Graduation Day

Four Washington County high schools ? North Hagerstown, South Hagerstown, Boonsboro and Smithsburg ? held commencement Friday. Graduation ceremonies also were the order of the day at Chambersburg and James Buchanan high schools in Franklin County, Pa. See Saturday's Herald-Mail for full coverage, and go to our Web site for more pictures from the six graduation ceremonies.

Relive your school memories by playing School Days. First one to reach Graduation Day wins.

keller@herald-mail.com Graduation day is typically one of the most exciting days in the life of a high school senior. "Typical" likely would not be the word to describe Jared Barkdoll's graduation day. Just hours before he was to receive his diploma with the rest of his Greencastle-Antrim High School classmates Wednesday, Barkdoll got word he had been drafted by the New York Mets in the 42nd round of the Major League Baseball First-Year...

The tassels had been switched, the speeches were over and the last of the group photos had been taken. Four years of hard work had been rewarded with a diploma. Now, it was time to look to the future. On Saturday afternoon, St. Maria Goretti High School sent 52 freshly graduated students out into the world to pursue college and careers. Behind the pomp and circumstance of the commencement at St. Ann's Roman Catholic Church, there were stories of individual successes and unique accomplishments.

andrear@herald-mail.com When Hagerstown Community College student Cassandra Pugh graduated from Thomas Johnson High School in Frederick, Md., in 1997, her father wrote her a poem to commemorate the occasion. The poem and such keepsakes as photos of her high school friends and a journal to chronicle her transition into college proved to be Pugh's most memorable graduation gifts, she said. HCC student Yvette Kebe won't ever forget her graduation trip to Trinidad, she said.

An estimated 361 students will graduate from Hagerstown Junior College this year, only a few more than last year, according to HJC's Student Services Division Dean Dr. Carl Galligan. At a meeting of the college's Board of Trustees on Tuesday, Galligan said the number of graduates has held steady at between 350 to 370 annually for the past few years. No change in that trend is expected, he said. Galligan profiled this year's graduating class for the trustees, but said all figures were preliminary.

It was an unseasonable sweltering day on Saturday for Mercersburg Academy's 119th commencement. But there was a palpable excitement in the air not only as the graduates embarked on a new phase in their lives, but also because this year's commencement speaker was Madeleine Albright, the first female U.S. secretary of state. Head of School Douglas Hale outlined a list of Albright's accomplishments, including receiving the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, from President Obama on Tuesday.

marlob@herald-mail.com HANCOCK - Allen Murphy was in his first days at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis when the events of Sept. 11, 2001, forever changed his life and the world in which he will be serving his country. "I remember I was just out of class that day when the first plane hit," Murphy said. "Of course there was a lot of military at the academy and many from New York, so everyone was very concerned. " Allen graduated from the academy on May 27 in a ceremony attended by his parents, Daniel and Debbie Murphy, his sister Emily and her husband, two of his grandparents and a number of friends.

HAGERSTOWN Katelyn Webb waited patiently for her family to join her Friday morning for Boonsboro High School's graduation ceremony outside the Athletic, Recreation and Community Center at Hagerstown Community College. "My brother, John Webb, is graduating, and I'm really proud of him," said 16-year-old Katelyn, who will be a junior at Washington County Technical High School in the fall. By the time things finally got under way, the ARCC was packed with graduates, faculty, family and friends.

HANCOCK scottb@herald-mail.com There is a question the 45 students in Hancock High School's graduating class have been asked more than any other in recent weeks, co-valedictorian Paul M. Brennan said Thursday: "Are you ready for the real world?" Brennan said that question followed others the students were asked during the school year: Were they ready for a test, a date, a job and for graduation? But he suggested the question is backward. The students should be asked not whether they are ready for the real world, but whether the real world is ready for them, he said.

The children at St. John's Parish Preschool in Hagerstown recently participated in a graduation ceremony. Each child wore a cap and gown, and received a personalized diploma. The preschool is affiliated with St. John's Episcopal Church, 101 S. Prospect St. in Hagerstown.

It was an unseasonable sweltering day on Saturday for Mercersburg Academy's 119th commencement. But there was a palpable excitement in the air not only as the graduates embarked on a new phase in their lives, but also because this year's commencement speaker was Madeleine Albright, the first female U.S. secretary of state. Head of School Douglas Hale outlined a list of Albright's accomplishments, including receiving the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, from President Obama on Tuesday.

All of South Hagerstown High School's graduates received their share of applause and cheers during Friday's commencement at the school. But the loudest, most sustained response — a standing ovation — was for Kenneth Leon Kitchen, whose 5-year-old brother, Corey, died Tuesday. Corey started battling malignant brain tumors in 2008, but the cancer spread, leading to his death. Graduates also remembered one of their own. The Class of 2011's gift to the school will be two park benches, one of which will honor Emily Stone, who was killed in January 2010 while crossing Dual Highway near her home.

"Your senior year should be your hardest year. " That's what I was told by a teacher at Washington County Technical School, where I'm a high school senior. For most seniors, this is in fact, true. Many seniors, including myself, take on the responsibilities of a job, Advanced Placement classes and some even take college courses. The students can be highly overwhelmed by the amount of schoolwork they are expected to complete by their graduation day. Ironically enough, my "senior stress" caused the delay of this very article.

Relive your school memories by playing School Days. First one to reach Graduation Day wins.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. -- Logging 620 members, the Chambersburg Area Senior High School class of 2009 might be Franklin County's largest group of graduates, but that doesn't mean the students are not close. "Our class is filled with friendships that will absolutely last a lifetime and that will never be forgotten," said Brennan Elliott, president of the class of 2009. Throwing their arms around each other's shoulders, graduates Kylee Timbrook and Pierce Thompson took a moment before the ceremony to relax and acknowledge their building nerves.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. -- The Waynesboro Area Senior High School graduation ceremony had just begun when Stephanie Scott's right foot began to bounce anxiously. Her eyes quickly welled up with tears. Stephanie, 17, had predicted it would happen. "I'm crazy nervous because I'm going to cry," she said before entering the gymnasium Wednesday. Family and friends filled the gym and watched a video feed in the auditorium for the school's 127th commencement, in which 264 students participated.

CLEAR SPRING -- Stephanie Foust said she expected that many of her friends at Clear Spring High School would go their separate ways after Thursday's graduation. But the 17-year-old said she'll always remember the four years they shared as the best time of her life. Foust, who was one of 119 Clear Spring High seniors to receive her diploma Thursday, said she expects the good times to continue during "Senior Week," which starts Saturday in Ocean City, Md. The graduating class of 2009 included the first group of Clear Spring seniors to graduate from the school's agriculture academy program.

HAGERSTOWN -- Pockets of cheers and hollers filled the gymnasium as the names of Williamsport's newest high school graduates were read aloud Thursday. For one name -- Katarina Patricia Sylvia Stains -- the voices and applause all came together, creating a unified, sustained salute. Stains, who's known as Katie, was escorted to the dais in her wheelchair, then walked long enough to get her diploma before she had to sit again. Stains was diagnosed in December with Ewing's Sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer.

SMITHSBURG - It's the story of Small Town, America. Teenagers grow up some place and dream of nothing more than to break free. Then, once they've moved far and experienced life as adults, they realize that there's no place like home. For Smithsburg native Shay A. Mace, 33, writing "Images of America: Smithsburg" (Arcadia Publishing 2008) is what led to her own path to self-discovery. "I guess in a sense, I've come full circle, to be able to come back home and really appreciate where I'm from," Mace said.