88 to graduate Granville High School Friday

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By Krystle S. Morey
Eighty-eight “pretty remarkable” young men and women will walk across the stage tomorrow, ending their days as students at Granville High School.
Some will start careers in fields from agriculture to welding, while others will go on to various colleges or enlist in the armed forces.
At the 130th annual commencement ceremony, several administrators will speak, including superintendent Mark Bessen, Board of Education president Audrey Hicks and principal Camille Harrelson.
Valedictorian Brooke Stanley, Salutatorian Suzannah Van Gelder and officers of the Class of 2016 will also speak.
Several members of the class will perform a prepared song: You’re Gonna Miss This, by Trace Adkins.
Vice principal Daniel Poucher watched many of the students grow from their years in elementary school, when he was a physical education teacher.
They have come a long way from playing kickball and whiffle ball in elementary school.
“They have a lot of ‘stick-to-it-ed-ness’,” Poucher said, confident in the grads’ abilities to find success. “They’re all very persistent.”
­Poucher added that the Class of 2016’s versatility will help it succeed going forward.
“They are a pretty remarkable group,” he said. “They have a lot of talent in a lot of areas and have achieved a lot of things … academically, athletically, musically and in the arts.”
Graduation is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. on the front lawn of the high school, weather permitting.
If it rains, the ceremony will be moved inside to the high school gymnasium and each graduate will be given a total of six tickets.
Overflow will be able to view the ceremony being broadcast in the high school auditorium.
The ceremony will also be broadcast online for those family members and friends who are unable to attend. A link to the video feed will be posted at granvillecsd.org before the event.
Graduation rehearsal is set for 9 a.m. Friday.
Baccalaureate, a church service held for the graduating class, is set for tonight at 7 p.m. at the Saint Mary’s Catholic Church, located at 23 Bulkley Avenue in Granville.
This year’s keynote speakers are social studies teacher Michele Bromley and English teacher James Marsfelder.
Several students will also participate in the service, which is open to the public.
Once a dropout, now a grad
Granville High School senior Nathan Hall encourages students to stay in school. He wishes he had.
Hall should have graduated with his class last June. He didn’t. He missed too many days throughout the 2014-2015 school year and found himself struggling to keep up with his classes.
“Just catching up from missing one day was difficult, and from there the struggle snowballed,” said Hall.
He decided to drop out of school.
Hall found that with no high school diploma, combined with poor attendance, it was difficult to find a job. Eventually, he found full-time employment with a manufacturing company, which was physically demanding and required 12-hour shifts. He lived this routine with little free time for family and friends for about six months. He said reality of repetitive labor, combined with 12 hour days, was his wakeup call.
“A six-hour school day which builds towards your future is much easier than a 12-hour dead end day,” he said.
Hall returned to school last fall to begin his senior year…. again. What was different from the previous year was his attitude and work ethic. He said he is glad he took action and made life changes.
Throughout his senior year, Hall has been on the honors list, something he had never previously done. His GPA increased significantly over his previous years. In the fall he will attend Hudson Valley Community College where he will major in pre-med/health sciences.
Hall encourages any student who is discouraged and thinking about dropping out of high school to listen and learn from his story, look at the big picture, and make changes which will equal success.
Nathan Hall, former high school dropout, will Friday be a Granville Class of 2016 grad.
– Submitted by Amy Hoffer, BOCES