2011 sets standard for success
By SUE HOFFMAN
The class of 2011 sets a standard of success for the classes that follow, graduating senior Sonia Godbole said at last week's commencement.
"In high school, each person struggled to find his or her niche and then flourished within it," she said. "Athletic teams, academic clubs, the Courier, Music in Motion, the art show -- in every aspect we have excelled. We've set state records and won grand championships and have national competitors and award winners."
Ms. Godbole, who was on the Science Olympiad team that won the national championship last month, was one of two speakers at graduation, which took place June 2 at the State Theatre in Cleveland.
A total of 471 students graduated. School board member Roger Goudy presented diplomas, and Principal Erin Short discussed the many achievements of the class of 2011 in academics, the arts and athletics.
Aliza Weiss, who was president of the Friendship Circle, a volunteer group helping people with special needs, was the other student speaker. Along with shared memories, her focus was on individual global positioning systems which steer them in making choices in life's journey.
"As we grow and flourish under our choices, we become more independent," she said. "At this point we develop our own routes, applying all that we have learned from family members and teachers."
Commencement speakers are chosen by audition, said Jane Langston, social studies teacher and senior class adviser. Any senior who is interested in auditioning can sign up, she said. The speech must be an original piece that's three to five minutes and speaks for the entire class. Students deliver their speech to a panel of administrators and faculty who volunteer to be judges. Those receiving the top two scores are selected as speakers.
Ms. Godbole, a National Merit Scholar who will major in neuroscience at Duke University, spoke about salient memories of the class of 2011.
"We remember 9/11, specifically how as third-graders, it occurred during both our picture day and Domino's day in the cafeteria. We remember the tornado, and how Parkside 'refugees' were forced to seek asylum in Roxbury, Lewis and Arthur Road. We remember, in fifth grade, meeting friends we never knew existed, people who lived in the same city, maybe even a few streets away, but to us had been on another side of the world."
Numerous individual and class achievements will be remembered from their high school years, said Ms. Godbole, who was vice president of mock trial and a member of the speech and debate team.
Ms. Weiss, a scholarship winner who will major in special education and school counseling at Michigan State University, discussed each person's GPS in navigating through school.
"Each of our personal GPS's represents our conscience. As children we entrust our choices to our parents and family, letting them determine our turns and paths. The command "start here" resonates in our minds and propels us through the infinite possibilities that high school provides."
As they grew, they began voicing their own opinions on streets to take in life's journey, she said. "Our personal GPS's adjust to the change and announce 'recalculating route,' providing a plethora of new options." High school represented "the pivotal and crucial point in our lives when we discover ourselves and begin to be the conductors of our present and the future."
Both speakers thanked their parents, teachers, guidance counselors and fellow classmates in helping them achieve.
"In the past, we have all had classmates and teachers who have helped us become who we are today, in the present, standing on this stage - people whose impact on our lives is undeniable," Ms. Godbole said. Therefore I think it is crucial that we thank these people today, so that they know how much we value them."
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