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Lowellville’s 53 grads urged to change world
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Cindy Hynes fixes up her daughter Kelly before Lowellville High School’s graduation Sunday.
By ELISE McKEOWN SKOLNICK
LOWELLVILLE
The first time she tried out for cheerleading, Joann Esenwein didn’t make the squad.
She cried all the way home, and her mother told her to try harder next time.
So she did — and she made the squad.
“Sometimes you learn more from your failures than your successes,” Esenwein told the graduating class of Lowellville High School. “And you just try harder next time. Life is not always fair.”
A 1975 graduate of Lowellville High, Esenwein went on to earn a degree in civil engineering. She battled discrim-ination as a woman in that field and faced opposition when she became a working mother.
“Do what you want and don’t worry about what anyone else thinks,” she told the Class of 2012 at Sunday’s commencement. “Do what’s best for you and your family. Family is most important. They’ll always be there for you, no matter what.”
She encouraged the graduates to change the world.
“Make it better for everybody by pursuing your dreams and your goals,” she said.
Kelli Robbie is ready to do just that.
“I’m excited,” she said.
But the graduation process and moving on to college is nerve- racking, too, she said.
“I’m trying not to get emotional about it,” she said. “I’m going to miss all my friends.”
She participated in choir, band, track and bowling during high school.
“I’m going to miss track because I did it since seventh grade,” she said.
Robbie will attend Youngstown State University to study nursing. She’s looking forward to studying a subject she already loves.
Melissa Gruber, a fellow graduate, also will attend YSU to study nursing, with radiology as a backup plan.
She graduated from Lowellville with honors. She played softball and was a cheerleader.
Though she will miss her friends and being at the school each day, she’s looking forward to YSU.
“I’m ready for the future,” she said.
Melissa was well-prepared by teachers at Lowellville for her future endeavors, said Rita Gruber, Melissa’s mother.
“We are very proud of Melissa and her accomplishments,” Gruber said. “We’re looking forward to the future, and hopefully, four years from now she’ll have a great job.”