News: Clouds Part for the Raiders

Special to VivaLoudoun via Loudoun County Public Schools

(June 20, 2011) - A gloomy morning gave way to brilliant sunshine just as the diplomas were being given out to 365 seniors on Friday, June 17th, at Loudoun County High School.

A fitting finale to a class that provided Loudoun County’s oldest high school with many shining moments…
Principal Bill Oblas related the many honors with which the Class of 2011 had distinguished itself.


• The Raider volleyball team has won the Group AA state title four consecutive years. Their record during that time is 110-5.
• Brittany Batts scored 2,039 career points in basketball, an all-time record for all Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) athletes.
• Sean Briggs won Best Actor in district, regional and state competitions this year.
• 142 of the graduates received academic letters all four years of high school.
• Emily Douglas, John Gorman, Caroline Hertz, Daniel Kent, Kathryn McKew, Austin Talbot, Jacob Zent, Alexandra Chopivsky and David Harris were inducted into the Academic Hall of Fame for attaining a perfect score of 800 on the SAT, a 36 on the ACT or for being selected as National Merit scholars.
• Kaitlyn Brill, Myles Hanger and Curtis Murray were recognized for having perfect attendance in three of their four years of high school. 22 seniors had perfect attendance this year.
• Loudoun County High School placed in the top 1 percent of the nearly 27,000 high schools in the United States in terms of challenging its students academically through Advanced Placement testing.
• 85 percent of the Class of 2011 is going on to a two- or four-year college. Graduates will attend 69 colleges in 22 states.
• Scholarships and grants reported by the class of 2011 amount to approximately $2 million.

As is the custom at Loudoun County, the top 10 percent of the class academically was recognized at graduation.

Those recognized included:
• Vanya Aggarwal
• Prabesh Basnet
• Brittany Ann Batts
• Henry Elkan Brazer
• Allie Brianne Cain
• Alice Mary Carpenter
• Alexandra Christina Chopivsky
• Emily Barton Douglas
• Kasey Rebecca Fletcher
• Joseph Fitch Gibson
• John Jacob Gorman
• Nicholas John Gray
• Bronwen Emma Hale
• William Tyler Hayden
• David Maxson Harris
• Caroline Andree Hertz
• Rebecca Claire Hinch
• Kathleen Louise Horvath
• Lauren Elizabeth Jackson
• Daniel Shea Kagan
• Daniel Christopher Kent
• Amy Eun-Young Agnes Lee
• Anne Marie Lord
• Leslie Lindquist Lyford
• Kathryn Anne McKew
• Andrew Michael Messina
• Adam Riley Murray
• Ayokunmi Shulamite Onifade
• Holly Elizabeth Packard
• Tyler Scott Saleck
• Mackenzie Joy Schroeder
• Peyton Franklin Stone
• Austin Bryan Talbot
• Tanner John Tibbits
• Megan Leigh Tracy
• Anirudh Venkatachalam
• Sarah Louise Walker

The faculty named Alexandra Chopivsky as most outstanding senior. She will be attending Yale University.

“This class is passionate, creative and resilient,” said Oblas. “You have a single-minded determination to pursue your goals and have a limitless appetite for learning.”

LCPS Superintendent Edgar B. Hatrick III, a Loudoun County graduate, reflected on the achievements of the class sitting before him.

“I first crossed that threshold in the summer of 1958 to register for school. For the last 53 years, I have felt a part of your community. I listened to your accomplishments, Class of 2011, and I thought to myself ‘Y’know, the Class of 1963 thought we were pretty cool. We thought we had accomplished a lot.’ We were slackers compared to you. Your accomplishments are remarkable.”

Microsoft General Manager for U.S. Education Seigfried Behrens was the commencement speaker. He told the graduates how seeming failures in his life led to eventual success.

As a child, Behrens attended an intensive Saturday art school, but eventually gave up on drawing, even though many people saw him as a future architect.

After high school, Behrens went to flight school inspired by “Top Gun,” but found after a semester he was not cut out to be a pilot.

“I felt defeated by this. I felt flat. I felt dejected. I felt embarrassed. I told everyone at home I wanted to be a pilot and went for it.”

Behrens call home to his parents to tell them he was leaving school and his mother had some words of wisdom. “This is something you had to learn on your own and you had to learn the hard way. But the most important thing is that you followed your heart and that is what matters.”

Behrens worked as a congressional aide, a job that paid so poorly he also was forced to work as a waiter and bartender. “I was pretty broke.”

He then became a young campaign manager for a congressional campaign. “If your guy wins, you’re in good shape. If he loses, you’re not.”

His guy lost.

“This time I didn’t feel dejected. This time I felt great about the sense of accomplishment. I followed my instincts and it led me to realize new skills and experiences, very fulfilling. I learned a lot about marketing, persuasion and leadership.”

Behrens went to work for the National Republican Senatorial Committee using software to track donors. “I fell in love with design. I realized my years in art school actually were not wasted…Design and putting things together, it all started coming back.”

Behrens said he developed a passion for technology, which led him to seek a job in the software industry even though he had no real experience in the field. That’s where Microsoft came in…

A recruiter, who had previously rejected him, called and said “Microsoft…is looking for young inexperienced people. I said ‘I’m your man, look no further.’ ”

As a technology executive, Behrens said all his past lives came to play in his current job.

“My aviation background, my congressional experience and even time working as a waiter would serve me well. Little known fact: Waiters know how to read people immediately. When you’re in the sales profession, you have to read the people at the table in board rooms…It all came back together.”

Oblas recognized three faculty members, Grace Kelley, Anthony Taglavore and Donald Wright upon their retirement. Wright’s history at Loudoun County was particularly compelling.

Wright has been a Loudoun County Public Schools employee for 40 years, 39 of which have been as a member of the Loudoun County High School faculty. He has served under six principals and taught Spanish to more than 6,000 students. At the time of his retirement, Wright had not missed a day of work since 1977 – 34 consecutive years of perfect attendance.

David Harris was the class valedictorian with a grade point average of 4.66. He will be attending Columbia University to study international relations and linguistics.

“I look at all of you today and see nothing but potential,” said Harris. “Generations before us say that it is our job to correct problems within the economy and environment…I have no doubt that all of you before me in your caps and gowns and weird tassely things on your heads will bring the resources necessary to remedy these problems. The beauty of this day and this moment is that all that lies ahead of us is our future. Each one of you holds so much ambition and promise; voices aching to be heard and hands ready to take on new challenges.”

Anne Marie Lord was salutatorian with a GPA of 4.63.

Attending Loudoun County’s graduation were School Board Vice Chairman Priscilla Godfrey (Blue Ridge District), Tom Reed (At-Large) and Tom Marshall (Leesburg District).