Dan Cirucci: HS Has 18 Valedictorians

Sunday, June 28, 2009

HS Has 18 Valedictorians

From Caitlin Murray at the Buffalo News:
When Niagara Falls High School seniors graduate today, they may hear some encouraging words from the valedictorian of their class.
Then again, maybe they won’t. That’s because no one really knows who ranked No. 1 in the class of 2009.
Niagara Falls High School is the first in Niagara County to get rid of class rankings and valedictorians, a decision officials say was designed out of fairness.
Instead, 18 students will graduate today with so-called valedictory honors as their true class rank remains a mystery — one that school officials say even they can’t solve.
“We felt it was nice to recognize a valedictorian, but those other kids were so close,” said James Spanbauer, head of Niagara Falls High School. “We’re talking hundredths of a point sometimes. We felt they were all deserving.”
Students are mixed on their feelings of the new system. Some say it is nice that more can be honored, but others feel the shared honor lacks the same impact.
“It was disappointing because I had been working hard all these years to be No. 1. That was my goal,” said 17-year-old Kelly O’Brien. “It took a long time for me to, like, be OK with it.”
Instead, competitive students kept an eye toward the two valedictory speaking slots at today’s graduation ceremony. The speakers were selected by a panel based on interviews and a submitted speech outline. O’Brien will be one of the speakers, along with Chloe Legault.
Harry Murray was the valedictorian at my high school graduation. Yeah, Harry was a smart guy but he always seemed a bit enigmatic.
Anyway, I think he went on to Princeton. Beyond that, I have no idea what happened to him. Never read about him becoming famous or anything like that.
What happened to you, Harry? Are you out there? Talk to us. We'd love to hear from you.

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About Dan Cirucci

He's been cited by the late Rush Limbaugh, quoted in the New York Times, featured at Real Clear Politics and Lucianne.com and interviewed across all media.

He's Dan Cirucci, the founder and editor-in chief of the Dan Cirucci Blog, a Save Jersey blog columnist, frequent guest on the Matt Rooney radio show and one of the most widely honored public relations professionals in his field. He's also been a public relations consultant to numerous organizations and individuals and hosted The Advocates on RVN-TV.

Inducted into the Philadelphia Public Relations Hall of Fame, for many years he served as a Lecturer in Corporate Communication at Penn State University. A former President of the Philadelphia Public Relations Association (PPRA) he has lectured at Rowan University, Temple University, The College of New Jersey and Arcadia University. He has conducted workshops on public relations for thousands of participants throughout the nation and has taught countless others the art of public speaking. He has also advised numerous lawyers, judges, public officials and political candidates.

Cirucci is a prolific writer and his op-ed pieces have appeared in the Philadelphia Daily News, Philadelphia Inquirer, Courier-Post, Broad and Liberty and other print and online platforms.

A native of Camden NJ, Cirucci is a former President of the Philadelphia chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators. Cirucci served as Associate Executive Director of the Philadelphia Bar Association for nearly 30 years. He served as Chair of Penn State University's Professional Advisory Board for the Corporate Communication major at Penn State Abington and on the Pennsylvania Bar Association's Judicial Selection Commission.

He received his MA degree from Rowan University and his BA from Villanova University. He has been named a Distinguished Alumnus of Rowan's public relations program and received the E. A. "Wally" Richter Leadership Award, the highest honor from the National Association of Bar Executives' Communications Section. He has also been honored by numerous other local, state and national groups.

In his hometown of Camden, Cirucci taught fifth grade at the Ulysses Wiggins Elementary School named for the founder of the Camden NAACP. There he was one of the first teachers in the country to teach African-American history to inner city students. He later served as editor of a local weekly newspaper, as Assistant to the Township Manager of Cherry Hill Township and as Associate Director of Communications at the New Jersey State Bar Association.

Cirucci's passions include all things Italian, politics, the popular culture, books and authors, art, communication, music, theatre, movies, dining and travel.

He and his wife Carole have two grown children and seven grandchildren.

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