Congratulations Graduates!

Chartiers Valley’s Class of 2014 made their final stride together as the sun set on the football stadium, Thursday, June 5, 2014.  

The graduates-to-be fixed their cords and adjusted their caps in the high school before parading onto the field. Students, parents, family, and friends were welcomed with opening remarks by High School Co-Principals Mr. Samosky and Dr. Wodnicki.  

Following the welcome, top ranked students – Matt Palmer, Himali Ranade, and Christine Champ – spoke on behalf of the Class of 2014. The student speakers reflected on the memories the Class of 2014 made over the past four years. They also celebrated the Class of 2014’s many accomplishments, while encouraging their peers to continue to strive for success, despite the challenges they may face in the future. 

Mr. Samosky and Superintendent Dr. White also addressed the graduates and wished them well before the presentation of diplomas. After the last diploma was received, students threw their caps into the sky, adding yet another group of alumni to the 53 previous classes.

Congratulations and best wishes to the Chartiers Valley Class of 2014!

P.S. View more photos of Commencement 2014 and check out the online map of where our latest alums are headed after high school.  

Making the most of it

David Goldberg (Photo Credit: Serco Inc.)

As a student at Chartiers Valley, David Goldberg preferred his English and history classes to math and science.

“I really enjoyed reading, writing, history and political science, but I wasn’t sure what career path to follow at first.” said Mr. Goldberg. “Then I started thinking about my father who was a lawyer. I really admire him and though that may be a good career for me, too.”

After graduating from Chartiers Valley in 1983, Mr. Goldberg went to the University of Michigan. From there he went on to law school at the University of Virginia.  Today he is a successful lawyer at Serco in Reston, Virginia – right outside of Washington, DC.

“My whole career began before college,” said Mr. Goldberg. “Where you go to school has a major impact on where you end up.”

“My Chartiers Valley education was the launching pad for everything I’ve done since then,” Mr. Goldberg continued. “It was the foundation for everything that came later.”

After graduating from law school, Mr. Goldberg began his career in private practice at a big law firm in Washington, D.C. in 1990. He switched jobs in 1999 and began working at AOL in Dulles, Virginia. Then, in 2008, he joined his current employer, Serco, Inc. Today, Mr. Goldberg is Senior Vice President and General Counsel at Serco Inc.

In his current position, Mr. Goldberg is responsible for Legal, Ethics and Compliance, Internal Audit, Trade Compliance and Security.  He also serves as Corporate Secretary for the Serco Inc. Board of Directors.

“I’m happy with where I am in my career,” explained Mr. Goldberg. “At this point I place a strong emphasis on achieving a strong work-life balance. I view my job as a means to enjoy other things in life.” 

Even when he was still in High School, Mr. Goldberg worked hard, but remembered to have some fun along the way.

“Some of my best high school memories involve playing hockey and baseball,” said Mr. Goldberg.

Mr. Goldberg played in the hockey state championship his senior year. Though they lost to Bishop Canevin High School, Mr. Goldberg scored both goals. He was also a member of the baseball team that won their section his senior year.

Mr. Goldberg believes opportunities in life build on one another and he advises Chartiers Valley students to make the most of each and every one.

“As a graduate from CV, you can do anything you want. CV provides the opportunity to go on to even bigger and better things. That’s all you can ask for from an educational opportunity,” said Mr. Goldberg. “So make the most of it!”

A Winning Illustration

The first place winner of the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix 2014 official poster illustration contest is Sean Proakis (CVHS 2005). Sean is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Graphic Design at The Art Institute of Pittsburgh and expects to graduate in March 2014.  He is from Carnegie, and a graduate of Chartiers Valley High School.

Sean worked under the faculty direction of Mark Bender, member of faculty and also a graduate of The Art Institute of Pittsburgh. Mark Bender has been recognized by Communication Arts Magazine, 3X3 Magazine, Archive 200 Best Illustrators, Creative Quarterly and the New York Society of Illustrators, Mark has been included in the society’s annual exhibitions and in Original Art, the best in children’s book illustration. A member of both the NY Society of Illustrators and the Pittsburgh Society of Illustrators, his clients include The Boston Globe, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh UPMC, Federated Investors, Heinz USA, NPR, Sony Music and Simon & Schuster.

The spring and fall Graphic Design classes of 2013 submitted over 25 designs for consideration.

According to the PVGP’s Dan DelBianco, “We have enjoyed working with Mark Bender on posters in the past and with Mark as the instructor this seemed like a great way to open up the opportunity to the tremendous young talent here in Pittsburgh. We provided the students with a history of the Grand Prix and showed them the range of posters created over the last 30 years."

The winning artwork and artist will receive a great amount of exposure and publicity. The poster art will serve as the brand of the 2014 Grand Prix on billboards, race programs, t-shirts, advertising and promotions.

The Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix is a 10-day festival in July 2014 and is presented by Shop N Save. Details are available at the PVGP website http://www.pvgp.org.

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Via Carrie Butler for The Art Institute of Pittsburgh

L to R

Rob Straw, Photography Faculty, The Art Institute of Pittsburgh

Mark Bender, Graphic Design Faculty, The Art Institute of Pittsburgh

Sean Proakis, Graphic Design student, The Art Institute of Pittsburgh

Doris Short (Adjunct Faculty AIP Graphic Design and AIGA President)
Greg Coll (Graphic Design Professional- AIGA sponsorship coordinator)

Education, Research and Innovation

Educator. Research. Innovator. Those are just three of the words you could use to describe Chartiers Valley graduate Brian Donley, M.D.

When Dr. Donley graduated from Chartiers Valley High School in 1982, he knew he wanted to be a chemical engineer or a doctor. Ultimately deciding to become a doctor, Dr. Donley pursued a premed major at Notre Dame and then went to the University of Michigan Medical School. Upon graduating from Medical School, he began his residency in orthopaedic surgery at the University of Michigan followed by a fellowship in orthopaedic foot and ankle surgery at the Campbell Clinic, University of Tennessee. Dr. Donley completed his fellowship and joined the Cleveland Clinic’s Orthopaedic and Rheumatologic Institute in 1996.

“The Cleveland Clinic was a great match for me because I could practice foot and ankle orthopaedics and be involved with teaching, research and innovation.”

Today Dr. Donley serves as the Vice President of Regional Hospitals and Chief of Regional Hospital Medical Affairs and Quality at the Cleveland Clinic. He also continues his role as an educator, researcher and innovator.

As an educator, Dr. Donley has had many opportunities to teach medical students and residents how to be an orthopaedic surgeon. He has also traveled to 25 different countries to both teach and learn orthopaedics.

“I really enjoy speaking and teaching other orthopaedic surgeons locally, nationally and internationally,” said Dr. Donley. “I’ve also operated in 10 different countries and really enjoy international work.”

As a researcher and innovator, he has developed products that will help patients with their foot and ankle problems. With three patents, Dr. Donley is paving the way for other surgeons. Dr. Donley worked with an international team to develop an ankle replacement. He was then the first person in the country to put the ankle replacement in a patient in 2006.

Throughout his incredibly successful career, Dr. Donley has drawn on his experiences at Chartiers Valley to understand and utilize the value that every person brings to work each day.

“I value my time growing up in the Chartiers Valley School District. It’s where I learned to see the good that’s within all people,” said Dr. Donley. “I learned how to interact with people and enjoy them.”

Dr. Donley lives in Cleveland with his wife and three sons, ages 20, 17 and 14. Dr. Donley and his wife chose to send their sons to public school in Cleveland in part because of the great experience he had at Chartiers Valley.

“I look back with great memories of my time at Chartiers Valley,” said Dr. Donley. “A lot of the success I have had in my professional career is impacted by my education at Chartiers Valley.”

Today, Dr. Donley is giving back to the school district through the Chartiers Valley Education Foundation. He and his family established a grant in honor of Mr. Jerome Koziak, who was an elementary math teacher and the Primary School principal before he retired. The purpose of this grant is to inspire high quality, innovative instruction at Chartiers Valley. All CV teachers will be able to apply for this $500 grant every year.

Soldier Surprise

Adam Schwiederowski and his daughter, Autumn

When Chartiers Valley alumnus, Adam Schwiederowski, SSgt, USAF, stepped out of the “Mystery Reader” box in the Chartiers Valley Primary School gym, first grader Autumn Schwiederowski was stunned. Of all people, she wasn’t expecting to see her dad.

Sgt. Schwiederowski, Autumn’s father, returned home from Afghanistan this weekend and has been waiting to surprise his daughter at school. Today was the day. This morning he arrived at the Primary School and hid in a Mystery Reader box in the school gym. Autumn’s first grade class, along with two others, gathered in the gym for story time.

When the mystery reader finished the story, Mrs. Kaupinis, Autumn’s teacher, asked the students to guess who they thought it might be. After a few creative guesses – including “Another teacher!” and “The Middle School cheerleaders!” – Sgt. Schwiderowski stepped out to surprise his daughter.

What Sgt. Schwiderowski didn’t know was the Chartiers Valley High School Showband was behind the curtain in the gym. As he embraced his daughter, the curtain opened and the band began playing. Sgt. Schwiderowski is a Chartiers Valley alum and was in the band when he was in school.

At the end of the celebration, Autumn got an early dismissal and a night without homework so she could spend some quality time with her father.

View photos of the reunion on Chartiers Valley's Flickr page>>

Watch video of the reunion on Chartiers Valley's YouTube page>>

Watch WTAE's coverage of the surprise reunion>> 

Read coverage from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette>>

Read coverage from Trib Total Media>>

Save the Date: CV Class of 1984 Reunion

The Chartiers Valley Class of 1984 will have a reunion on July 26, 2014 from 6 to 11 p.m. at the Southepoint Hilton Garden Inn, Canonsburg, PA. 

More information and updates are being posted at https://www.facebook.com/groups/533800703375993/. You can also contact Leslie Hall Peters at godemocrat@yahoo.com. 

From the Charvalettes to the Rockettes

The Charvalette’s have always been a highlight of Friday night football games at Chartiers Valley with their Rockette-inspired kick lines.

Today, one CV alumna has high kicked her way all the way to New York City. Katie Vercek, a 2011 graduate, is pursuing a career in dance and was recently given the opportunity to train with the Radio City Rockettes. 

“[In high school] I was a member of the Drill Team, Dance Troupe, Orchestra, Musicals, Fall Play and more! As you can see, I loved the Performing Arts!” said Katie.

Driven by her love of the arts, Katie decided to pursue her passion at Seton Hill University through a Music Education major with a minor in Dance. However, at the start of Katie’s freshman year of college she found, unlike CV, Seaton Hill did not have a dance team.

“When I started school at Seton Hill I was upset to find that they did not have a Dance Team. So instead of complaining about it, I got involved and started the first Seton Hill Dance Team. I am the Captain and Choreographer for the team and have learned a lot through this adventure.”

Katie founded the team in January 2013. By April, the team had already begun to establish themselves in the community as well in competition.

“We attended our first competition at Washington & Jefferson’s Spring Fling Dance Competition. We placed second overall.” Katie recalled. “I was extremely proud of the girls for their performance and how far we have come as team. We now perform at various Seton Hill sports events, dance competitions and community events.”

With the success of organizing a university dance team, Katie stumbled upon the Rockette Summer Intensive, which is an annual program that gives aspiring Rockettes the opportunity to train under the direction of one of the most famous dance troupes in the country.

“I have always loved the Rockettes, so I thought I’d give it a try. I had never auditioned for a professional intensive before, but a lot of what the Rockettes do is very similar to the Charvalettes, in terms of style. So I thought I’d have a good chance,” explained Katie.

Katie sent a video audition and was accepted! Thousands of girls audition and only 500 make it. There were 81 students the week Katie attended.

During one week of intensive study with the Rockettes and a Rockettes Director and Choreographer, dancers trained for six hours of class, working towards a Final Showcase performance at the end of the week. The girls also got to have a Q&A session with the Rockettes.

“My favorite part of the intensive was the performance. To have Rockettes on the sides of the stage, watching you was very intimidating, but thrilling. Wearing the red lipstick and smiling under the bright lights felt amazing.”

According to Katie, there were many similarities between Mrs. Jenkins’ Drill Team training and the Rockette.

“At the Rockette Summer Intensive we did basically the same arm and plank workouts I did in high school. Also remember, that the Charvalettes dance all summer in the blazing sun and in the freezing cold during the fall, while juggling algebra, biology and senior projects! I think the Rockettes have it easy compared to our Charvalettes!”

Katie describes her high school dance experience as one of the key components of her dance success.

“The Charvalettes perform at a professional level. They are truly a unique team and continue to impress audiences whether in Showcase or at a football game. I would not have been prepared for the Rockette Summer Intensive without having had my Charvalette experience.”

“I owe everything I have done regarding the Rockettes to Mrs. Cathy Jenkins the Dance Instructor for the Charvalettes and Dance Troupe. She is an amazing teacher with so much charisma and creativity; it is because of her teaching that I am where I am today.”

As for Chartiers Valley preparing Katie for life beyond high school, she keeps CV in high regards.

“Chartiers Valley has prepared me in many ways. Aside from what I have gained from the dance program at CV, Chartiers Valley has also prepared me academically. The AP classes and College in High School (CHIS) classes offered at CV are a huge help and saved me some money, as well. I definitely recommend taking AP English and getting in as many CIHS classes in as you can, you will definitely be glad that you don’t have to sit through statistics in college and pay for it.”

Katie’s advice for current CV students is to take advantage of all the extracurricular activities. “Generally I would say to take advantage of all of the opportunities CV has to offer. Get involved with anything that interests you. CV has so much to offer in this aspect.”

Watch Katie’s audition video on YouTube>>