According to Carly Krouse, reporter for the Indiana Gazette, “Something remarkable happened at the United High School graduation ceremony on Thursday evening.”
Her article went on to say:
“It wasn’t the sudden tornado warning that chased everyone inside from the football field to the auditorium, and it wasn’t the commencement of the 71 students of the class of 2015.
“The ceremony will best be remembered for its keynote speaker, former Steelers quarterback Charlie Batch.
“‘It’s a memorable experience, a once-in-a-lifetime experience for our students to have someone like that give his time at a school like this,’ United Principal Michael Worthington said. ‘He did that out of the kindness of his own heart.’
“When the Pittsburgh Steelers basketball team played at United April 12, a group of students approached Batch about speaking at graduation. Batch agreed, and he made the trip to the small-town school Thursday to address the large crowd — at no cost.
“‘There were several students that initiated that conversation,’ Worthington said. ‘Obviously, the ceremony is focused on the students, so we try to give an inspirational message. I was very pleased with what he said to the kids.
“‘And that message came from a figure who — everyone in western Pennsylvania knows who Charlie Batch is. It comes from someone that you’d otherwise probably not get to meet, and he’s a very down-to-earth man. He came here early and mingled with the kids in the gym, shook their hands and talked to them. So, you can’t ask for much more.'”
Read the full story from the Indiana Gazette here.
