By Kylie Barony
The Commencement speaker for the class of 2012 has been chosen. This year’s speaker will be David Grazier, a graduate of TAHS.
“It’s an honor to be commencement speaker”, Grazier said.
Grazier was asked to be this year’s commencement speaker in February, when Richard Merryman gave him a call. During his speech, Grazier plans to talk the graduating class about life changes, and decisions and challenges they will face in life.
While in high school, Grazier was involved in football, wrestling, track and concert choir. He wrestled for six years. Grazier began wrestling in 7th grade, where he could only do recreational wrestling because Tyrone did not offer wrestling for middle schoolers.
His senior year, Grazier received the spotlight for “Best Form”, which meant Best Build.
“I was embarrassed, but it was also neat. I think that Connie deserved it a lot more than I did,” Grazier said with a laugh.
Senior spotlights have changed over the years. In the 70’s, they had spotlights like ‘Most Witt’, and now TAHS students have the spotlight ‘Jersey Shore Look a Like’. But for the most part, they’re all the same, just with different names.
According to Grazier, school in the 70’s was a lot different than school now-a-days. Take study hall for instance. Study hall in the 70’s meant doing nothing but school work, which also meant absolutely no talking. Grazier explained that if you were in a study hall in a classroom, you could at least whisper. But during Grazier’s study hall, he went to the library to get his work done because it was a little quieter. The librarian, Mrs. Jones, had ears like a hawk and she could hear even the slightest whisper. And if you got kicked out of the library, your teacher would paddle you.
But more than just the school rules have changed, the sports rules have also changed. Wrestling rule have changed a lot. The uniforms are a lot different. In the 70’s, they were called wrestling tights, but now they are called singlets.
School back then was also a lot less technical. For instance, calculators did not exist yet, so they had to use a tool called a slide-role which was a lot more complicated to use. When calculators first came out they were expensive, costing at about $100, and in the 70’s, that was a big deal.
Computers were not around in the 70’s. Grazier explained that the first computer came out when he was a sophomore in college, and it took up a whole room. It was also a lot more complicated to use because you had to use cards, and put holes in it and feed it into the computer, and the computer would read the card when you put it in.
Grazier said that high school was some of the best memories he has ever made.
“[High school] was fun. I made some of the best friends in high school, and I’m still good friends with them,” Grazier said.
After Grazier graduated high school, he went to college at William and Mary in Williamsburg Virginia for 4 years and got his teaching degree in health and physical education and got his first job in Jersey Shore Pennsylvania where he taught for nine years, and he also coached wrestling and football until 1984.
Tyrone helped Grazier with furthering his education.
“Tyrone gave me the tools I needed to continue my education. They also gave me the discipline I needed to keep up with my school work,” Grazier explained.
Although Grazier graduated in 1971, he says graduation ceremonies really haven’t changed.
“I went [to commencement] in 2000 because my kids were graduating, and it was very similar to the way it was when I graduated.” Grazier explained.
While teaching in Jersey Shore, Grazier met his wife Janet. They later had three children: Ben their oldest, Marybeth the middle child and Mark the youngest.
No comments:
Post a Comment