WCSCC students and alumni honored at Senior Recognition Ceremony
Wayne County Schools Career Center honored seniors, 13th year students and distinguished alumni at the Senior Recognition Ceremony at The University of Akron Wayne College Boyer Gymnasium on Friday, May 21. All students received certificates in recognition of their accomplishments.Student of the Year was Amy Miller of Dalton, a senior in Landscape and Plant Technologies, selected from the top career and technical seniors. The daughter of Glenn and Barbara Miller of Dalton, she was on the Academic Challenge team and women's chorus at Dalton. At the career center, she was a member of the National Honor Society, was a student of the month and Daily Record Teen of the Month. She was a career center ambassador and president of Landscape and Plant Technologies FFA. Miller is currently employed at Cedar Lane Farms in Wooster, and will attend The Ohio State University Agricultural and Technical Institute next year with a double major in greenhouse production and nursery management. Through Landscape and Plant Technologies, she will receive 12 college credits. She received the Ambassador scholarship, Edward, Arlene and Kaye Maibach Career Center scholarship, and the WCJVSEA scholarship.
Top Career-Technical seniors receiving plaques were: Andrew Forrer of Dalton, Ag Mechanics/Power Technologies; Michelle Rickey of Norwayne, Animal Care and Management; Justin Kandel of Dalton, Automotive Technologies; Ben Simms of Waynedale, Buildings and Grounds; David Rehm of Smithville, Business and Marketing Technologies; Nick Piatt of Waynedale, Computer Networking; James Pealer of Waynedale, Criminal Justice; Courtney Gelvin of Wooster, Cosmetology.
Tyler Mast of Triway, Construction Technologies; Trevor Burrows of Rittman, Culinary Arts; Heidi Fought of Triway, Dental Assisting; Lacey Moats of Northwestern, Early Childhood Education and Care; Kevin Baer of Dalton, Electronics and Computer Technologies; Steven Greenbank of Rittman/Heritage Private School, Engineering Technologies; Brittany Akers of Waynedale, Exercise Science and Sports Medicine; Jamal Bullock of Orrville, Hospitality; Allison Cole of Chippewa, Interactive Media.
Amy Miller of Dalton, Landscape and Plant Technologies; Amber Cottrell of Smithville, Medical Assisting; Sarah Stoller of Heritage Private, Medical Office Management; Daniel Ritzman of Norwayne, Precision Machining; Keri Shrewsbury of Dalton, Practical Nursing; Kendra Durtschi of Wooster, Pre-Nursing; Andrea Stahl of Norwayne, Printing Technologies; Steven Pohalski of Wooster, Telecommunications/Power Transmission; Abbie Bartholomew of Northwestern, Teaching Professions; Jared Goff of Waynedale, Truck Mechanics; and Cody Riggs of Rittman, Welding and Metal Fabrication.
Other scholarship winners were: Ambassador scholarship, Janelle DeHart of Orrville; American Red Cross scholarship, Cottrell, Ainsley Moore of Wooster, Emily Smith of Waynedale; Marine Corp Scholastic Excellence Award, Isaac Ressler of Dalton; Math and Science Award certificate and Tillie Lorencz nursing scholarship, Shrewsbury; STAR scholarship, Lindsey Arney of Dalton; and Wooster Kiwanis Club Achievement awards, Kristen Elliott of Wooster and Amanda Miller of Norwayne.
Distinguished Alumni chairperson Shelly Perry presented this year's winners so the students "can see the wonderful achievements you can make," she said. Since 1981, the school has chosen 83 alumni for the award. "These are three more of our success stories," she said.
Cheryl Hottel Boreman graduated from Northwestern High School and Horticulture in 1978, with instructors Jeff Johnson and Jim Morrisey. She attended the Bill Hickson School of Floral Design and FTD floral design seminars. Boreman owns her own business, CR Blooms in Wooster, and won the most distinguished display award recently at the Wayne County Fair. She is a Wayne County Hospice volunteer, a 4-H advisor, helps teach floral design in the Landscape and Plant Technologies program at the Career Center, and has decorated the stage for the Senior Recognition Ceremony for four years. Boreman is active on Northwestern Local Schools committee and lives in Burbank with her husband, Rick, and two children.
Dave Rabatin graduated from Waynedale High School and Auto Collision Repair in 1989, with instructor Gary Bonewitz. He is owner of Autoworks Collision Centers in Holmesville and Wooster, where he has hired career center graduates. He has attended many career-related workshops, and was a member of the career center auto collision advisory committee. He donates to Church Aid and Zion Christian School, and also donates auto repair to those in need. He and his wife, Ruth, live in Millersburg and have seven children.
Kimberly Rupp graduated from Norwayne High School and Exercise Science and Sports Medicine in 2004. Her instructors were John Miller for exercise science, and Andy Nicholson for sports medicine. She graduated magna cum laude from the University of Toledo with a bachelor's degree in athletic training in 2008, and a master's degree in 2009. She expects to receive her PhD in sports medicine in 2013. Rupp is currently employed by the University of Virginia, where she has been a graduate assistant, athletic trainer and a mentor for undergraduate and intern student athletic trainers. She was chosen best in Virginia Baseball camps where she was a summer athletic trainer, and earned the most improved student athletic trainer award from the University of Toledo in 2008. She was named a member of the Golden Key International Honor Society at the University of Toledo in 2008. She lives in Charlottesville, Va. Her mother, Lisa Rupp, accepted the award on her behalf.
State Rep. Ron Amstutz used the acronym "CROW" to talk about courage, responsibility, opportunity and work during his address to the class.
"Courage is what you should take with you," Amstutz said. "Responsibility - you've learned that at the career center. Now you must decide what to do with that responsibility. The group that soars figures out how to be responsible. With courage and responsibility, you prepare yourself to take advantage of opportunities."
He quoted Art Linkletter who said, "Things turn out best for the people who make the best out of the way things turn out."
Work is "sometimes underrated, but critical," Amstutz told the students. "You have learned to work, and that's good preparation for further opportunities. Nothing worthwhile is easy. Take your education and build on it."
Brooke Riegler of Chippewa from Medical Assisting took her cues from the Miley Cyrus song The Climb for her address to her peers.
"All of our hard work and determination has finally paid off," she told them. She talked about the difficulty of the first days at the career center, being "nervous, scared and alone," leaving behind familiar faces and buildings at Chippewa.
She quoted the song, "We can almost see it, that dream we're dreaming...we gotta keep trying, gotta keep our heads held high. There's always gonna be another mountain, we're always gonna want to make it move. Always gonna be an uphill battle; sometimes we're gonna have to lose. It ain't about how fast we get there, it ain't about what's waiting on the other side; it's the climb."
"Every student sitting in these chairs has experienced their own mountains, some easier than others," Riegler said. "We've all struggled and taken chances, sometimes succeeding while other times failing; either way, we all kept climbing higher and higher trying to reach the top.
"We've made a lifetime of memories here at the career center…and in the process, we have learned skills that we will carry with us forever. The career center has prepared us to be the professionals of tomorrow." She thanked the teachers who helped push and encourage students and celebrate their achievements. "We truly owe them everything.
"As you leave tonight always remember, life is too short; grudges are a waste of perfect happiness," she said. "Laugh when you can, apologize when you should, and let go of what you can't change. Love deeply and forgive quickly. Take chances; give everything. Have no regrets. Life is too short to be unhappy; you have to take the bad with the good. Smile when you're sad. Forgive and forget, and learn from your mistakes. Challenges are what makes life interesting, however, overcoming them is what makes life meaningful. Life is what you make of it, so live life to the fullest and enjoy the climb."
State Department of Education Award of Merit awards went to: Benjamin Ault of Smithville, Kelsey Becker of Dalton, Ashley Bellamy of Waynedale, Lauren Besancon of Smithville, Ashley Boggs of Norwayne, Bullock, Kramer Buss of Smithville, Jenna Butcher of Triway, Tara Butler of Triway, Heather Carmany of Smithville, Larry Caskey II of Orrville, Chandra Corral of Orrville, Kristen Crocker of Chippewa, DeHart, Daniel Eby of Wooster, Chelsea Drake of Smithville, Elliott, Forrer, Fought, Gelvin, Greenbank, Tim Hartman of Rittman, Hilary Holmes of Chippewa, Justin Hughes of Wooster, Tiffany Hummel of Waynedale, Kandel, Peter Kern of Smithville, Brittney King of Orrville, Alexandria Leister of Smithville, Jill Marty of Heritage Private, Kara McEndree of Chippewa, Micajah Merriman of Dalton, Amy Miller, Moats, Mallory Morris of Northwestern, Pealer, Breanna Pertee of Rittman, Piatt, Rehm, Ressler, Heidi Rettig of Triway, Rickey, Gavin Ross of Chippewa, Ethan Scranton of Smithville, Shrewsbury, Stahl, Abigail Steiner of Smithville, Stoller, Bryce Weaver of Waynedale, and Jamie Zemrock of Triway.
Receiving two-year perfect attendance awards were Baer, Kyle Finley of Dalton, Hartman, Holmes, Hummel, Merriman, and Amy Miller.
Academic awards presented earlier in the day went to: advanced math, Amy Miller; Alg/Geo2, Alyssa McCullough of Smithville, Josh Hoover of Chippewa, and Tiffany Tackett of Chippewa; anatomy and physiology, Moore; biology, Cassie Kinder of Wooster; chemistry, Fought; college English, Maryjo Berry of Wooster; enriched senior English, Marty and Crocker; government, Crocker; government/economics, Alan Ratta of Norwayne; life skills English, Desiree Smith of Rittman; life skills government, Nikki Wilson of Chippewa; life skills science, Jaime Leaman of Smithville; physics, Crocker; and senior English, Alexis Reeves of Chippewa and McCullough.
Students participating in the ceremony were Besancon, master of ceremonies; Bullock and Eby, leading the Pledge of Allegiance; Tori Ungerer of Wooster, recognizing special guests; Amy Miller, Daniel Yoder of Waynedale and Berry introducing the distinguished alumni; DeHart of Orrville and Kara McCoy of Northwestern, announcing student recognition awards; and Tad Weaver of Dalton presenting scholarships and perfect attendance awards. Also recognized were students going into military service. Junior ushers were Amanda Bruce of Triway, Chris Kubilus of Smithville and Derwin Loverink of Rittman.