A Tamaqua student thanked Commonwealth Charter Academy Wednesday night for helping her develop her passion to become a surgeon.

Students from northeast Pennsylvania gathered at Penn’s Peak with their closest friends and family as they celebrated the graduates’ accomplishments.

More than 170 graduates took to the stage Wednesday night to receive their diplomas.

Sydney Powell grew up just outside of Tamaqua and began her journey at CCA in ninth grade.

“I remember being fascinated by my biology class freshman year and wanting to learn more. At the first lab I attended I dissected a squid, and after a couple more labs and over 300 episodes of Grey’s Anatomy later, I graduate today to begin pursuing my plan to become a surgeon,” Powell said.

“Thanks to CCA and its STEM Conservatory Program, I have been very lucky to have gained experiences that have helped me reach this conclusion,” she added.

Powell, a member of the National Honor Society, spoke of the unique educational experience that CCA offers and the flexible schedule the school provides that has helped her complete 20 college credits already.

“I stand here today as a cyber school success story in front of a crowd of other cyber school success stories,” Powell said to her classmates as she shared a story about adults who would often question CCA as a real school.

“I spent four years of my life taking real notes, writing real papers, taking real tests and learning real things. Today, I will be handed a real diploma and I will go forward being a real high school graduate. At CCA, not only was my education real but it was engaging, it was rewarding and, most importantly, it was limitless.”

She went on to thank Commonwealth Charter Academy for giving her the ability to not only chase her lifelong dream of becoming a dancer but to achieve her academic dreams as well.

Her plans include attending Lehigh University in the fall to study biology pre-med in Bethlehem.

Carolyn Frisch of Alburtis, Lehigh County was also selected as a speaker. She will attend West Virginia University in the fall, and she plans to study forensic investigative science. Frisch told classmates to be proud of the obstacles they have overcome and to take control of their future.