CV-S graduates 32
in school-side
event Saturday

By GREG KLEIN • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com

Cherry Valley-Springfield Central School said congratulations and farewell to 32 students Saturday, June 26, in a ceremony under a big tent on the school’s athletic field.

Valedictorian Mia Horvath told her classmates to strive to be individuals. She said they were each one of just 7.8 billion people and should reach beyond their small-town roots.

Horvath quoted Walt Whitman’s “Songs of Myself” which said, “I am large. I contain multitudes.” She told the graduates to look at the bigger picture, to take in different viewpoints and to try to contain the multitudes themselves.

Salutatorian Jaelyn Jaquay gave a speech that her father, CVSCS coach and teacher Jordan Jaquay, could be proud of, borrowing from his habit of quoting his favorite coach and athlete, Jim Valvano and Michael Jordan.

“Failure and rejection are only the first step to success,” she quoted Valvano as saying.

Jaquay told her classmates to turn never from a negative to a positive word, saying they should: never stop dreaming, never stop believing, never give up, never stop trying and never stop learning.

The guest speaker was elementary school teacher Ozzie Avinaut, who had many of the graduates in class a decade ago. He told the graduates that accomplishments mean so much more when you have someone to share them with.

“Whatever success your future holds, it is so much better if you make it about a who and not about a what,” he said.

Superintendent T.J. Climenhaga opened the event, the 33rd graduation since Cherry Valley and Springfield combined schools, and one which included her daughter, Zoe.

Climenhaga said the class of 2021 was full of strong individuals.

“This is an outstanding quality,” she said. “It will benefit you as you move on.”

Climenhaga told the graduates to make sure they reached out to thank the people who supported them on their journey to graduation, “to let the supporters know how much you appreciate them.”