Lewisburg graduates reflect on community, growth
LEWISBURG — Bree Jun did not expect the ninth time to be a charm when she arrived at Lewisburg Area School District.
Jun, one of Lewisburg Area High School's 147 graduating seniors on Tuesday night, was born in Texas, raised in China and lived in the echo of her parents' Korean culture. When she arrived at Lewisburg — her ninth school — she thought it would be another place to be lonely, but she ended up finding her community.
'This rural Pennsylvania town has meant more to me than I ever thought it could,' Jun said during the high school's 160th annual commencement ceremony at Sojka Pavilion at Bucknell University. 'Being at Lewisburg has, for so long, felt like being in one big family. I wish I could say there was one big defining moment when I felt it click for me, but that wouldn't be true. It was little moments, the almost trivial ones.'
Over the last few years, Jun said she learned that a community provided her with the bravery to try, to fail, to shape herself, to develop, and eventually to succeed.
'It gives you room to grow without the fear of being left behind,' she said. 'It gives you something to hold on to when everything else is shifting. And when you finally do succeed, it will become something shared. Something earned together, making it all the more meaningful. As we leave this place, we will undoubtedly find ourselves in new spaces. And in those moments, we might feel a little out of place, uncertain of who we are and what we want.'
She hopes that Lewisburg taught her classmates that community never ends.
'We carry its value with us, and we have the power to create it wherever we go,' Jun said. 'So, as you move on, build your own unique community. Learn to rely on them and let them rely on you. It's very normal to be scared, but try to be even more excited, to look for your place and your people. Congratulations, class of 2025, let's go build our next community.'
Mariah Drexler encouraged her classmates to focus on the present.
'In thinking so much about the past, it's only natural to think about the big, scary yet exciting future ahead of us,' Drexler said. 'But then we would forget about this incredibly special moment right now. So I won't tell you the world is your oyster or go on about your unlimited potential. I have no doubt Lewisburg's class of 2025 will figure that out later.'
Instead, she said, 'Be here. Be fully here in this moment and this upcoming summer. Take a deep breath because you did it, and you deserve to savor it.'
Take pride in the accomplishments, she added.
'For every lesson you have learned, someone else has been there with you,' she said. 'For every bad day, remember the friend who lifted you up. Remember the teacher who gave you grace or the lunch lady who called you honey with a smile that brightened your day. It's these moments that matter and make high school special as well as life. These are the things we will carry with us and pass on to others.'
Class President Haneef Shavers said the class of 2025 is growing its wings to fly.
'Some of us will be doctors. Some will be scientists. Athletes. Teachers. Wherever the wind takes you. We can't pause time and we have to adapt. The future is scary and we all fear the unknown, but it's inevitable.'
Genesis Vazquez Ramos, a senior who attended SUN Area Technical School in New Berlin, who studied Patient Care and Technology, highlighted the importance of recognizing that career and technical education and showing that 'college-ready' and 'career-ready' are not competing goals but parallel paths to a brighter future.
'SUN Tech offered more than industry-recognized credentials; it offered the confidence that comes from mastering real tools in real time,' Vazquez Ramos said. 'Whether you're heading straight into the workforce, enlisting, or continuing your studies, the certifications dangling from your résumé aren't just paper — they're proof you have set your achievements in motion towards your future success.'
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