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Bittersweet graduation for 179 East High seniors
By Denise Dick
YOUNGSTOWN
2016 East Graduation
Gallery
They have aspirations of careers in medicine, manufacturing and education with plans beginning next year in college, trade school or the military.
They are the 137 members of the East High School Class of 2016 who received their diplomas Friday at a commencement ceremony at Stambaugh Auditorium.
Davon Ashford, Ky’Asha Blackwell and Don’jeane Love gathered with their classmates in the Stambaugh ballroom before the ceremony started.
“I’m very excited,” Love said.
She and Blackwell are joining the Army. Ashford plans to enter the workforce.
Though the three said they’re happy to be graduating, Blackwell said she’ll “miss the teachers who helped us.”
They listed English teachers Leslie Davanzo and Selina Cotton and math teacher Kelly Daley.
“They always went the extra mile to make sure our education was top-notch,” Ashford said.
Love agreed.
“They went out of their way to make sure we were learning,” she said.
The Class of 2016 is the first class of city high school students to earn Y-STAR scholarships through the Youngstown Foundation. Y-STAR scholarships are last-dollar ones aimed at helping students pay for costs such as books, parking and fees, which generally aren’t covered in financial aid. The scholarships are applicable at YSU and Eastern Gateway Community College.
Shakayla Poole, class valedictorian, and co-salutatorians Jorge Vega Santos and Nisyah Traish have high career aspirations, too.
Poole will attend Youngstown State University next year to study biology. She wants to be an obstetrician/gynecologist.
Vega Santos also will attend YSU with his sights set on a career in early-childhood education, and Traish wants to be a physical therapist and will begin her studies at YSU.
“I’m happy and nervous,” Vega Santos said.
He was nervous about delivering his speech, which he did in Spanish, but proud of his achievements.
“We’re graduating,” Vega Santos said. “We did it.”
He listed Victoria Briggs, an anatomy teacher, as one of the teachers who helped him.
“She kept pushing me,” Vega Santos said, adding that he appreciates it.
Poole and Traish also listed Cotton.
“She’s the go-to teacher,” Traish said.
Cotton also kept students on track and provided help whenever needed, Poole added.
In their speeches to their classmates, Poole and Traish talked about everything they and their classmates overcame to get to graduation.
Poole mentioned how people judge them negatively just because of where they go to school. Despite that, though, the class got through.
“I’m proud of every one of us,” she said.
Betty Green, an instructor at YSU and a retired city schools teacher and principal, gave the keynote speech. She urged students to keep moving forward in their lives.
“You need to realize this is just the beginning,” Green said. “The first 18 years are over, but the rest of your life is in front of you.”