Celebrating the Class of 2021 graduates

The Bucks IU was extremely proud to honor and celebrate the 40 graduates of the Class of 2021. This year’s graduating class includes special education students from 10 Bucks County school districts and the School District of Philadelphia. Graduation was June 8, 2021, at William Tennent High School in Warminster, PA.

The evening began with a welcome by Dr. Lenny Greaney, Bucks IU director of special education, followed by the first student of the evening to have a special role in the ceremony. Graduating senior, Mr. Connor Lafferty representing the School District of Philadelphia, was honored with leading the assembly in the Pledge of Allegiance. Dr. Mark Hoffman, Bucks IU executive director, provided the opening remarks.

A highlight of the evening are the student keynote speakers. Both students represented the Morrisville School District and are long time best friends from the Bucks IU Decisions Program. First to present was Mr. Daniel Sayers, who started by noting that he had low expectations for the Bucks IU Decisions program he was to start three years ago. He went on to talk about how wrong he had been and about all the opportunities for work he ended up having through the program.

The second student keynote speaker was Mr. Gavin Stricker, who spoke about the difficulties this past year presented and how he was determined to not let that deter him from finding opportunities from which he could continue to grow. He encouraged all people with disabilities to not become too attached to only what they know or are familiar with, but to motivate themselves to tackle new challenges and see them as a chance to learn.

The Bucks IU is proud of the effort, determination and resilience of these amazing students. Congratulations graduates with our best wishes for a wonderful future!