In matriculation news, Natasha Anne Findley of Falls Church graduated from Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, with a degree in Psychology. At Rensselaer Poltechnic Institute in Troy, NY Alison Shapleigh graduated magna cum laude with a B.S. in Information Technology. At Haverford in Pennsylavania Michael Hunt Degnan earned his B.A. in philosophy, walking with Haverford’s largest ever graduating class. At Virginia Tech a parade of Falls Church residents earned their diplomas. Matthew Calnan, Robin Duong, Benjamin Goff, Ne Htin, Raymond Jamros, Brendan MacDonald, Syed Madni, Kimberly Neuenschwander, Anthony Ngo, Nhu Tran (summa cum laude), Amanda Augustenborg (cum laude), Constance Cordovilla, Michael Danjczek, Leon Harper, Eileen Lauby, Timothy Massie, Crystal Olivo, Emperatriz Henriquez, Nina Korzeniewski, and Jon Kugelman all received Bachelor Degrees. Janeen Tobin, Jimmy Vu, and Gregory Griswold received Master Degrees, and special congratulations to Tech graduates Elaine Kelley, Melissa Miller, Brahim Medjahed, and Mourad Ouzzani who walked away from commencement with their doctorate degrees. In other educational news, area student and senior Colleen Pieper was presented the John M. Ruble Outstanding Accounting Student Award at Bradley University in Peoria, Il.
Congratulations to George Mason High School sophomore John Bray who earned the gold medal in the 50m freestyle and bronze medals for the 4x50 freestyle relay and the 50m backstroke, at the Virginia statewide special Olympics competition.
Present from Falls Church at the Gay Pride Festival in Washington, D.C., Sunday were the Temple Hodef Shalom and the Falls Church Presbyterian Church. In the parade Saturday was Virginia State Del. Adam Ebbin, whose district includes the southern section of greater Falls Church.
From June 20-June 26 upcoming girl seniors from around Virginia will be participating in Virginia Girls State. Approximately 650 girls are expected to take part in the activities which include staging mock elections and drafting legislation. Governor Mark Warner is scheduled to be one of the speakers during the week.
For those that feel like making a world of difference, Peace Corps recruiter and returned volunteer Jason Kane will be at Thomas Jefferson Library on June 29 at 6:30pm, 7415 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church, VA. Kane will be presenting a video and talking about opportunities for overseas assignments in business, education, and the environment.
Looking for summer music fun? Join the Shenandoah Valley Music Festival in Orkney Springs, VA each Friday from July 23 until September 5. The season kicks off with The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. For tickets or more information go to www.musicfest.org.
On Saturday, June 26, at 8 pm at Woodson High School at 9525 Main St., Fairfax, VA, Choralis will be presenting Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms, and Orff’s Carmina Burana. Tickets are $25 to $30 for adults and $20 for seniors and children.
Just a reminder, on June 21 the summer solstice marks the beginning of summer and the longest day of the year. Enjoy the extra sun, and have some fun!