CHENANGO COUNTY – After graduation, caps and gowns are put away and each Class of 2007 throughout Chenango County will venture out into new worlds, adjusting to life in the workforce, college, the armed forces or some far-off place as exchange students or volunteers. For now, their teachers and administrators remember the years they spent in high school vividly.

• Norwich
Norwich senior class advisor Richard Bernstein says the class of 2007 is a strong student body led by a strong class president. Like many other classes following the tragedy of 9/11, he says the students seem more in tune and aware of the problems at home and around the world. “They are concerned for the country as well as the world’s future,” said Bernstein. He also says the students are academically prepared and politically aware, understanding the implications of current issues, like the strife in the Middle East and Darfur.
“They are concerned with the challenges they will face and not blind to the world around them,” he said. “ This is a historically significant era.”

• Otselic Valley
According to Otselic Valley Senior Class Advisor Lori Wood, OV’s class of 2007 is a tight knit bunch of dedicated students. “They are a family,” Wood said of the graduating seniors. “It’s a small class, and they truly care about each other.”
The seniors in the OV class are different than other classes because of their strong work ethic and dedication to the things they do, Wood explained. Many of the students in the class play sports, are involved in extra curricular activities and have jobs in addition to doing academic work. This is apparent when looking at the Valedictorian Rachel Perry and the Salutatorian Jack Conway, both of whom are dedicated to activities outside of the school. Rachel, who was the only student to participate in the orchestra pit during the school musical, is active in the Smyrna Citizens Band and Jack, who is also active in the school plays, donates a portion of his time to tutoring math at Wilson Hospital in Binghamton.
“They have huge hearts. Inside and outside of school activities, the kids are very involved all the way around. I can honestly say that about the whole class,” Wood said.
Wood said the teachers referred to the class of 2007 as their survivors, because they dealt with changes in New York State testing standards and the change of a teacher in a core class in the middle of the semester and still managed to come out on top. In addition to all of that, Wood said she and other teachers found the students to be genuinely fun. “They know how to have fun, but they still have an amazing work ethic,” she said.

• Gilbertsville-Mt. Upton
Senior Peter Simon, 17, says he overcame an unusually challenging year with the help of his classmates. Simon’s father died in October from Cancer. An only child, he had already lost his mother a few years before.
“It’s just been tough to get the work at school done and still take care of everything at home,” said Simon, who spent the better part of the year living by himself in his family’s Gilbertsville home. “My classmates have just been there to support me.”
Simon, who will attend the Rochester Institute of Technology in the fall, said his fellow graduates were always grabbing homework and filling him in on class lectures. Most of all, he said they were just there for him.
“I’m glad I’m at a small school,” Simon said. “I don’t think I would have gotten that at a big school.”
High School and Middle School Principle Tonda Dunbar praised the class’ community service efforts, which she said went above and beyond expectations. She also said these seniors has never been afraid to be themselves.
“This is truly a diverse and eclectic group of students,” said Dunbar.

• Sherburne-Earlville
“I don’t know if I can put it into words,” said Class of 2007 advisor Joanne Blenis, after being asked what made the Sherburne-Earlville seniors unique. “They’re just a really nice group of kids. I love them dearly,” she said, “and I’ll miss them a lot.”
Blenis said the kids have always taken the road less traveled in search of doing things the right way – whether it was school work, fundraising, planning events or being good students in general.
“They’re just that group” said Blenis, who has been advising the class since they were in middle school.
Superintendent Gayle Hellert said 90 percent of the class has been together since Kindergarten.
“They’ve been through the system together,” she said. “They are a very close group.”

• Unadilla Valley
High School Principal Frank Johnson says the class of 2007 has a large number of students who are going into the health care and education field. “We're proud to have 10% of our students receiving advance regents diplomas with honors,” said Johnson. He also states nine of UV’s seniors participated in the New Visions Program this year which has been the highest enrollment thus far. Musical talent is also seen abundantly throughout the senior class. Many seniors were among the students who sang in Carnegie Hall in April. Johnson says he could not have asked for a better class to have as seniors during his first year as high school principal. “They have been a pleasure,” said Johnson.

• Oxford Academy High School
Valedictorian Jessica Petersen will be graduating at the top of her class with a regents diploma. She took on a heavy class load, including university English and calculus. However, instead of attending the typical upper echelon school, she will be pursuing her love of art. She will be attending Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia. Peterson received a combined honor scholarship offering $18,000 in aid, which is about half the tuition. The college is renowned for it’s ability to produce stand-alone artists – ones that can make their entire living off their trade.
“I looked at a whole bunch of different art schools and I thought this one would be for me. Art has always been my thing,” said Petersen.
Her goal is to one day illustrate children’s books and write her own comic strip. “I like being creative, I’m always doodling in class but teachers learned to accept it,” said Petersen.

• Greene High School
Greene Principle Terry Heller will be graduating his first high school class this year.
“This is my first class and they are a great group of kids. On our senior trip we repeatedly received compliments about our students being very polite,” said Heller.
“As much as I stress what a great group of kids we have, I must mention what top-notch teachers we have also had, both the student and the facility are lucky to have each other,” said Heller.