Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts celebrates 21 years of providing an intergraded educational experience fostering individual talents in the arts, as well as rigorous academic studies. Graduation of 128 seniors took place June 10 at ArtsQuest/SteelStacks. Thirty-eight percent of the graduating class will continue in the arts and collectively this year’s seniors have earned $3.5 million in grants and scholarships for postsecondary education. Students from this class will be attending 60 different colleges and universities.

CEO Executive Director Dr. Christina Lincoln welcomed and addressed graduating students and their guardians, reminding them of the “transformative benefits of the arts” and how “an arts education fosters the whole person.”

Principal Jennifer Levernier advised the soon -to-be- graduates that they should “embrace the unknown.”

The first of two class speakers, graduating senior Samantha Wendland, spoke of the gravity of the moment – that this is the last time many of them will be together and they should “take time to be grateful.”

The second class speaker, Holly Stanley, read and interpreted the poem “Be The Roof” by Isabel Zacharias, “Be the roof covering all this. Be the curve of hands. Be the time between waking and sleeping. Be the seasons with me …”

Weidland will be attending Kutztown University, majoring in biology with a minor in fine arts. Stanley will be attending Georgia Institute of Technology, majoring in music technology.

Guests were privy to an assortment of performing arts. The prelude was performed by teacher David Macbeth and graduating senior Logan Gilbert. The Charter Arts 11/12 Choir performed “Catch and Release,” written by Jocelyn Hagan. The processional “Pomp and Circumstance” and the recessional “War March of the Priests” were performed by the Charter Arts Orchestra.