That's the spirit!
BUTLER TWP — As they concluded their high school years Wednesday night, several people remarked that the 525 members of the Golden Tornado Class of 2018 had an especially kind spirit.
“At Butler, people are nice,” said student speaker Camden Seybert, who moved to the district while in 10th grade. “As silly as it sounds to you, Butler is the best place we could have chosen to grow into the young adults we are today.”
Friends and family packed the bleachers at Art Bernardi Stadium on a cool night to celebrate the graduates moving on to the next chapter of their lives.
John Wyllie, Butler Senior High School principal, noted that this year's graduates were the first class in many years to go to the senior high building as sophomores, following the district's consolidation plan that shifted grades. They were also the first 10th-graders from Butler given the opportunity to study at the Butler County Vocational-Technical School and they helped start a unified bocce team where Special Olympics-eligible students and students without intellectual disabilities compete together.
Wyllie too commended the class for its kindness, whether it be donating to the Caring Angel Program or showing generosity through simple acts of friendliness at school each day.
“This class is quietly and unassumingly kind,” he said.
Jack Regal opened the ceremony by asking the crowd to observe a moment of silence for two members of the class who had passed away, Alex Pacoe and Alex Hunter.
Graduates Seybert, Regal, Frieda Hartung and Lillian Ford all spoke and expanded on the commencement's theme “A Moment in History.”Ford noted that exactly 74 years ago marked the beginning of the Allies' invasion of Normandy in France — a turning point in World War II.Commencement is a moment in history for the graduates as they have reached one summit in life, Ford said. But there are more summits to climb.“This class will be the new authors of history,” she said.Seybert said the class made it through good, bad and weird times.“You all are tough. You all are smart and you all are resilient,” he said.Before the ceremony, several students shared their thoughts on the high points of high school.Coltin Wehr said his favorite memory of high school was being a member of the boys lacrosse team that made it to the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2010.“The team is doing really well. They have a lot of potential,” he said.Wehr said he will continue his education at Limestone College in South Carolina, where he will also play lacrosse.Dylan Mentzer reflected that he enjoyed the experience of high school — getting to meet new people, make friends and create memories.“You're not going to miss the school as much as the moments of being here with these people,” he said.Nicole Pepmeyer, one of the 41 students who had a grade-point average of 4.2 or higher, said she's proud to have gone to school at Butler.“We're a family. I'll always remember that Butler is where I came from,” Pepmeyer said.Grace Kuharic said one of her favorite memories is classes with Latin teacher Linda Russell, who was known to impart life advice on her students.“I hadn't really had a teacher who talked about real life situations,” she said.
