Class of 2017 Commencement

Posted on May 27, 2017

Penn High School Principal Steve Hope, along with P-H-M Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker, members of the Board of School of Trustees, along with P-H-M and Penn administrators honored and awarded the diplomas of approximately 900 students last night (Friday, May 26, 2017). The 2-hour commencement ceremony was held at Purcell Pavilion on the campus of the University of Notre Dame. (Click here to see browse the photo gallery below; you can right click to save & download high res images for printing 4×6 or 5×7 pictures. For official graduation pictures taken by HR Imaging, please click here.)

Click below to watch the graduation video.

As a whole, Penn’s Class of 2017 has earned nearly $8.5 million in scholarships to date! The graduating class includes 12 National Merit Scholarship Finalists, 275 students who are set to earn a High Honors Diploma, 413 students who are in line to earn an Academic Honors Diploma, and 85 students who will earn a Technical Honors Diploma.

This year’s graduating class has 19 valedictorians and three salutatorians! The valedictorians’ GPAs range from 4.4904 – 4.3846.

The valedictorians are: Muqsit Buchh, Balajimonesh Devireddy, Alex Dobbins, Will Gruber, Keegan Hurst, David Kim, Sanjana Kulkarni, Julia Kwak, Mason Lee, Hannah McGinness, Logan McGuire, Baker Nasser, Cole Pollyea, Peter Rutkowski, Hannah Selis, Matthew Shan, Emma Schultz, Evan Shreiner and Kacey Wood.

Collectively the valedictorians gave a speech at the start of the ceremony; the theme … “Unforgettable Characters!” Each student explained who his or her favorite character or person is and why. Using examples like Mike Wazowski from Monster’s Inc. to NBA and Oklahoma City Thunder star Russell Westbrook, the students explained how their character inspired them and exemplified how to overcome adversity and succeed. Click here to  watch a video of all  19 of the  valedictorian speeches.

The salutatorians are Sam Battalio, Annaliza Canda and Michelle Tapp.

This was Principal Hope’s 11th and last graduation as principal of Penn High School. Hope recently announced that he is moving to Goshen Community Schools as their new Assistant Superintendent effective July 1st. Dr. Thacker thanked Principal Hope for his years of service; students and parents showed their appreciation with a standing ovation.

Last Modified January 12, 2022