“Go forth and put your talents, energy and education to work in service of yourselves, each of your individual wildlife and precious lives, and in service of a better world. Thank you to the Salem Alumni Association for this honor, and again congratulations class of 2026,” said 2026 Honored Alumnus Sylvia Torti. 

The alumni association began holding its annual meetings, which now include the scholarship award ceremony and honored alumnus presentation, on June 14, 1882. Twenty years later in 1903, the alumni association was the first in Ohio to form a scholarship fund with the investment of a $1,000 bond, distributing its first scholarship in 1908. Since then, through careful stewardship and generous donations, the alumni association’s investment portfolio has expanded to more than $15 million .

 Following Saturday’s ceremony, the alumni association has officially distributed more than $10,000,000 to over 2,800 Salem High School graduates in support of their postsecondary education. On Saturday alone, the alumni association distributed $450,250 in scholarships to 67 members of the class of 2025, and 47 past Salem High School graduates who are continuing their postsecondary education. 

A member of the class of 1986, Torti is an ecologist, author and educator with decades of experience and earned a PhD from the University of Utah School of Biological Sciences and a bachelor’s degree from Earlham College. Throughout her career, Torti has established a 30-year record of publications including multiple scientific research papers, articles on pedagogy, two novels, and multiple short stories and essays. Torti currently serves as the seventh president of the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine, a position she has held since July 1, 2024. Prior to her current role, Torti served as dean of the Honors College at the University of Utah from 2012-2023, where her leadership and strategic planning saw increases in the number of out-of-state students, tripled the diversity of the student body overall, and established a successful office to mentor students applying for nationally competitive scholarships. 

Shown is Salem High School Alumni Association President Tim Harrington. (Photo by Morgan Ahart) 

Torti was introduced by Frank Zamarelli, alumni association second vice-president and Student & Alumni Relations Committee chairman , who explained that Torti was unable to attend in person “due to an unavoidable work conflict.” 

However, Torti still addressed the audience through a video which was played during the ceremony. Torti said it was “a great honor” to be selected as the honored alumnus of 2026, and that she was surprised and “overjoyed” when she received the letter notifying her of her selection. Torti congratulated the class of 2026 on earning their diplomas, and the scholarships distributed that night to help them continue their studies. She said that having served in higher education she knew that “graduating from high school often causes some anxiety,” and that the graduating students might be asking themselves, “a couple of questions at [that] very moment.” 

“The first, an anxiety producing practical question ‘how will I make a living?’ The second, ‘who am I and how will I live my life?’ Let’s talk about the first question and get the anxiety out of the way. I’m not being dismissive, because making a living is a critical concern, but let me reassure you there is a formula for success. Some of you may already know exactly what you want to study, and if you fall into that category, I say wonderful. What I’d also like to suggest is that you keep an open mind.” said Torti. “When I graduated high school, I was 100% sure I was going to become a medical doctor, I had known that since the time I was 13, and yet here I am today an ecologist, a creative writer, and now president of a college. None of this was in my plans when I graduated high school. So I’d like to encourage you to take some risks, sign up for some courses completely outside your interest area, part of what makes higher education fun is immersing yourselves in a new place, new relationships, new viewpoints and using those to test your assumptions about yourself and how you think of the world.” 

She said that the second question could only be answered through immersion in those new places and relationships, because who a person truly is and where their greatest passions lie “can only be learned as part of community.” She explained that while college is often thought of as a series of isolated choices made for oneself like what their major will be and what career they will study for “there is a better way to look at the college experience.” 

“A way that sees a richer path through others, that to find your way in life is to see your place and value among disparate thinking, views, and people. That when the best biologists live alongside the best poets, when promising engineers work in the field with passionate journalists, when passionate dancers learn abroad with computer scientists, they all encounter something deeper about each other and themselves, knowing what others know, valuing what others bring, doing what is only possible with others,” said Torti. “When that happens, college becomes a collective experience more than a focus, a widening of thought, more than a perfection of a major, a mastery of inter-personal skills, more than the career you will have, but the life you will lead. So finally, the answer to the question of ‘How will I live my life?’ is pay attention, get involved, and always be open to the new possibilities.” 

Shown is Salem High School Alumni Association Executive Director Audrey Null. (Photo by Morgan Ahart) 

Torti concluded her remarks with a reading of the poem “the Summer Day” by Mary Oliver. 

In keeping with tradition, Saturday’s ceremony also celebrated the 50th anniversary of the class of 1976. Members of the class in attendance were recognized during the program and Alumni Association Executive Director Audrey Null, a proud member of the class of ’76 addressed the students and alumni in attendance as the class representative. Traditionally, the 50-year class gives a gift to the Alumni Association, and the class of 76′ is no exception. However, Null said that their gift was a contribution relating to the alumni association office and that the class “wasn’t ready to reveal just what that is yet” but that it would be done in time for the class of ’76’s reunion in August. 

Null shared memories of life at Salem High School in 1976 and congratulated the class of 2026 on their upcoming graduation on behalf of herself and the entire class of ’76. She also reminded them that no matter where their journey takes them, they will always carry the legacy of their alma mater. 

“Remember, once a Quaker, always a Quaker. Wherever you go, you will always take a piece of Salem High School with you. Please wear it proudly,” said Null. 

This year’s ceremony also marked the introduction of two new scholarships: the Arthur and Gladys Wright Votaw Memorial First Responder Scholarship and the Cindy O’Brian Memorial Education Scholarship. 

The first Cindy O’Brian Memorial Education Scholarship was presented to Memphis Haueter Saturday. Cindy’s husband, Doug, and son Mike, were in attendance to see the first scholarship presented. Shown from left are Mike O’Brian, Haueter, and Doug O’Brian. (Photo by Morgan Ahart) 

The Arthur and Gladys Wright Votaw scholarship was endowed by 1974 Salem Alum Jeff Votaw in the memory of his parents Arthur and Gladys and is awarded to a high school or post-secondary student pursuing a career as a first responder and is intended to assist in the education or initial certification of first responders. 

Cindy O’Brian Memorial Scholarship was endowed by 1970 Salem Alum Doug O’Brian in memory of his wife Cindy and is awarded to students with a minimum high school GPA of 3.00 pursuing a bachelor’s degree with a major in education. 

The initial Arthur and Gladys Wright Votaw scholarship was presented to post-secondary student Trent Fink, who was unable to attend Saturday, and the initial Cindy O’Brian Memorial Scholarship was presented to Memphis Haueter.

Melody Rodriguez, right, is presented the Floyd and Cora May Reich Stone Vocational Scholarship by Salem High School Alumni Association President Tim Harrington. (Photo by Morgan Ahart) 

Shown are the recipients of the John Michael Pozniko Engineering Scholarship for 2026 Ty Tonkinson, left, and Sean Hoffman. (Photo by Morgan Ahart)