ALUM HONORED — MIke Biasi, a 1987 graduate of Steubenville High School, returned to his alma mater Friday morning to participate in the 39th-annual Honor America Assembly. -- Dave Gossett

STEUBENVILLE — Mike Biasi shared seven important steps with Steubenville High School students during the 39th-annual Honor America assembly Friday.

“Work hard. Think positively. Worry less. Eat healthy. Love always. Be happy. And give joy. And, remember to be better than the person you were yesterday,” said Biasi, a 1987 Steubenville High School graduate who was the keynote speaker at the assembly.

Biasi was introduced at the event by Sarah Brown, who serves as secretary for the Steubenville High School Key Club.

“Michael Biasi was raised in Steubenville. After he graduated from Steubenville High School, he graduated from Ohio State University with a degree in management information systems and worked for a couple years at Nationwide Insurance in Columbus before coming back home,” Brown shared with the audience.

According to Biasi, “On my 25th birthday, my father called me and offered me a job at the family business in Toronto. I started working at Valley Converting in 1994. From that point, on I have been very involved in my home and my community. Steubenville is home, but Toronto will always have a place in my heart.”

“Your world will be full of challenges, but do everything you can to overcome those challenges. No matter where your path takes you, you must find your niche. Surround yourself with good and positive people. And, let nothing hold you back. I was blessed with the opportunity to come back here. You should always treat people with respect and it will build relationships,” continued Biasi.

Biasi and his wife have four children, three of them currently enrolled in the Steubenville city school system.

“I was the Key Club president when I was in high school here and I had the honor of introducing the late U.S. Sen. John Glenn for our Honor America assembly. Thirty years ago, I had the best history teacher in John Georgifandis. He got me involved in the Key Club, and that opened my eyes to community projects. I can tell you we at Valley Converting care about people and give back to the community,” related Biasi.

He then continued that philosophy by calling Key Club President Alec Taylor to the podium and presented him with a $500 check for a community project.

The audience also heard from Mara Milliken, Harding Middle School essay winner, who talked about, “what leadership means to me.”

“I look to the leaders around me, my soccer coach, the teachers and other leaders in my school, even my parents and I ask myself, ‘What does their leadership mean to me?’ Their leadership teaches me how to behave in the world, the importance of creating and achieving goals and it brings order to my life,” said Milliken.

“Defining leadership has enabled me to see a vision for the leader I want to become and given me a greater respect for the great men and women who have led before me,” Milliken concluded.

(Gossett can be contacted at dgossett@heraldstaronline.com.)