Seneca Valley High School senior Ryan Berglund speaks Tuesday at the school board meeting as fellow students, from left, Jenna Pollaci, Jess Pollaci and graduate Nate Konieczka look on. The students, along with SVHS graduate Konieczka, formed a committee to look into ways to honor Sgt. 1st Class Ryan Gloyer, an SVHS graduate who was killed in combat in Afghanistan in 2016.

JACKSON TWP — A group of three students and one recent Seneca Valley High School graduate proposed renaming the Seneca Valley 7-8 Middle School after Sgt. 1st Class Ryan Gloyer, who was killed in combat in Afghanistan in 2016.

Gloyer of Zelienople was a 2000 Seneca Valley graduate.

SVHS seniors Ryan Berglund, Jess Pollaci, Jenna Pollaci and graduate Nate Konieczka formed a committee to look into ways to honor Gloyer's legacy and presented their findings at the school board meeting Tuesday night.

Mary Beth Keally, a high school classmate; Richard Gloyer, Ryan's father; and one of Ryan's fellow soldiers also spoke about Gloyer's personality and his impact on others.

“In essence, this student-driven initiative presents the opportunity for Ryan's legacy to raise up these middle school students to be more than what they ever thought they could be,” Richard Gloyer said. “Let Ryan's legacy raise them up.”

Gloyer was killed in action Nov. 3, 2016, while fighting enemy forces in Kunduz, Afghanistan. He was a member of the U.S. Army Special Forces, also known as the Green Berets.