Weatherly graduates demonstrate their individuality

Many students in the Weatherly Area High School Class of 2018 customized their graduation caps to show that they are truly individuals.

Some chose messages that reflected faith; some, ethnicity; and others chose a favorite inspirational quote from a Disney movie.

Weatherly held its 130th annual commencement ceremony Friday evening in the middle school gymnasium.

The 53 members of the Class of 2018 celebrated with friends and family, as well as the WAHS Class of 1968, who returned for the anniversary of their own graduation.

The graduation speaker was Kyle McGee, Class of ’01, a senior attorney at the national boutique law firm Grant & Eisenhofer P.A., of Delaware.

McGee encouraged the class to fail in order to succeed, not fear letting go, and experiment in order to find yourself.

Today McGee is known as a lawyer who has argued cases against some of the world’s largest corporations, including pharmaceutical companies, automakers and investment banks, securing millions of dollars from defendants. He’s published many academic studies and lectured all over the world.

But when he attended Weatherly, he would dye his hair wild colors, had a lot of piercings and wore a lot of black clothing.

“Failure shows you your limits and how to transcend them. If I were afraid of failure, I would not have done a thing worth doing,” he said.

Valedictorian Samantha Knepper used the image of a jar filled with Ping-Pong balls, beads and sand to illustrate the time in a life. If you fill the jar with things like beads and sand — representing your material possessions and daily aggravations — there will be no room for the Ping-Pong balls — family, friends, health and dreams. But a jar filled with Ping-Pong balls still has room for beads and sand.

Knepper said her jar is full with friends and family, and finally, the town of Weatherly.

“Think of your own jar and put what matters most inside. Embrace every moment, because before you know it, your jar will be filled,” she said.

Salutatorian Joel Hinkle compared life to a cross-country race. Some runners charge hard off the start, while others save their energy for a final sprint. He encouraged his classmates to run their own race, no matter what their pace is.

“Remember, this is a race of endurance, not a sprint, and problems will come, but don’t give up hope,” he said.

Class President Jillian Bartel encouraged the class to remember how they have been influenced by friends parents and teachers. After four years growing from freshmen into seniors, the class is back where they were four years ago, facing new beginnings. But they can rely on what they learned at Weatherly.

“Whatever path we choose to take after this night, there is much that will add to our life experience, despite the unknowns we are about to encounter,” Bartel said.