Two journeys, one beginning: BHS honors its own

Bloomsburg High School (BHS)opened its doors on November 21 to welcome home two distinguished alums whose lives, careers and character continue to reflect the best of what our school hopes to inspire. The annual Graduates of Distinction Ceremony is always a special day, but this year’s celebration carried a unique sense of continuity as students entered classrooms to meet the professionals they might one day become. Dr. William A. Knorr, Class of 1966, and Dr. Galen Foulke, Class of 2002, returned not only to accept an honor but to teach, to listen and to remind students that remarkable futures often begin in the very hallways they walk each day.

The morning program placed each inductee exactly where their stories began, among students, in classrooms that mirror the interests that shaped their paths. Dr. Knorr spent time with ninth-grade Health students before joining Psychology and AP Psychology classes, where he spoke about his work with children and adolescents facing mental health and addiction challenges. Students were struck by both his warmth and his conviction. He shared that ongoing advances in psychological research have enabled physicians to better understand and treat young people, adding context and compassion to the chapter students were studying.

Dr. Foulke’s morning unfolded in the Biology and AP Biology classes, where he reunited with the subject that first sparked his love of science. During a discussion on current research, he noted with a smile how far curriculum and student readiness have come since his days at BHS. His presence allowed students to meet a physician-scientist in the middle of groundbreaking work, including his investigations into autoimmune and inflammatory skin diseases as an associate professor of dermatology and public health sciences at Penn State Health Hershey Medical Center.

Both men returned to Bloomsburg with careers marked by achievement, service and resilience. For Dr. Knorr, the journey from pediatrician to renowned child and adolescent psychiatrist was shaped by unexpected challenge. After a congenital vision condition altered his medical practice, he chose not to retreat but to reinvent, ultimately becoming board-certified in four medical specialties and dedicating nearly 40 years to the Abigail Rockwell Children’s Center at the Brattleboro Retreat in Vermont. His career stands as a testament to perseverance and a belief in rising to meet hardship with purpose.

Dr. Foulke’s path reflects a different but equally compelling arc, one rooted in curiosity, intellectual rigor and a commitment to improving patient care. After graduating from BHS, he pursued pre-medicine at Penn State University, completed medical school and residency at the Penn State College of Medicine, and served as chief resident in dermatology. Today, his national recognition as a researcher, educator and clinician demonstrates what is possible when early interests are nurtured and transformed into lifelong work.

In the afternoon, both inductees participated in a joint interview during the schoolwide induction ceremony. Students asked thoughtful questions about career highlights, pivotal moments, and the influence of teachers and friends from their years at Bloomsburg High School. Their responses blended humor, humility and gratitude, offering students not polished speeches, but honest reflections about the setbacks, surprises and mentors that shaped their journeys.

After the ceremony, inductees and their guests gathered in the main vestibule for the unveiling of their plaques on the Graduates of Distinction Wall. Surrounded by students, teachers, friends and family members, the moment captured what the day represented: not simply an award, but a homecoming. Next was a reception prepared by the Culinary in Action students in the school library.

For today’s students, the impact of the visit was immediate and personal. They met a psychiatrist who refused to let the loss of eyesight stop him from caring for young people in crisis, and a physician-scientist whose research may change the lives of patients around the world. The message was unmistakable: Bloomsburg students can, and do, change lives, whether across the country or in their own communities. Dr. Knorr and Dr. Foulke proved that the legacy of a school is written not only in its past, but in the ambitions of those who walk through its doors today.