Upper Moreland Grads Begin Next Chapter

The reddish hues of the Upper Moreland High School track were adorned with purple and gold as 250 seniors made one final lap of victory Wednesday night.

The precursor to the high school's 85th annual commencement came with deafening claps and cheers from proud parents and family members watching in the stands of the high school's stadium.

Principal Joy Perisho livened the crowd with her advice to the class of 2013 to "go out there and take action" and suggested that once an Upper Moreland Golden Bear, always a Golden Bear.

"I will never be a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader," Perisho said. "But I can be the most earnest fan for the Golden Bears."

Upper Moreland pride was evident in everything from purple and gold streamers on a graduate's car to the purple hair of one of the handful of audio/video people videotaping the ceremony.

In his tongue-in-cheek speech to fellow graduates, Matthew Steven Dummeldinger shared some of the lessons he's learned while attending Upper Moreland. 

"Don't eat the yellow snow," he said, later adding, "We do not get stickers every time we go to the bathroom."

With the lessons of elementary, middle and now high school in the past, senior speaker Curtis Patrick McPeak encouraged his peers to be open to the new lessons and experiences that lie in wait. 

"You've got time and you've got options," McPeak said. "No decision is permanent."

Likening graduation to "opening night" on stage, graduate Kendall Wyeth Ward urged the class of 2013 to be open to playing both leading and supporting roles in life. 

"New shows go up every season," she said. "A good show is never finished."