Pittsburgh Public Schools holds senior celebration
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- It was party time for Pittsburgh Public Schools seniors on Wednesday. The soon-to-be graduates gathered to hear some very good news about their future and the Pittsburgh Promise.
Pittsburgh Public Schools held something called Senior Celebration at Soldiers and Sailors Hall in Oakland and it was anything but your typical school assembly.
"It's a nice environment seeing everybody celebrating themselves and all they accomplished," said Niya Hauser from Pittsburgh CAPA.
This, however, was much more than a party for the soon-to-graduate. This was also about the Pittsburgh Promise.
"Honestly it's kind of life-changing for a lot of students," said Jay Cleveland III from Cleveland Brothers.
Cleveland Brothers heavy equipment dealership announced $1 million in gifts to the Pittsburgh Promise on Wednesday.
"Any financial assistance is greatly appreciated and needed right now," said Pittsburgh Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Wayne Walters.
"We don't want any of our kids crossing the stage on graduation day and not have a plan for what's going to happen after high school," said Saleem Ghubril, Pittsburgh Promise's executive director.
Ian Rosenberger, the CEO of Day Owl, gave the students book bags also part of the Pittsburgh Promise.
"To see a kid take a book bag, I get excited about what they're going to fill them up with," Rosenberger said. "What great ideas are going to come from what you put in your bag?"
Evan Dine says he's got plans for the book bag and his future.
"I'm going to Duquesne University as part of their Pharm D. program which is a six-year doctorate program where I become a doctor of pharmacology," Dine said.
"I would not be where I am today without the Pittsburgh Promise," Dine added.
According to the Pittsburgh Promise, they've enabled some 11,000-plus Pittsburgh Public School students to go on and pursue a secondary education, accumulating some $163,000 to pay for it all.
