In a history rich with academic and athletic success, the graduating class of State College Area High School routinely raises the bar a little higher. The Class of 2010 was predicted to be the exception, said class president Sridhar Pisupati.
Yet, standing before his fellow soon-to-be alumni, Pisupati read the class’ achievements like items on a shopping list.
Continued academic excellence? Check.
A record year for school athletics? Check
Music, theater, community service? Check, check and check.
And all of that work ended in a celebration today, as 650 seniors marched across the Bryce Jordan Center stage and moved the tassel that rested atop their red and white mortarboards at the State College Area High School 2010 commencement.
This was not the class that was expected to simply graduate, Pisupati said; it was the class that paved the way to the future.
“We’re studying for jobs that don’t exist to solve problems we don’t yet know about using technology that hasn’t been invented yet,” he said.
This was the class that wanted not just to compete, but also to dominate both in the classroom and on the field, track or court. The Little Lions claimed state titles in volleyball and tennis, and Pisupati awarded his peers on the football team the title of state public school champions.
That reputation of domination will stay with the school, as the Class of 2010 has made a positive and lasting impact as “one of the most decorated classes in the history of State High,” said School Board President Ann McGlaughlin.
Yet its graduates no longer work to improve the image of the State College school district; they must now make their own legacies.
Outside of State College, Superintendent Richard Mextorf told the young adults, there will always be someone who is a little bit smarter or a little more talented.
“The difference maker is hard work and persistence,” he said. “Pursue your talents with passion and purpose.”
Whether those talents come in the arts, academics, athletics, or elsewhere, the class of 2010 was declared officially prepared to move on, out of high school life and into the real world.
“I’m so proud of your continued success, and I’ve only known you for a year,” Mextorf said.
