A bright future
FOXBURG — A teacher who saw the 44 graduates of the Allegheny-Clarion Valley High School Class of 2021 rise from elementary school to Wednesday's commencement ceremony told them to become dependable people.
Felicia Texter, a sixth-grade teacher retiring at the end of the school year after 38 years in the A-C Valley School District, delivered the commencement address in a packed gym in the high school.
“Be someone that people can depend on,” Texter said, after imparting her final lesson to the graduates.
She said a teacher once showed her class a jar filled with rocks and asked if the jar was full.After the students said the jar was full, the teacher put pebbles in the jar and the pebbles fell into spaces left by the rocks.The students, again, said the jar was full.Then, the teacher poured in sand that filled the spaces between the rocks and pebbles.The rocks represent important things like family and children; the pebbles represent careers, houses and cars; and the sand is everything else in life.“If you put sand in first, you don't have room for the rocks,” Texter said.The lesson, she said, is, if you spend too much time on small things, you'll miss the big ones.Valedictorian Brent Hetrick, of Emlenton, who is moving on to study musical theater at the State University of New York at Fredonia, said he has been shaped by what he learned in class and from his friends.“Everything I need to know I learned in school, and I learned it from all of you,” Hetrick said.
Salutatorian Andrea Meals, of Foxburg, who plans to study education at Thiel College, thanked her family, friends, teachers and church family for helping her reach graduation.“I've had the time of my life with each and everyone of you,” Meals said.She said members of the class are close knit, and she hopes they remain friends for the rest of their lives.Administrators told the audience of about 350 of the graduates' family and friends that the class achieved great things, despite having to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.“This is one tough, gritty, hard working group of young people,” said William Jordan, secondary principal.Superintendent David McDeavitt said each class member earned 24 credits and completed all the work required to graduate. He added they are prepared to take their places in an ever-changing society.“Never give up on your dreams,” MeDeavitt said.
