PHOTO GALLERIES: Penn Yan, Odessa-Montour and Hammondsport graduations

Jun 27, 2015 at 12:59 am by Observer-Review


Graduation 2015

PHOTO GALLERIES: Penn Yan, Odessa-Montour and Hammondsport graduations

TRI-COUNTY AREA-Penn Yan, Odessa-Montour and Hammondsport celebrated the senior class of 2015 with graduation ceremonies, Friday, June 26. Class leaders, distinguished guests and school administrators all delivered remarks at the commencement events. Both Penn Yan and Hammondsport were able to hold their respective events outside, while Odessa celebrated in the auditorium.

Penn Yan Class President Tyler Bray said "One thing about this class that makes me proud to be a member, is the support that we have given to each other. The student section at games has always been fantastic...it seems like anytime a classmate, group or team excelled, performed, won or lost, there was always another classmate there to support them."
"Even more than the support we have given each other, I am proud of the support we have given to our community. The days of service, can and toy drives, Christmas for the Needy and individual volunteer efforts have been just a small token of appreciation for a community that has done and given so much to us as individuals and as a class," Bray added.
Connie Covert was the guest speaker for the commencement and additional remarks were provided by school administrators and students Olivia Clinton and Casey Marsh.

Odessa class Valedictorian Meghan Coates spoke to her classmates, letting them know that despite being told their voices do not matter, their generation is strong and motivated to accomplish their goals and make the world a better place.
"We are Generation Z, limitless in name and deed," Coates said. "We are the most financially insecure, the most well-connected, the most knowledge seeking generation in history. Statistically what we value most is our education, our futures and the freedom to control our own lives. And we aren't statistics. We are human. [...] We are entrepreneurial, self-motivated, driven to succeed and impact the world for the better."
Odessa class of 1996 graduate Andrew Learn also gave some words of wisdom to the graduates, advising them to never give up on working toward their dreams.
"There is one piece of advise I think I can offer you, and that is to be persistent when it comes to going after the things you want in life," Learn said. "[...] If you really want something to happen, you need to put a timeline on it to motivate yourself to make it happen. It also means you might have to take baby steps to reach those goals. If you are dreaming big, it might not be so easy to achieve your dreams, so you may have to break that thing down into smaller steps to get there. Most things we want that are worth working for aren't accomplished overnight. They usually take years of practice and work"
Meghan Coates was the Odessa-Montour valedictorian and Hailie Searles was the salutatorian.
Hammondsport's valedictorian was Alyson Binnert and the salutatorian was Arianna Turner.
Penn Yan does not name a valedictorian or salutatorian.

The three photo galleries are posted below:

Penn Yan



Odessa-Montour



Hammondsport



Penn Yan Graduation, June 26, 2015.

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