ALLEGANY, N.Y. — It’s not often that the commencement speaker receives a standing ovation prior to delivering the keynote address, but this turned out to be the case Sunday when U.S. Army Major Patrick Miller, a 1999 alumnus of Allegany-Limestone High School and military hero, walked to the podium.
Miller, along with Salutatorian Samuel Flanders and Valedictorian Alice Li, provided the keynote, welcome and farewell addresses respectively to the 80 graduating seniors at the high school auditorium.
Prior to the ceremony, Superintendent Tony Giannicchi said Miller was selected by the seniors to be the keynote speaker, which was a break in the tradition of the superintendent delivering the address. Giannicchi said another break in tradition, also voted on by the students, will occur next year when graduation at the school will be held on a Saturday.
Miller, who will be promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel this week, is well-known for his heroics: In 2014, he was shot in the abdomen by a serviceman who shot and killed three people and wounded 16 others at Fort Hood, Texas. Miller helped other soldiers to safety during the event, and by doing so won the Soldier’s Medal, which is the highest award a soldier can receive for bravery in a non-combat situation.
In his comments to the students, Miller said of his speech, “I’ll be bold, I’ll be brief and I’ll be gone,” which brought laughter from the audience. On a more serious note, he told the graduates that what they do with the next chapter of their lives is up to them. Whatever choices they make, such as college, work or the military, they should “do it and do it well,” he said.
“If you remember one thing from this speech, it is to be the best person (you can) no matter what you decide to do,” Miller added. “One of my favorite quotes by Maya Angelou is, ‘People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.’”
In his welcome address, Flanders kept the audience laughing with his comments and quotes.
“I’d like to live my life by a quote from one of the most intellectual characters that civilization has ever seen, Ricky Bobby from Talladega Nights,” Flanders said while pulling a laugh from the audience. “He said, ‘If you ain’t first, you’re last,’ well I guess that makes me last” as salutatorian.
Flanders touched on more serious messages in his address by telling his fellow grads to set goals and achieve them, but to not stop there and to continue striving in life.
In her farewell address, Li thanked parents in the audience for the time they devoted to the graduates on stage. She also thanked everyone who supported them.
Li also noted, “Who we are now says very little about who we will become.”
The Allegany-Limestone class of 2019 graduates are:
Mackenzie Jordan Aderman, Brodie Alfred Austin, Megan E. Bailey, Kaitlyn Leigh Beimel, Nicholas R. Bierfeldt, Kamden Matthew Blanton, Morgan Cheyenne Blauser, Troy Barylski Brennan, Meghan Cherie’ Brink, Ethan Michael Burch, Megan C Burnett, Ethan G. Chartreau, Elizabeth Ann Collins, Grant Calvin Cowles, Kayley Marie Dennis, Fiona Maureen Drake,
Cassandra N. Finefrock, Payton M. Fiske, Samuel P. Flanders, Sydnee Olive Ganoung, Conner Rhys Golley, Caleb Robert Graham, Hannah S. Grey, Dalton J. Griffin, Brockton Robert Hodge,
Tanner Nelson Hulse, Kieghrae Denise-Halley Hund, Abby Marie Irvin, Brian Philip Kaziska, Derek Alan Kelley, Gabriel Michael Kellogg, Evan Michael Kiener, Alexis Nicole Kinney, Carolyn Marie Krenzel, Morgan Leonard, Madeline E. Lippert, Adam John Loiacono,
Gabriel Scott MacWilliams, Travis James Maguire, Gunnar Douglas Mason,
Ashley Mott, Devin Raeann Neal, Micah Thomas Osby, Dylan James Palmer, London Matthew Parmelee, Connor B. Parsons, Brennan Michael Rakoska, Hannah Marie Rohrabacher, Collin J. Rounsville, Kourtney Sammons, Gabriella Matheis Sanzo, Lauren Ann Schifley, Tyler Christopher Schlepko, Devan James Sisson-Moore, Tanisha Brie Sprester, Cameron Racheal Spring, Justice James Stanford, Destynie Nichole Stanton, Grace Christine Straub, Daltyn Stephan, Sadie Christine VanGuilder, Brandon Michael Watkins, Elizabeth Grace Waugaman, Kelsey Elizabeth Wilber, Shealynn Janise Woods and Mackenzie L. Yonker.
