Tomasky, Simoyi and Portnoy join list of graduates
Things don’t begin and end with Barney Fife at Morgantown High School.
Or, Don Knotts (Class of 1942), the comedic actor who won five Emmys for his bumbling portrayal of the aforementioned character on the Andy Griffith television show in the 1960s.
The late Knotts is among the celebrated MHS graduates adorning the Distinguished Alumni Wall in the main hallway of the school on Wilson Avenue.
Administrators added the 48th, 49th and 50th names recently.
They are political journalist Michael Tomasky, fashion maven Farai Simoyi and law firm CEO and children’s advocate Elliott Portnoy.
Tomasky, who graduated in 1978, went on to write about politics — most often about the Trump administration these days — and is a regular contributor to CSPAN and the New York Times.
At MHS, he served on Student Council and was a member of the Key Club. He also played varsity baseball for the Mohigans.
Simoyi became a fashion designer after her 2001 graduation, working with celebrities such as Beyonce while founding a boutique in Brooklyn, where she now resides.
She has also been featured on Netflix and was recently named program fashion director at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. Simoyi was student body president at MHS.
Portnoy was known for his stellar academic achievement at MHS, and his grades earned him elite company after he turned his tassel in 1983.
He was a Rhodes scholar and a Harvard graduate and is now CEO of Denton’s, the largest law firm in the world.
Before that, he was known as the founder of K.E.E.N., an international nonprofit advocating for children with disabilities.
Principal Paul Mihalko said the original plan was to honor the latest inductees this fall at the Mohawk Bowl football game between MHS and crosstown rival University High, before COVID-19 closed in.
He said the school will host a public ceremony for the most recent inductees next fall if the pandemic permits.
The alumni wall is a diverse lineup of achievement, including Thomas “Tommy” Bennett (1965), who was posthumously recognized with the Medal of Honor for his bravery in Vietnam.
Bennett, a conscientious objector who was a combat medic, died while rescuing several wounded platoon mates under heavy fire.
Other luminaries include 1959 graduate Charles Vest, who would go on to serve as president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and Emily Calandrelli (2005), an MIT-trained engineer who is also children’s book author and host of a television science show, “Emily’s Wonder Lab,” on Netflix.
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