PORT CLINTON – Port Clinton High School held its 142nd Commencement Ceremony at 1 p.m. May 17 in the stadium.
The graduating class included 118 students. The ceremony included music, honors and diplomas being awarded.
PCHS Principal Gary Steyer congratulated the Class of 2026 for making it through the challenges of high school. “Please come back and see us,” he noted. “Visit your teachers, attend sporting events and stay connected to your school and your community. Once a Redskin, always a Redskin.”
Class of 2026 President Sophia DiMario made the closing address for the graduates. “This year, many of us found something we didn’t expect: real friendships. New people started to become part of our everyday lives without us noticing it happen,” she told the crowd and classmates. “The people sitting near us right now who will one day feel like memories were once a vital part of our everyday lives. Today is not just a checkpoint, but one of those rare moments when everything we’ve become is real at the same time that we are becoming someone new.”
Superintendent Patrick D. Adkins also spoke to the audience about the high achievements accomplished by many graduates.
But then he also shared the personal challenges and quiet battles that some of the graduates faced as students plus their accomplishments.
He noted that multi-sport athlete Gabrielle Heilman had faced two rare blood diseases; Zach Baker had lost his father and brother, yet remained a positive student; Caleb Spencer, who since kindergarten had faced neurological challenges; and Mason Fenton, who suffered from headaches at the beginning of the school year and it was determined he had a golf ball-sized tumor in his brain. Even after surgery, Fenton lost the majority of his vision but continued his education at the Skilled Trade Academy and PCHS.
The News-Messenger/News Herald
This article originally appeared on Port Clinton News Herald: Port Clinton High School graduates 118 students
Reporting by USA Today Network / Port Clinton News Herald
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
