Sidney CSD High School Principal Maggie McNamara, Sidney CSD Salutatorian Holly Bookhout, Valedictorian Liam Gronwall, and Superintendent Eben Bullock.
Sidney CSD honored its valedictorian and salutatorian for the Class of 2023 on Tuesday afternoon.
The valedictorian is Liam Gronwall and the salutatorian is Holly Bookhout. They were each presented with a certificate and gift during a celebration event. Each student will also speak at graduation.
During the celebration, school counselor Jody Gravelin spoke about each student. Below are her words. She also spoke to each at the ceremony, and those words are also below.
Holly Bookhout
Conscientious, diligent and mature are just a few words that describe our first honoree.
Organized and detailed in her work, she has consistently demonstrated a strong work ethic and dedication to success. She is soft spoken, caring, and a compassionate person, someone who is always willing to help those around her.
Although quiet on the outside, she leads by example. She has been a peer tutor, she volunteered as a teaching assistant for college Spanish, and has participated in many community service events. She has been on Superintendent’s List throughout high school.
She has been a member of student council, Interact, Spanish club and National Honor Society. She earned the Shirley A. Ford Mathematics Award and has been recognized as this year’s DAR Good Citizen for her dependability, service, leadership and patriotism.
Her level of maturity, her intelligence and her keen and subtle sense of humor are attributes that are respected by all. She is dependable and levelheaded, a very sweet young lady who is fun to be around. We will surely miss her next year, but wherever she goes, success will follow.
This fall, she looks forward to attending SUNY Broome to study business management. It is my distinct honor to introduce the calutatorian of the Class of 2023, Holly Bookhout.
Liam Gronwall
Our next honoree is an extremely hardworking and determined student, who is detail oriented, and always strives to do his best. He is always willing to take a leadership role, and he is kind, helpful and friendly to others in school, his church, and community.
He consistently challenges himself by taking the most rigorous classes that our school has to offer, including several college-level math and science classes as well as PLTW pre-engineering college courses.
He has been on superintendent’s list every quarter throughout his high school career. Last year, he earned the Bausch and Lomb Honorary Science Award, Clarkson Achievement Award and RPI Rensselaer Medal Award. He has been widely involved in the music program at school, with an endless list of performances through the school, all-county, and all-state. He performed a level 6 all-state NYSSMA solo, and earned a perfect score of 100! He is first chair alto saxophone for the concert, jazz and marching bands, and is a member of the Hartwick College jazz band. This past summer, I had the honor to see one of his performances in his musical gig with “Two of Us Plus One.”
He is an Eagle Scout and has given back by volunteering countless hours of community service. As if this doesn’t keep him busy enough, he is the chaplain’s aide and assistant senior patrol leader for Boy Scout Troop 88, he is senior class president, president of the Tri-M Music Honor Society, co-captain of varsity soccer team, and is a student leadership fellow on the Sidney Alumni Association. In all that he does, he carries himself with confidence, drive, and determination.
Upon graduation, we will be sorry to see him leave, but we know he is destined for great things. This fall he plans to attend the University at Scranton to study business administration. It is my distinct honor to introduce the valedictorian of the Class of 2023, Liam Gronwall.
To both
You have probably been told all of your lives that you are smart, but many smart people don’t achieve in their classes, or become first or second in their graduating class. You have made the choice to achieve, and made a commitment to succeed.
What people don’t see are all the things that go into that decision. They may see that you are smart and that you get good grades, but what they may not see is:
Your passion
Your failure
Your flexibility
Your early mornings and late nights
The discipline
The motivation
The doubt
The goals you have set
The time it takes
The anxiety
The drive, and
The perseverance
Beyond all of your academic, athletic and musical achievements, you are both kind, committed, empathetic, ethical and motivated. These qualities will take you far and we wish you success and happiness as you start this next phase of your life. Congratulations to you both!