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Simply wonderful
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Anna Rumberg smiles at her family in the audience during Poland Seminary High School’s Class of 2013 commencement Sunday afternoon at the high school.
By Sean Barron
POLAND
Mary Jo Wardle fondly remembers having played Cousin Tilly in her high school’s play adaptation of the famous 1946 Frank Capra drama “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
Now that Wardle has her high school diploma in hand, she is confident the play’s title will be apropos to what lies ahead for her.
“I was very nervous,” she recalled after initially auditioning.
Nevertheless, with a little time and effort, “It was like being at home on stage,” she added.
More recently, Wardle felt at home on another stage: the one she and 214 other graduates crossed to receive their diplomas during Poland Seminary High School’s Class of 2013 commencement Sunday in the school gym.
Part of what Wardle envisions as a wonderful life includes entering Youngstown State University’s four-year nursing program, as well as basking in cherished high school memories such as having met her boyfriend, Anthony Neville, during study hall in her junior year.
Meanwhile, Wardle plans to spend the summer doing filing and billing work for Roth Bros. Inc., she said.
The summer promises to be a transitory time for Jose Almeida, an exchange student who plans to return next week to his native Portugal after having arrived in the Mahoning Valley in September 2012.
“I was nervous but adapted fast. People here welcomed me,” said Almeida, whose father, Miguel Almeida, is a 1986 Poland High graduate.
Miguel Almeida and his host family made it possible for the younger Almeida, who intends to enroll in an engineering school in Lisbon, Portugal, to finish his schooling at Poland High.
“I liked it so much that I sent my son over. I never imagined in my wildest dreams my son would graduate from the same school I did,” said Miguel, a mechanical engineer for a Lisbon company.
Jose listed attending Poland Bulldogs football games and spending time with teachers and friends as main aspects of high school life he will miss most.
Several fellow Class of 1986 members had a celebration Sunday after the commencement for father and son.
Delivering the keynote presentation was David DiRienzo, who retired in 2011 after having served 36 years as a teacher and coach in the district.
DiRienzo, a 1971 Austintown Fitch High School graduate who taught advanced-placement history at Poland High, drew parallels between athletics and academics, saying both can prime the students to learn, prepare and compete.
DiRienzo, who’s also a 2007 Poland Hall of Fame inductee, advised the grads to stay excited about their goals and ambitions; chart and follow their plans and dreams; learn and move on from their mistakes and failures; adopt a positive attitude about themselves; and surround themselves with good people.
“Don’t simply exist day by day,” he concluded.
Making additional remarks were Kevin J. Snyder, principal; Alek Ball, valedictorian; and Donald P. Dailey, superintendent.
Dailey recognized and honored former district Superintendent Dr. Robert Zorn for his contributions to the Poland schools. He also generated laughter by giving the students more than a dozen pieces of advice from the popular Robert Fulghum book “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.”
The ceremony also featured Poland High’s Seminary Singers’ interpretation of “100 Years” by Five for Fighting.