Montrose grads connect past to future

BY STACI WILSON

Montrose Area graduates looked to the past as they set out to embark on their futures on Saturday.

Senior class president and 2016 valedictorian Joni Host said her fellow graduates had been shaped by the work and perseverance of their ancestors.

Like those who came before them, Host the class gained strength of character. “I’ve watched each of you persevere through challenges,” she said.

Inspired by Eric Blehm’s book “Fearless,” the story of Navy SEAL Adam Brown, Host focused her valedictorian remarks on the meaning behind the SEAL’s Trident emblem and how those symbols apply to the graduating class and connect them to the past and the future.

“We did not arrive at this point without the great sacrifices of those before us and those around us,” Host said.

Salutatorian Madison Koloski said, “You have, for the large part, already set your course.”

But she advised her classmates to “go to bed hungry” and to lay out their goals for the future.

“Never let the bitter taste of failure diminish your appetite for success,” she said.

With a forecast calling for rain, the ceremony was moved from the high school stadium to the auditorium, with an overflow crowd watching a livefeed of commencement exercises in the gymnasium.

Montrose Area
Class of 2016
Keana Nicole Albert, Joseph P.M. Aldrich, Giovanni Gambino Amato, Allison Holly Arnold, Lauren Elizabeth Benacquisto, Benjamin Charles Benedict, Antonino C. Bennici III, Brandon Bergman, Jonathan Christian Best, Andrew Douglas Bickford, Ashley Nicole Birchard, Travis A. Birchard, Avenlea Nicole Bixby, Jessica Helen Bulkley, Derek Thomas Calaine, Alexy Dawn Marie Callaway, Melinda Joanne Carlton, Desirae Rose Carpenter, Anthony Kalman Cina, Martin Joseph Conboy, Wyatt Douglas Cook, Gaetano S. Costantino, Jacob P. Curley, Kaitlyn Rose Dabulewicz, Lindsay Lee Daly, Austin A. Davis, Connor Patrick DeCamp, Jay Carlton Dennison, William E. Dudock, Megan Linn Dunne, Bethany Marie Evans, Audra May Everitt, Sydney Ellen Fitzpatrick, Margaret Tatiana Fitzsimmons, Benjamin O. Foster, Madeline J. Frick, Benjamin Gary Frisbie, Jared Matthew Geisler, Jillian Alisha Gieski, Hanna Kathleen Graver, Emma Sophie Griffiths, Corey Robert Grochal, Emily Briana Guinane, Anne Laura Gumaer, Christopher Warrior Guyette, Brielle Rhianna Haberle, Samantha Rachelle Harris, Anastasia Rose Hester, Victoria Nicole Hinds, Kayla Jo Hitchcock, Joni Lucienne Host, Megan Grace Howell, Kenneth Jacob Hughes, Joseph Ryan Igo, Charles Francis Jenner, Alana Paige Jerauld, Taylor Renee Jones, Carys Rae Kadlecik, Kira Ann Karpov, Emily AnnMarie Kerbaugh, Nicole Renee Kimmell, Madison Elizabeth Koloski, Adam Koziel, Lynsey Marie Kutalek, Todd Alden Lattimore, Christopher Steven Lee, Natalie A. Legg, Dalton James Levene, Mark Anthony Mayes, Kaylee Elizabeth McFarland, Ramona Blue Miller, Kayla Marie Miner, Paul Nicholas Motsko III, Steven Joseph Nagy, Cole L. Newhart, Kavenie Mae Newhart, Brandon C. Nickerson, Ian Anthony Norton, Travis William Novakowski, Paige M. Oakley, Mason Gerald Peck, Nicholas Lee Phillips, Michaela Marie Pike, Daniel Ashton Pierce Powers, William D. Purdy, Felicia Michelle Quinn, Krista R. Quinn, Sean P. Quinn, Christopher Anthony Ricci, Justin Frank Richel, Kenneth W. Rose, Hunter Richmond, Kayla Ann Roses, Brenden Russell, Matthew Steven Saravitz, Madison Nicole Severcool, Thurston J. Shimer, Austin C. Smith, Jolene A. Smith, Kourtney Jane Snigar, Daniel John Sprout, Samantha Anne Stack, Michael Anthony Stewart, Logan Allen Stone, Alannah Siobhan Sullivan, Dylan J. Thompson, Lexis Marie Thompson, Whitney Marie Tompkins, Julia R. Traver, William H. Traver, Mayana Rose Trecoske, Jared R. Updyke, Thomas James VanNostrand, Searra L. Warfle, Kasey Anne Warner, Katie Adele Warner, Taylor Mable Warner, Alexis Nicole Wells, Domenica L. Woolsey, Katherine Blair Wurth, Rachael R. Zona.