California Area’s top 3 to address Class of 2011
Seventy seniors of California Area High School are set to receive their diplomas Friday as the Class of 2011 participates in commencement exercises.
Ian Gray Colbert has been named one of the valedictorians this year.
?In school, Colbert served four years as class vice president, as well as vice-president for the California chapter of the National Honor Society, and a Student Council parliamentarian. He was a member of the Leo Club, Students Against Destructive Decisions, Audubon’s C.H.E.R.P. and The Future is Mine. This year, he was elected president of the Intermediate Unit 1’s Student Forum. In April, he was named Student of the Month by California’s Rotary International club. He achieved perfect attendance during high school and participated in the College in the High School program.
Colbert also received the Challenge Program Award, sponsored by Progeny Systems, as well as the Junior Scholar-Athlete Award. He was a Trojan football captain and lettered for the 2009-2010 season. He was also a member of California’s track and field team.
As an avid weightlifter, Colbert has competed in several matches, winning first place during the 2009 California Sports Night Weightlifting Competition, first place at the 2010 First Annual Mon Valley Iron Classic, and second place at the 2010 Brownsville Weightlifting Meet.
Outside of school, Colbert is an Eagle Boy Scout with Troop 1423, for which he has served as senior patrol leader and troop guide.He also volunteers with Venture Crew 1423 and Order of the Arrow, cleaning trash from roadsides and parks.
After graduation, Colbert plans to attend Penn State Fayette to study mining engineering. He is a son of Morgan and Michele Colbert of Brownsville.
Samuel Kevin Luketich of Scenery Hill was also named the 2011 California Area High School valedictorian.
As a Gifted student, Luketich participated in the College in the High School program.
He was a four-year member of the Drama club, a key player for California’s Academic Quiz Bowl team, sports editor for The Burgundian newspaper, a member of Student Council and Leo Club, and treasurer for Audubon’s C.H.E.R.P. He also served as a member and the secretary of California’s National Honor Society.
Luketich earned first-place awards at the regional and state levels for the Junior Academy of Science. He earned the Challenge Program Award, sponsored by Progeny Systems, in 2009. As a junior, he won the Junior Scholar-Athlete Award, and the Don Sheppick Award as a senior.
In 2010, he was named Student of the Month by California’s Rotary International club.
He lettered in golf and baseball and has played on many community baseball teams. As a four-year starting catcher on the varsity baseball team, he has won two section titles and played in state playoffs.
Outside of school, Luketich is a Volunteen for The Washington Hospital, where he volunteered more than 400 hours and won the Eugene L. Strosser Scholarship. He has helped several other organizations, including the California Historical Society, Rotary International and California Youth Baseball. During his senior year, he volunteered as a tutor in mathematics. He is a caddie and employee at Nemacolin Country Club and also worked for Lagerhead’s Restaurant at its California University concession stands.
After graduation he plans to attend the University of Pittsburgh to study bioengineering with plans to become a medical doctor.
Luketich is a son of Kevin and Pamela Luketich of Scenery Hill.
Elizabeth Ann Doman of Coal Center is California Area’s 2011 salutatorian.
In school, Doman was a member of California’s Drama Club. She also won several PTA Reflections awards for literature and art. She lettered in softball and basketball, winning the Sportsmanship Award for basketball during her sophomore year.
Outside of school, Doman has been secretary and vice president and is the current president for Pike Run 4-H. She raises rabbits to show at the Washington County Fair. She was also a Sister to Sister Summit Facilitator, and was named Student of the Month by California’s Rotary International club.
She is also a volunteer instructor for youth softball and plays Junior Olympic Softball. She will continue to play during her secondary schooling.
Doman plans to attend Chatham University to become a physician’s assistant. She is a daughter of Earl and Terri Doman of Long Branch, Coal Center.