2015 Commencement

400-plus seniors receive diplomas at commencement

More than 400 Penn Manor High School seniors received their diplomas Tuesday night during commencement ceremonies at Franklin & Marshall College.

Principal Dr. Phil Gale urged the graduates to “truly discover what you are passionate about, lean into it, not avoid it, and become someone who is making a difference in our world.”

Valedictorian Alan Dang  told his classmates “the intelligence, creativity, persistence and leadership our class has shown in academics and extracurriculars is what we must carry on from high school.” Other graduation speakers included salutatorian Craig Jahnke and students Hailey Kresge, Andrew Mintzer, Hannah Willig and Sarah Beth Ranck.

Gale pointed out the many accomplishments of members of the graduating class, which received more than $1.9 million in scholarships, awards and grants to continue their education beyond high school.

Forty-nine percent of the graduates will attend a four-year school, 20 percent will attend a two-year school, and 5 percent have elected to serve in the military.

A total of 28 seniors took 36 college classes this year, and 264 Penn Manor High School students took 438 advanced-placement exams in 20 different subjects in the month of May.

A total of 85 students graduated in the honors program, 69 students maintained a grade-point average of 4.0 or higher, and 65 seniors in the honors program maintained a 4.0 or higher GPA.

Six seniors were lauded for their exemplary high school attendance, including John Battle and Griffin Sangrey, who had perfect attendance throughout four years of high school, and Clark Reifsnyder, who missed a single day in four years.

Dr. Gale also announced that Karley Hill was chosen by the faculty as Student of the Year.

Speaker Sarah Beth Ranck, in her closing remarks, urged the graduates to “strive not to be great, but to do great things for others.”

To order a copy of the video of the ceremony, click here