Jun 9, 2010 By Herald Standard Staff 3 min read

California Area School District will hold commencement at 7 p.m. Friday at the new stadium field. At 6 p.m., a slide show presentation will be available for viewing in the high school gymnasium. Guests should be seated by 6:45 p.m.

Students of Distinction, Melissa Johnson, Sarah Martik and Mary Sears, will lead the Pledge of Allegiance and deliver opening and closing remarks.

Class President Robert Zajack will also address the graduating class.

Valedictorian for the Class of 2010 for the school is Lauren Carnello Fisher.

Fisher is a daughter of Kevin Fisher and Debra Carnello of Coal Center. She graduates with a 4.397 grade-point average.

She served as a Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership ambassador for the PA-Western Region and also attended HOBY’s International Conference in Washington, D.C. She is seated on the Alumni Board of I Lead With Integrity, a new leadership organization.

Last summer, Fisher attended the University of Pittsburgh Health Career Scholars Academy (Governor’s School for Health Care). Fisher belongs to the California Chapter of National Honor Society, is four-year member of the cheerleading squad and is editor-in-chief of The Burgundian school newspaper.

She was selected as a Rotary Student of the Month of September. Extracurricular activities include The Future is Mine career exploration, Envirothon, Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science and Sci-Tech competitions, school musicals, Peer Jury, Model United Nations, Student Council, Leo and Spanish clubs, computer fairs and SADD. Fisher is also an accomplished piano player. She attends the United Christian Church in Coal Center.

Fisher will attend Washington and Jefferson College to dual major in chemistry and biology and minor in education, and plans to enter a pre-med program.

She was awarded the Howard J. Burnett Presidential Scholarship from W & J. Fisher earned 27 college credits by participating in California University’s College in the High School program.

Salutatorian for the Class of 2010 at the school is Nancy Ming-Ling Chen. Chen is a daughter of Yong Xiang Chen of China and Hui Zheng of California.

She carries a 4.283 grade-point average.

Chen’s Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science project, “Does Soil Management Affect Soil Quality?” earned a first-place award at the state level this year. Chen has served as a secretary and delegate for Model United Nations.

She was president of the Youth and Government club and served as a Supreme Court justice at the state level. She received the Rotary Youth Leadership Award and was a Rotary Student of the Month.

A National Honor Society member, Chen was a stage manager for school musicals, photography editor for The Burgundian and parliamentarian for Leo Club.

She also helped the Envirothon team bring home several awards, and was a member of Busted/Peer Factor/T.A.T.U., a statewide Department of Health anti-tobacco youth movement, as well as Sisters-to-Sisters.

Chen’s work with California Area Public Library’s preschool story time program inspired her to create a video documentary that earned awards from the PTA Reflections arts program.

Chen will attend Allegheny College, where she will study both geology and Chinese.

She has been awarded a Trustees scholarship and a National Science Foundation Scholar Program scholarship to the college. Chen enrolled in nine college-level courses while in high school.

In the case of inclement weather, the ceremony will be held in the gymnasium.