Tassels Turn for Conestoga HS Seniors

With tassels poised and ready to turn, 508 Conestoga smiles brightened the Pavilion at Villanova University Tuesday night.

A sea of parents, grandparents, siblings and friends rose to applaud as the 2011 graduates of Conestoga High School marched onto the floor after a rousing overture and the "Star Wars Theme" played by the Conestoga Wind Ensemble.

“It’s my first child to graduate,” Maren Levine said about her daughter, Sarah, as she waved to many of the graduates, occasionally pausing to call out a name. “When I’m not crying, I’m really excited.”

Conestoga High School Principal Amy A. Meisinger welcomed the graduating class.

“It is through the efforts of many people that the seniors have come to this significant milestone, Meisinger said. “Tonight you join 102 graduating classes before you.”

It was a night of celebration. It was a beginning and an end.

“The energy in this room is contagious,” said Karen Cruickshank, Tredyffrin /Easttown School Board president.

In a rich, baritone voice, senior David A. Gleichman, National School Choral Award Winner, belted out “The Impossible Dream” as Senior Class President Michelle L. Guo, also an Accompanist Award Winner, played the keyboard.

The senior class vice president, Clemente B. Vila, introduced singer Emilyn E. Badgley, National School Choral Award Winner, who was also accompanied by Guo.

“It’s all right to be afraid,” she sang adeptly. “At least we’ll be together in whatever time we have.”

In her speech, “Ready for Anything,” Commencement Speaker Sarah J. Levine told seniors, “Today we sit united as a class.

“Tomorrow our paths diverge. We cannot help but ask what does the future hold?

“Our reality is scary and out future is unpredictable."

Levine asked, “Can we survive?”

While she jokingly told students that she didn’t have a crystal ball to answer that, Levine acknowledged that Conestoga High School had prepared them for their future journeys.

“If anything, we are capable, adaptable and ever-evolving,” Levine said.

In her speech “Our Future is Now”, Commencement Speaker Carly E. Husick told seniors they are stepping into a 21st century world of choices.

“We will invent out own jobs, our own goals… it’s all about coloring outside the lines.”

Many will become students again at universities all over the United States, some will enter the workforce, while others may volunteer to serve their country in a variety of ways.

Conestoga graduate Tiana Turner, who plans to attend Kutztown University has ambitions of becoming a teacher. Turner was awarded the $1,000 Norman H. Heintzelman Memorial Scholarship.

Over 100 seniors received All-School Scholar Awards for outstanding GPAs.

“Just what makes a Conestoga student unique?” Cruickshank asked. “One word could describe all of you. Dramatic. Musical. Smart. Athletic. You can write. You make things happen.”

Cruickshank said while many words described them, one word summed it all up and offered the secret to Conestoga’s uniqueness.

“Happy. Conestoga students are happy,” she told graduates. “Shoot for the moon.”