The sixth annual commencement ceremony of the Lehigh Valley Academy Regional Charter School took place at the Zoellner Arts Center in Bethlehem June 5. As the familiar melody of Edward Elgar's "Pomp and Circumstance" was heard over the speakers, the 30-member class marched down the auditorium stairs to take seats on stage.

The 11-member choir opened the ceremony with the singing of "The Star Spangled Banner" and the Lehigh Valley Academy's Alma Mater. As audience members took their seats, Susan Mauser took the stage to begin the speaking portion of the ceremony.

Following the opening remarks, junior and senior high school principal Cristal McCollum made a speech that spoke to the accomplishments of the graduating class and encouraged them with quotes by the late Maya Angelou.

"You can tell a lot about a person by the way (s)he handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights," read McCollum. "I've learned that making a 'living' is not the same thing as 'making a life.'"

She reminded the students that regardless of education, jobs and other tasks in life, they have to take time to live and enjoy themselves.

Although the majority of the speeches included standard wishes to students upon graduating, the overarching theme among the nine speakers was best stated by student speaker Aiat Jaber, "Family will never falter," referring to the bonds created between faculty and students at the school. Before delivering her speech, senior class president Layla Irby took a selfie with her classmates, explaining that it was a common occurrence during their days at LVA.

"We made it. This moment doesn't seem quite real yet, but we're here," Irby said. Her speech focused on the topic of family, telling the audience members about how she attended LVA for 12 years and became close with the other 29 members of her class.

"If we were going to succeed, we were going to not only do it individually, but as a group." Irby said the headaches and troubles of schooling were worthwhile because she had the support of her peers. She said her classmates would collaborate and use their personal strong points to help the others through their difficult subjects.

"I'm really glad that none of us had to do this alone," said student speaker Joseph Koch. "I don't know what I would have done without you."

Koch also reflected on the sense of belonging LVA gave him that he had not found anywhere else. He said nothing else he will do will be quite like this because of how close the senior class was.

Special awards were later presented by Mauser to students who had been through all LVA programs from first through 12th grade. Recipients of the award were Collin DosSantos, Mauria Febbrano, Layla Irby, Deja Minnifield, William Parkinson, Melanie Roth and Emily Tone.

After the special awards were presented, students Lauren Foose, Aiat Jaber and Aubrey Miller rose to present the traditional senior video, a compilation of photos and videos set to music, featuring each member of the senior class.

The 30 seniors were accepted to 15 different colleges as well as the Navy and Pa. National Guard. The colleges spanned from Albright College to Temple University.

The Lehigh Valley Academy Regional Charter School is a K-12 IB world school that strives to educate students while building a learning community that supports student achievement. Class sizes are approximately 25 students each.

"If you can dream it, you can achieve it," Irby said. "Remember that LVA set you up to chase that dream."