AUSTINBURG — The caps, gowns, family and sunshine (hopefully, after all, it is Ohio) are all in great anticipation as graduation approaches for the Grand River Academy seniors. We will carry forward great memories. Pretty redundant actually. Every high school class can reminisce upon special moments, pranks or victories, but the Class of ’09 at GRA is unique in several ways. Most notably, every graduate has been accepted to a college. College acceptance is a requirement at the academy and this 100 percent acceptance rate has been the standard for 47 years. The 2009 commencement also marks the first of a truly historic event for the academy. Our class will graduate the first legacy of the school in the modern era.
The first legacy – Michael-John O’Neal is the son of Tom O’Neal, GRA graduate of 1971 and the director of development at the academy. Both were two-sport captains. Both captained their respective soccer teams to winning records with M.J. garnering first team All-County honors. The elder O’Neal was a standout of the ’70-71 wrestling teams while M.J. will lead the GRA tennis squad this spring. In another irony, both will finish their academic careers ranking seventh in their class.
Because of its college prep mission, Grand River Academy obviously attracts a unique blend of students. Our valedictorian this year is a brilliant student from China named Lucas Liu. His commitment to academics has earned him this honor. He recently finished first place out of 311 students in the much documented Regional Math Competition in Ashtabula. Liu has been accepted at Case Western Reserve University and at Clarkson University of New York with an $18,000 academic scholarship.
Our salutatorian, Dan Sindell, is from right down the road in Pepper Pike. He was named All County as a defender in soccer and in baseball as a pitcher/infielder. He has carried a 4.0 grade point average since he enrolled at GRA as a sophomore. Sindell has academic scholarship offers from five colleges including Mount Union, Mercyhurst and Baldwin Wallace.
North, south, east and west – Another characteristic of GRA is the diversity of the student population. In the senior class alone, we will issue diplomas to students from the north, Mike Wilcko (Pennsylvania); from the south, John Sinclair
See ACADEMY, Page C2
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Grand River Academy celebrating tradition, legacy of 2009 graduates
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