When Columbia High School's Class of 2022 celebrated graduation on May 26, students were treated to speeches from six of their classmates. Each speech highlighted a defining moment in the speaker's life. The graduation speakers were Robert Footman, Kylie Aston, Alayna Morales, Ereny Hanna, Sarah Hollerbush and Ethan Schmitt.

Robert, who is the son of Mandy Warfel and Robert Footman Sr., spoke about overcoming an accident. "My speech was about breaking my leg and the journey I went through afterwards," he said. Robert plans to attend Millersville University to major in sports medicine and play football. His goal is to become a physical therapist. Columbia has provided the perfect place to make friends and feel at home, he stated, adding, "I'm glad I went to Columbia because I like how loving the community is."

Kylie is the daughter of Tim and Crystal Aston. She plans to attend Penn State University Park to major in kinesiology, with the goal of becoming a physical therapist. Her speech focused on all of the little moments in her life that led to the biggest moment in high school - graduation. Like Robert, she said she enjoyed attending a high school where people feel connected. "I like that you're close to everybody at Columbia, and you know everybody," she commented.

Alayna, the daughter of Kimberly and Christian Morales, used a moment from the fall of 2019 as the focus on her speech. "I talked about my spinal surgery and the effects it had on me afterwards," she noted. Alayna plans to attend Millersville University to major in music education and wants to become a music teacher. "I loved all of the opportunities we had at Columbia because we're a small school," she said. "We had a chance to try so many things."

Ereny is the daughter of Emad Hanna and Amal Georges and Magda Sewaha. "My defining moment wasn't really mine. It was my parents' decision to come to America," she said, of her family members who came from Egypt when she was a 1 year old. She plans to attend Penn State Harrisburg to major in bio behavioral science and become a physician assistant. "I'm so glad I went to Columbia because I love that I don't feel like an outsider here," she remarked.

Sarah is the daughter of Jodi Hollerbush. Her defining moment was the strength she found to survive a domestic abuse situation. Her plans include attending Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences to pursue a career in nursing. "I'm so glad I went to Columbia because it's given me opportunities to work closely with the community," she said.

Ethan, the son of John and Nina Schmitt, gave a speech about the lessons he learned from his first job. "I realized I want to work hard to get where I want to be in life," he noted. He plans to attend Penn State Harrisburg for mechanical engineering. Of his time at Columbia, he said simply, "I met my best friends here."