News: Potomac Falls High School Graduates Told to Make it Better Wherever They Work or Serve

Special to VivaLoudoun via Loudoun County Public Schools

(June 20, 20110 - The Potomac Falls High School Class of 2011 celebrated its commencement exercises on Thursday, June 16th, in the school’s gymnasium after threatening storms forced the planned outdoor graduation indoors.

Potomac Falls Principal Janice M. Koslowski and Katie Ann Lantzy, senior class president, jointly greeted the audience of family, friends, faculty and the graduates.


“As a whole class, we have broken the school record by earning $2.8 million in scholarships this year,” said Lantzy. “While we have been receiving scholarships, we have been giving back to our community…Through the Panther Project we helped our community by volunteering in elementary schools, collecting toys for the Grafton School and working on beautification projects. Being a part of the Panther community…it didn’t matter if we were staff or students, we all found our strengths in working together and leading each other to success.

“Tonight is a night for the celebration of our past, but also for what the future may hold. Although we will take our past with us to achieve our dreams and goals in life, we all know that we now have the foundation necessary to prepare us in life for what may come.”

Koslowski provided the class statistical profile:
• There were 390 members of the Class of 2011.
• Almost 90 percent of the class will further their education in college.
• 60 percent of the class heading to college will study in Virginia colleges and universities.

“What we know is that each of you has grown in many ways in your tenure here…and you are well equipped to begin this phase of your life,” said Koslowski. “For the last four years and many before that you have made one decision after another that has opened the door for you today or closed off an opportunity for you. We all make them, and what we hope is that when we reach a pinnacle like you have today at your high school graduation…that the decisions that you have made have opened more doors than closed.

“You are not done…because now you begin again…you begin anew. You get to start over with a fresh slate… Every decision you make…every single day going forward…will either create an opportunity for you or will take one away, I am convinced of that. So make your decisions wisely.

“I thank you for the positive impact you have made here and the positive impact you will make just like your predecessors on Potomac Falls High School and our community.”

“Graduation is one of those times in life when you are likely to pause and reflect a bit on the journey that you have been on,” noted Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS Deputy Superintendent) Ned D. Waterhouse.

“You get a short time to celebrate, but in no time at all you are moving forward into the unique future that is out there waiting for you and only for you.

“Entering adulthood in this day and time will pose for each of you both challenges and opportunities. You will encounter tremendous emphasis on measurable achievement and the goal of attainment of material wealth.

These things can divert you from fundamental issues that have critical impact on your life and your relationships with others.

“I will bet that the vast majority of you have already been thrown a few curves and you have learned that sometimes even your best efforts and most sincere hopes do not produce the results that you intended. Life does not always follow a predicable or understandable path…and life is not always fair.

“On the other hand you also have heard it said that attitude is everything. You may have learned that the way that you choose to react to things can have a profound difference on what happens next. It can affect the way you feel about yourself and the world around you.

“The one thing we can surely control in our lives is our personal choices. We create meaning and define our lives through the choices that we make for ourselves. It is true that certain big choices that we make for ourselves have great impact…but I would submit to you that your life’s meaning and the quality of your life is actually in a million moments. In the smaller choices (you make) day in and day out.

“I’ve heard people say, ‘don’t sweat the small stuff.’ I would say don’t sweat the small stuff, but do pay attention to some of those small choices. They are more manageable…they are often the things that you have the most control over and their cumulative impact will be great.”

The Combined Choirs of Potomac Falls performed “A Dream Is a Wish your Heart Makes” followed by the solo performance of senior Michelle Elizabeth Viljoen singing “The Dream.”

Potomac Falls Assistant Principal Douglas B. Fulton recognized the top 10 academic students, all with a grade point average (GPA) of 4.46 and higher. These students are (in alphabetical order):
• Rachel Ilean Allen
• Jared William Carter
• Jessica Lynn Eversmeyer
• Jessica Elisabeth Gil
• Taylor Elizabeth Jordan
• Jeremy Preston Juliane
• Portia Helene Alexandrina Larentis
• Paige Elizabeth Leslie
• Melissa Ann Saunders
• Natalie Lauren Wahl

Saunders was class valedictorian with a 4.62 GPA.

“We entered this high school four years ago a little timid, but eager to embrace our lives here,” Saunders said in her valedictory address. “As freshmen, we had ideas about how these four years would play out. Some students aspired to be creative, some aspired to be artistic, some aspired to be athletic and some aspired to excel academically. Some students reached the goals they set as freshmen, while others altered their aspirations and excelled in areas they never dreamed possible.

“The students in this class worked hard, overcame obstacles, sacrificed much and dreamed big. We are not here tonight by accident receiving our diplomas. Our teachers challenged our minds, our character and our beliefs.

“Change will always be a part of our life. Graduation is another change taking place in our lives right now. After today we will no longer attend Potomac Falls High School. Many students in our class will attend college in the fall, some will enter the military and others will go on to work full-time jobs. In just the next few years, we will travel to different lands, embark on new adventures, learn new material, make new friends and overcome new obstacles. And we will even meet our new spouses…and then we will really have to embrace new change.

“As we go our separate ways and search for our definition of success…we will always be joined together as the Potomac Falls High School graduating Class of 2011.”

Potomac Falls named three salutatorians, each earning a 4.61 GPA:
• Jessica Lynn Eversmeyer
• Jessica Elisabeth Gil
• Portia Helena Alexandrina Larentis

The three salutatorians jointly introduced keynote speaker Dr. R.F. “Rick” Shangraw Jr. Shangraw, a former Potomac Falls parent, is senior vice president for the Office of Knowledge Enterprise Development (OKED) at Arizona State University.

“It’s good to be back at Potomac Falls,” said Shangraw. “Some of you may know that my son, Austin, graduated from Potomac Falls in 2007 and my daughter, Anna, made it through her sophomore year before I dragged her kicking and screaming to Phoenix, Arizona. And my daughter Alexi, who dreamed of going to Potomac Falls, never even made it.

“I will focus my talk tonight on three things...three pieces of advice to you, Class of 2011: live to learn, embrace the world, dream about your future.

“Live to Learn: Learning is something broader than what you get in a classroom. It is something that happens every day, and will happen for the rest of your life. It is about living your life on a daily basis so you are always learning.

“Learning is changing dramatically today. We will change not only the way we learn day-to-day…but how we learn in schools. There will be more hybrid learning, where you combine online learning with classroom education. The future will bring learning from the collective people or groups that you can learn from.

“Just because you are completing one part of your schooling…and as you go on to the next part of your schooling, you are never going to stop learning. College doesn’t prepare you for your last job, so you always have to be learning.

“Your teachers here at Potomac Falls not only taught you ‘stuff’ but they taught you how to learn, which is a valuable skill you will need for the rest of your life.

“Embrace the World: We have a new generation. You are ‘Generation Z’. You have unprecedented resources in the world… (these resources are) travel and the internet. It is important that you think about how you connect with the world. My view on this is that it is important to think about the broad shift that is happening in our country. Sometime in your lifetime…there is going to be a point at which China will be bigger than the United States. That should create a tremendous shift in how we think about the United States and the world. Think about how you will embrace the world. How you learn languages and talk to people…how you connect with other cultures.

“My recommendation is to think a lot about how you connect with the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China). These countries in your lifetime will have a huge impact and huge influence on what you do. I encourage you to try out Google translator and learn new languages…and go onto international Facebook sites and learn about different countries.

“Six miles down the road you can go on 440 flights a week to 48… countries.

Save up and travel to Beijing or London.

“Dream about Your Future: Try to begin finding your dreams. That is something important to begin doing at this stage. Those of you who don’t have dreams right now…just begin thinking about where you want to head in life. Three dreamers who sat in those very seats that you are sitting in right now are Adrian Tracy of the New York Giants; Jillian Helms, a Rockette on Broadway, choreographer and performer in “Cabaret”; and Paul Friar, student at West Point, the United States Military Academy.”

Attending the Potomac Falls graduation were School Board Chairman John B. Stevens (Potomac District) and Vice Chairman Priscilla B. Godfrey (Blue Ridge District).