Forty Graduating Seniors Are Honored for Volunteerism

Forty graduating seniors – 20 each from East and Henderson High Schools – have received the School District’s Spellman Humanitarian Award for their extraordinary record of service to others.

"You’ve brought credit to yourselves, your families, your schools and the West Chester Area School District,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Alan G. Elko said to the students at the awards ceremony in late April.

Initiated in 1999 under the joint sponsorship of the West Chester Area School District and the West Chester Area Education Association (WCAEA), the awards honor the memory of the late Dr. Elwood M. (Ossie) Spellman, who served as a member and president of the West Chester School Board from 1951 to 1969. His tenure on the Board occurred at a critical time when schools from West Chester Borough and the surrounding townships were consolidated to form the current West Chester Area School District. A highly respected area dentist, Dr. Spellman was also actively involved in the Boy Scouts, Rotary Club, YMCA, and Westminster Presbyterian Church.

This year’s recipients of the Spellman awards were nominated by their teachers for exhibiting the spirit of volunteerism and citizenship that was central to Dr. Spellman’s life. Their community activities, described as they were called forward individually, covered a wide range and indeed spoke to the ideals Dr. Spellman had promoted.

Scouting, church work, fire-fighting, service to the Salvation Army, participation in fundraising events such as the Philadelphia AIDs walk, and membership in school service clubs were among the activities cited.

In addition, one student had rebuilt homes for the poor in Appalachia and built a children’s shelter in Ghana. Another student had been part of a church mission trip to Belize. Still another had raised money for AIDs orphans in South Africa, while another had overseen a fundraiser for victims of the famine in Niger. Several of the students were certified Emergency Medical Technicians.

The list of service activities was “overwhelming,” in the words of WCAEA President Marianne Polito, who with Dr. Elko presided at the ceremony.

The Spellman family was represented by Dr. Spellman’s son, Bill, and daughter, Susan Tiernan. Bill Spellman spoke for the family, telling the students and guests that honesty, integrity, responsibility and respect had guided his father’s life. He noted that the students were following in his father’s footsteps by helping their fellow man without thought of remuneration. He then challenged the students to bring their friends and associates “into the fold” by encouraging them to become involved in volunteerism as well.

Spellman award winners from East High School were Michael Cafarchio, Brian Castiglioni, Brittany Diehl, Ryan Flanagan, Kaitlyn Higgins, Shanyse Hill, Christina Hoffman, Megan Kirkpatrick, Kristin Kuhfeld, James Laird, Michelle Polito, Caroline Poole, Lauren Robertson, Caylee Ruffenach, Melanine Santner, Elizabeth Schroeder, Adam Shellenbarger, Jeffrey Withington, and Caitlyn Zudans.

From Henderson they were Stefan Adams, Drew Anderson, Monique Foster, Kavik Frol, Daniel Gardo, Paul Giess, Michael Goodale, Emma Gould, Morgan Hess-Holtz, Thea Ivins, Jasmine Jones, Seth Lawrence, Andrew Palmer, James Ronayne, Megan Smith, Anita Stahl, Allison Struebing, Ratipriya Suresh, Alexandra Taylor, and Christina Thurston.

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