Girl cheers for PSU grads

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By Sherry Long [email protected] Writer
LEHMAN TWP. – A little blond girl summed up what Wilkes-Barre graduates were feeling as she shouted, “Hip-hip hooray” as the newly minted grads moved their tassels from right to left.

Family and friends packed the campus Athletics and Recreation Building Saturday morning to watch 12 students receive their associate degrees and 50 students receive their bachelor’s degrees during the 2009 commencement ceremony.
Class valedictorian Christopher A. Moses shared stories of the hardships he overcame to earn his bachelor of science in electrical engineering technology to help his classmates realize “anything worth having does not come easy.”
Moses said he never took high school seriously as he graduated with a B average and then left the University of Maine after two years to travel up and down the east coast for four years.
During his journey he rediscovered a love for reading and learning. After moving back to Pennsylvania, he began attending PSU-Wilkes-Barre three years ago to complete his degree.
There is hope for a better future if a person is willing to go after it, he said.
“Life is a difficult journey for everyone … It is impossible for anyone to complete on their own … Appreciate those who travel with you. Keep those close who remember you and embrace those who love you,” the 29-year old Moses said.
Commencement speaker Lori Nocito learned at an early age the best things in life are free. She passed on this lesson as she told the graduates that having good supportive relationships, finding their passion in life and maintaining a positive optimistic attitude would guide them through their life, even during the darkest periods.
Nocito, the executive director of Leadership Wilkes-Barre, stressed that people who become successful leaders display these qualities.
“Leaders embrace challenges. Non-leaders avoid challenges. You need to keep learning and take on new challenges,” she urged them.

Sherry Long, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 829-7159.