Hilltopper Highlights 2013 - Westmont Hilltop School District

Commencement 2013
Board President’s Tribute at Commencement 2013
Westmont Hilltop School Board President, Mrs. Diana
Schroeder, paid tribute to the Class of 2013 and to the
teachers retiring this year. Excerpts from that tribute are as
follows:
“There is a knowledge explosion occurring, and these
students are on the breaking wave of that knowledge.
It isn’t just about what you need to
know, but how you need to access the
information, use it, track it, measure
its outcomes, and correct for errors.
How do you critically employ learned
information in a useful, relevant fashion
to the problem before you? No small
challenge to students and perhaps an
even greater challenge to their educators.
We are fortunate to have a teaching
staff that is well up to the challenge
and an administrative team that works
diligently to keep up with the increasing
demands of education. This year we
will have 11 teachers retire after providing
excellent service to our students and our community.
Collectively, these 11 teachers have provided 342 years of
educational service to our students. It is only appropriate
that we recognize those teachers for their dedication to our
district and our students. They are: Mrs. Mary Jane Bassi,
Mr. David Benford, Mrs. Deborah Donahue, Ms. Elizabeth
Good, Mrs. Barbara Miltenberger, Mrs. Denise Roberts, Mrs.
Diane Rugh, Mrs. Gloria LaMonica, Mrs. Joselle Skelley, Mrs.
Kristen Santos, and Mrs. Diane Skoner.
In 2013, there are 129 graduating seniors. The majority
of them are planning to attend college after graduation
(83% to be exact), approximately 5% are entering the
military, with one attending the United States Naval Academy
and another to the United States Merchant Marine
Academy. Others will join the workforce. Collectively, future
plans include 52 different institutions and those institutions
represent 12 states other than Pennsylvania. We have three
graduates attending Ivy League schools.
Their senior projects have included a wide range of
activities, such as helping autistic students during an afterschool
program at ACRP, coaching elementary soccer teams,
mentoring at-risk young students at Outdoor Odyssey,
tutoring underclassmen during tutorial period, building and
painting baseball dugouts, and painting murals, walking
animals, cleaning and doing clerical work at the Humane
Society.
This group of seniors has contributed 3,225 hours of
service to their school and community this year. That means
that they spent 403 8-hour work days doing positive things for
our community. Academics are what “education” is about, but
service to others is what builds communities and makes a life
worth living. Senior Class of 2013, we are proud of all you have
done for us and we thank you for your extensive efforts.
As we continue to reflect the overall impact of this
2 “Commencement 2013”
“
T here is a knowledge
explosion occurring, and
these students are on the
breaking wave of that
knowledge. ”
class on their school, they will be a hard act to follow. Two
students were recognized as National Merit Commended
Students for their high performance on the PSAT exam.
The Scholastic Quiz team captured the Central Western
Scholastic Quiz League championship for the 7th time in 11
years. And let’s not forget athletics. We won LHAC championships
in Boys’ and Girls’ Tennis and
Boys’ and Girls’ Cross Country (and the
LHAC All Sports Trophy). There were
other memorable moments that speak
to the quality of our athletes including
the Blue Out for cancer research by the
Volleyball team and participation in the
re-make of All the Right Moves against
Johnstown High School, which was covered
nationally by the Associated Press.
Several graduates will be continuing
their athletic careers into college.
Thank you, parents, grandparents,
teachers, neighbors, and friends of these
graduates as they reflect your dedication
and hard work at raising exemplary young adults. After
hearing all of these accomplishments placed into a nutshell,
it is clear that you did a great job! And to the students, I
cannot resist quoting Dr. Seuss: ‘You have brains in your
head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself
in any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you
know what you know. You are the guy who’ll decide where
to go.’ Good luck to all of you as you go forth into your next
beginnings.”
Graduation Keynote Speaker
Mr. Corey Glass, a fellow alumnus of Westmont
Hilltop, was the Keynote speaker for Commencement
2013. A graduate of the Class of 2003, Mr. Glass was a
4-year starter on the school’s ice hockey team and
during his senior year, the team won the Penguin Cup
and was a state finalist. Following graduation from
Westmont Hilltop, Corey earned a B.A. from Franklin
and Marshall and a B.S. in Engineering Management
from Washington University in St. Louis. Subsequently,
Corey worked in Houston, Texas, and held a variety
of responsibilities until the fall of 2011, when Corey
returned to Washington University to earn his Master
of Business Administration, which he completed just a
few weeks before his Keynote Address. Corey will now
return to Houston as a consultant in a management
consulting firm focused on the energy and utilities
industries.
On behalf of the Class of 2013, thanks are extended to
you, Mr. Glass, for the time you dedicated to your fellow
alumni and for your inspiring message and presence.