Words of ‘Wicked’ inspire Poland seniors

By SHELBY SCHROEDER

The high school’s faculty won praise for helping prepare the class for life after school.

About 3,000 friends and family members packed the bleachers of Poland Seminary High School’s toasty fieldhouse to share in the honor of graduation for the Class of 2008.

The ceremony Sunday was to congratulate 226 students for reaching a milestone, and to thank family and faculty for guiding the students along their paths.

Seven graduates huddled around microphones to treat the audience to the song “For Good,” a track from the Broadway play “Wicked.” The song spoke to the graduates’ loved ones with thankful lyrics such as, “So much of me is made of what I learned from you,” and “I have been changed for good.”

Valedictorian Kaitlin Seibert magnified the song’s theme in her speech, thanking those who spent the last four years preparing her for life after high school. She thanked her parents for late-night runs to Starbucks, the support of her friends, and the dedication of her instructors.

“I do believe I’ve changed for the better,” said Seibert of her high school career. She stood with other female graduates, all with flowing white gowns. Male graduates wore robes of navy blue.

Seibert said the school’s teachers were not shy about their portrayal of the real world, which she believes served students well.

“We know we have to get down on our hands and knees and do the dirty work to get what we want,” she said.

And with 90 percent of the graduating class going to college with more than $3 million in scholarships and grant money, school Superintendent Robert Zorn said he felt students were prepared. The group of graduates topped a former record for financial aid by nearly $1 million.

The principal, Vincent Procopio, introduced this year’s guest speaker, Thomas Cavalier. Cavalier is president & CEO of Butler Wick Corp., and his son and daughter graduated from Poland Seminary in the late 1990s. He said he’s familiar with the quality of education at the high school.

“I know the education they received here played a crucial role in their development and helped prepare them for their careers,” he said.

Applauding the students on their achievement, Cavalier said the number of college-bound graduates also “says volumes about the caliber of this school system and the people of this community.”

Switching back to the students, he said the graduates must now navigate life by their own ethical standards.

“Being responsible for ourselves and our actions means the buck stops with the person we see in the mirror each day,” he said. “The responsibility to provide a better world for those who come after you is a shared responsibility ... and it begins today.”

Seibert’s speech indicated the class was ready to navigate its own ways.

“You trained us to be people, and didn’t let our heads get lost in the crowd, Seibert said to the faculty.

Though they were advised to hold their applause until each member of the class was called, audience members wouldn’t contain their cheers for the graduates.

After singing the school’s alma mater, students threw their caps in the air and guests rushed to the floor for photos, hugs and excitedly shrill congratulations.

The class would soon be off to many different schools in different states. Zorn said Poland Seminary will launch students to every state in America with this graduating class.

Poland Seminary is a public high school that retained its original name from when it was originally a co-educational college in 1862. When it became part of the public school system in the early 1900s, the deed stipulated that the name Seminary “be forever continued,” according to school officials.