Published: May 30, 2009 08:44 pm      

Grads grasp diplomas across Mercer County

PRINCETON — Hundreds of graduates from Princeton, PikeView and Montcalm high schools took a big step in their lives Saturday when the classes of 2009 were presented their diplomas.

The wearers of gold cords, the valedictorians and salutatorians of each school, attributed their success to their parents and teachers, said Kellan Sarles, public information specialist for Mercer County Schools.

At Montcalm High School, Valedictorian Kayla Pennington and Salutatorian Niki Perry were scheduled to lead their class of 52 graduates.

The daughter of Keith Pennington and Robin Buckland, Kayla will attend Bluefield State College this fall and major in elementary education. Perry, the daughter of Lisa and David Perry, is a scholar athlete who has signed to play for Concord University this fall. While there, she plans to pursue a degree in biology/pre-med with the goal of becoming a physician’s assistant.

Pennington said her weakest subject, and her greatest challenge, is math. She has taken all of the high school math available, including Calculus, and took College Algebra at BSC last year.

“I motivate myself,” Pennington said. “I’m hard on myself. My advice to younger students is to keep pushing and keep challenging yourself.”

Perry, who is Pennington’s first cousin, relocated with her family from southern Florida to Mercer County during her sophomore year.

“There was some culture shock, but I’ve loved playing sports at a small school. Sports teaches teamwork, how to get to know people, and it has motivated me to get good grades.”

At PikeView High School, Valedictorian Annaliese Ramthun and Salutatorian Dustin Farley led PikeView’s class of 129 graduates.

Ramthun said that she believes her future will evolve from an interest she is already committed to–environmental education. The daughter of Roy and Elizabeth Ramthun, Annaliese said her fondest memories are of camping, hiking trips and other activities with her father’s students at Concord. She said it is now her turn to make a difference by “promoting conservation and finding alternative fuels.”

This fall, Ramthun will study environmental science at Dickinson College.

Farley, the son of Barry and Teresa Farley, said not many of his peers would believe he’s salutatorian until graduation.

“The reason is that I put more emphasis on caring for my classmates than telling them about my personal accomplishments,” Farley said.

Farley, who said that he loves history, cited teacher Paul Hodge’s AP History course as his favorite, but said he liked all the Advanced Placement courses he took in high school. Farley will attend Concord University this fall to major in either psychology, English or education.

Several miles away at Princeton Senior High School, Valedictorian Alison Lester and Salutatorian Caitlin Shields headed up the graduating class of 211 seniors.

The daughter of Mona and Randy Lester, Alison said that she believes she has held the number one spot since ninth grades despite four Advanced Placement courses and an equal number of challenging Honors courses.

Lester plans to major in political science at West Virginia University.

“I chose WVU because they have a strong program in international affairs with a good internship program–perhaps in Munich. I also want to continue with French and maybe pick up some German,” she said.

Shields, the daughter of teacher Sharon Shields, will also be going to Morgantown this fall to study Interior Design and Engineering.

“High school has taught me to study and to work independently,” she said, adding that she believes AP and Honors courses helped her learn study techniques that she didn’t have when she started high school.

Shields said that she credited ninth grade Honors English the most. “The course helped me develop my writing skills, and we used group activities for learning.”

When asked about how she succeeded, Shields replied: “My mom and my teachers–they taught me everything.”

— Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com