Strive for success, 397 Boardman grads advised

Boardman Class of 2009

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6.7.2009 Boardman's Commencement ceremony at Boardman High School on Sunday afternoon. Geoffrey Hauschild

By Don Shilling

But don’t be afraid to learn from failure, the class president said to the overflow crowd.

The 397 graduating seniors of Boardman High School are just beginning the stories of their adult lives, but Alexander Lipinsky already knows how it will end.

“As I look out at all of you, I believe you are destined for greatness,” Lipinsky said to the school’s 91st graduating class Sunday.

The senior class president was among the graduates who received their diplomas in the high school gym. An overflow crowd watched the ceremony on a screen in the Boardman Performing Arts Center.

Lipinsky, who intends to study engineering at Brown University, said he received motivation for his high school track and field career from the song “All the Above” by Maino. One line says, “Take a look and you can tell that I’m destined for greatness.”

The song worked for Lipinsky, who finished 15th in the shot put at this year’s state track meet, but he said it can apply to all of the graduates.

He advised his fellow graduates not to be afraid of failure as they head toward greatness. He quoted Jim Tressel, Ohio State University football coach, as saying the lessons he learns from losses have helped him lead his team to more victories.

Adversity will come, Lipinsky said.

“Our lives are not a race to the finish, but a journey,” he said.

Seth Westfall, president of student council, also advised the graduates to persevere. He suggested they thank family members, administrators and teachers for the help they have received so far and continue to ask for help when needed.

“I know we all can succeed,” said Westfall, who intends to study aerospace engineering at the University of Cincinnati.

After the ceremony, Rob McBride was greeting nearly every fellow graduate that passed by him in the hallway.

“Everybody is going to scatter to the wind. I want to see every last person before they go,” said McBride, who is headed to Westminster College to study biochemistry.

His message was simple.

“I want to say thanks for a fun high school experience,” he said.

Even though she had a diploma in her hand, Tara Freeze said the day didn’t seem like the end because she still sees her friends every day.

“It still hasn’t hit me that we’re done,” she said.

She figures that day will come later in the summer when her friends begin to prepare to leave town for college. She will be studying chemistry at Youngstown State University.

Some of the students are leaving town, but all of them are leaving the Boardman schools. Frank Lazzeri, school superintendent, bid farewell to the students during the ceremony by asking that they not forget the school system or the community.

“This is where you received your first big break in life,” he said.

Boardman | Class of 2009

Some facts on Boardman’s graduating class:

Number of graduates: 397

4.0 GPA: Alexandra Allegretto, Rebecca Bartlett, Catherine Henson, Ellyanna Kessler, Andrew Kieffer, Andrea Liguore, Blair Peterson and Joseph Pochiro

Colors: Black and aquamarine

Flower: Tiger lily

Song: “In My Life,” by The Beatles

Motto: “Learn from yesterday, live for today, and hope for tomorrow,” Albert Einstein

Source: School officials