Springfield class boasts 6 valedictorians

By Don Shilling

Do the right thing and be passionate, a commencement speaker advised.

NEW MIDDLETOWN — With diploma in hand, Zachary Culler already was thinking of what he would miss about Springfield Local High School.

“I’ll miss hearing the bell in the morning,” he said Sunday after he and 87 other seniors were graduated at the high school football stadium.

He said he knew the bell itself wasn’t important, but it was one of the many small things that he had been thinking about all day.

“I know I’ll never do any of them again,” said Culler, one of school’s six valedictorians. He is headed to Kent State University to study journalism.

Standing next to him, Kayla Ohlin also talked about the end of an era for her.

“I’m done, and I get to move on and do bigger things. This has been my life for 18 years now, but it all will be different now,” said Ohlin, who intends to study business and political science at Thiel College.

Their commencement speaker had words of wisdom for the graduates.

But first, Daniel Simcox told the crowd he was happy that he could make up for something that happened 35 years ago.

The retired principal of the high school recalled his first year of teaching. With 10 minutes to go on the last day of the school year, a student made a statement.

“You have to give us some advice on what we need to know,” she said.

Simcox said he thought he had done an outstanding job of blending his government lessons with life lessons all year long.

“I was stunned,” he said.

He was so stunned that he hardly said anything to the girl.

“That’s bothered me for 35 years. I’ve often thought of what I should have said,” he said.

He had his chance at the football stadium Sunday. It was clear from their reaction that many of the graduating seniors felt a connection to Simcox, who agreed to teach a half-year of social studies this year as a substitute.

This year’s school yearbook labels him as the best and most inspirational teacher.

Simcox first turned his inspiration to the parents.

Most parents have a mixture of emotions on graduation day, he said. They are proud of the children but part of them wants to hold onto them and protect them, he said.

“Trust that you’ve done enough for your children to let them go. They know where you are,” he said.

For the graduates, he encouraged them to do the right thing in any tough situation.

“Make it your ultimate goal at the end of your life to say, ‘I regret nothing, and I wouldn’t change a thing,’” he said.

He also suggested the graduates find a mission that makes the world a better place. It doesn’t have to be solving global warming or creating world peace, he said. It can be simply trying to make someone feel better about themselves.

“A good place to start is being a loving person,” he said.

And lastly, he advised the graduates to find something that they can do with passion.

“Too many people out there lead lukewarm lives,” he said.

shilling@vindy.com

Springfield Local Class of 2009

Graduates: 88

Valedictorians: Victoria Climo, Brittany Crowe, Zachary Culler, Breanne Mincher, Megan Molnar and Joseph Musial.

Color: Orange and black.

Song: “Time of Your Life” by Green Day.

Motto: “Our lives are before us. Our pasts are behind us, but our memories are forever.” — Anonymous.