After today, people passing by the Seneca Valley Middle School will notice a different name on the outside of the building.
A ceremony will be held on Thursday to rename the facility the Ryan Gloyer Middle School, after Sgt. 1st Class Ryan Gloyer, a Seneca Valley graduate, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2016 at the age of 34.
The idea of the renaming was the brainchild of several Seneca Valley upperclassmen who were moved and inspired by Ryan’s story. Seniors Ryan Burglund, Jess Pollaci and Jenna Pollaci, along with Nate Koneizcka, a member of the SV Class of ’17, formed The Committee to Honor Sgt. 1st Class Ryan A. Gloyer. After almost two years of conducting research, interviewing countless officials, meeting with Ryan’s family, and presenting to the Seneca Valley School Board, this past February, members of the board unanimously agreed to rename the school.
“Ryan was committed to always striving for excellence,” Jess Pollaci said. “We believe that naming the building after Ryan is a fitting tribute to a true hero who walked these very halls. Through his example, we want Ryan to raise up every child entering those doors.”
The soon-to-be Ryan Gloyer Middle School is a 2006, 2011 & 2017 Don Eichhorn “School To Watch” as well as a 2012 National Blue Ribbon school. School officials say it is fitting that such a school would be chosen for a variety of reasons, most of all in that it teaches students to always be true to themselves and to follow their dreams, just a few of the life lessons Ryan expected of himself and encouraged others to pursue. The building, home to Seneca Valley seventh and eighth graders, will open in the 2018-19 school year with a new name, new life lessons to teach, and an interactive display that will honor Ryan’s legacy, as well as stories of service and sacrifice paid for by others we must never forget, officials say.
“He believed that anyone can reach their dreams through hard work and the drive to exceed requirements,” said Richard Gloyer, Ryan’s father. “He possessed the discipline, courage and a never-give-up attitude to overcoming obstacles. We all love and miss him so very much, but he will never be forgotten.”
