Nearly 30 graduates nominated for New Kensington-Arnold 'Distinguished Alumni' honors

Nearly 30 graduates of Valley High School and its predecessors in New Kensington and Arnold have been nominated to be recognized as distinguished alumni.

New Kensington-Arnold Assistant Superintendent Jon Banko and School Director Sarah Yurga announced earlier this year that the district would be bringing back a program to honor accomplished graduates of Valley, Arnold and Ken Hi.

The deadline for nominations was Dec. 1.

Of the 29 people nominated, 20 are graduates of Valley High School, Yurga said. Six graduated from Ken Hi, while three are graduates of Arnold High. Two were nominated twice, she said.

Yurga said she will be researching and confirming details from the nomination forms this month.

A committee will meet in January to review the submissions and vote on the honorees, which she said would be announced in February or March.

Yurga said the committee of about 20 people will include school directors, district administrators, current and retired teachers, alumni, local historians and politicians.

How many of the nominees could be chosen in the first group remains to be seen, Yurga said. She said there is no predetermined number; the committee will consider all who qualify.

The district had a “Distinguished Alumni” program that died out after two groups were nominated, first with six recognized in 2010 and three in 2011.

For the new program, district officials decided to keep the nomination process simple in hopes of encouraging more nominees, leaving the work of determining eligibility to the review committee.

Yurga said they would be setting a high bar while hoping to recognize alumni who have excelled in many ways.