Kira Podmayersky
The Saugerties High School Class of 2018 will take place at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 23. Traditionally, the annual ceremony takes place on the expansive lawn at the front of the Washington Ave. campus, but with the weather forecast showing potential thunderstorms the event may be moved inside to the auditorium.
Kira Podmayersky and Michael Averill are the respective valedictorian and salutatorian of the Class of 2018, and each will speak during the commencement exercise.
Podmayersky, who graduates having earned a cumulative average of 101.825, will move on to study architecture at SUNY Albany in the fall. A member of the French Club, Key Club, Math Club, National Honor Society, Podmayersky also worked on the school newspaper and yearbook. She was also athletically inclined, playing on the girls basketball, soccer and track teams.
Averill earned a cumulative average of 100.993 during high school, and he’ll move on to Siena College in the fall where he’ll likely major in international relations and minor in Spanish and journalism. Averill is a member of the Key Club, National Honor Society, and he worked on the school newspaper. A New York selection for the American Legion Boys State program for citizenship and leadership training, Averill also volunteers for an elderly woman who moved to the area from Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, and he’s a teen leader at St. Mary’s of the Snow Church.
All members of the Class of 2018 are required to arrive on campus by 9 a.m. on Saturday for a mandatory rehearsal in the senior high gymnasium.