OLEAN — The names of two more Olean High School alumni now hang proudly on the district’s Wall of Honor.

Dr. Abigail Bretzin, Class of 2009, and Dr. Katie Ralston, 2004, were honored Friday as the 2025 inductees during a ceremony in the Olean Board of Education conference room.

Introduced by her longtime friend Kaitlyn Anastasia Caya, 2011, Bretzin was a top 10% ranking member of her graduating class, participating in several sports and student groups.

She earned a B.S. in Athletic Training from SUNY Cortland in 2013, an M.S. in Kinesiology from Temple University in 2015 and became a Doctor of Philosophy in Kinesiology from Michigan State University in 2019. She served as a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Pennsylvania from 2019–22, and since 2022, she has been a research investigator for the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

“When I got this award, I honestly didn’t even tell my friends because I didn’t feel it was real,” Bretzin said. “Looking back at my time here at Olean High, I never would have imagined where I am today or being honored for something so prestigious and joining the other honorees.”

Bretzin has spent her career devoted to research in sport-related concussion and injury prevention, authoring and co-authoring over 45 peer-reviewed articles. Her research has informed consensus updates on sports-related concussion management, while focusing on safety protocols and addressing disparities in access to concussion management resources throughout high school and youth sports.

Bretzin is dedicated to giving back by educating athletes, parents and coaches about concussion prevention and management while also mentoring healthcare professionals and young researchers to encourage evidence-based practices in sports medicine. She believes that OHS encouraged a pursuit of excellence in all areas of life, learning perseverance, teamwork and the importance of community.

“One of my biggest memories from here is being an athlete and being in sports, and that’s motivated me to then go on to be an athletic trainer,” she said.

Bretzin said an injury from playing soccer is what started her on her path to her career today. She said her coaches at the time were there to remove her from play, saying that without them, she may not have pursued athletic training and become a Wall of Honor inductee.

“Thank you to everyone here and the community. I’m just so excited and honored,” she added.

The Olean Schools Foundation inducted the two more alumni to the Olean Wall of Honor on Friday. Pictured (from left): Kaitlyn Anastasia Caya, inductee Dr. Abigail Bretzin, Amy Sherburne, inductee Dr. Katie Ralston and Dr. Colleen Taggerty.

INTRODUCED BY HER friend and former boss and colleague, Dr. Colleen Taggerty, Ralston graduated summa cum laude from Edinboro University in 2008, majoring in Elementary and Special Education. She returned to her alma mater in 2009 as a middle school special education teacher until 2014. A passion for middle school students, Ralston became a certified national trainer for the Language! Program and became the STEM Enrichment Program coordinator for middle school students.

“I thought a lot about what would be the appropriate thing to say in regard to a recognition like this,” she said. “Because it’s the Olean City School’s Wall of Honor, I found it most fitting to share gratitude to the many individuals who shaped my experience as a student in Olean, a teacher in Olean and now as an alumnus.”

Ralston earned a master’s degree in Curriculum Design and Instruction from Gannon University in 2012 and completed her administrative degree in Education Leadership at Canisius College in 2014. In 2015, Ralston was hired as the middle school principal at Cuba-Rushford Central School at age 28, making her the youngest principal in New York state at the time.

Ralston achieved a Doctor of Education in Learning and Leadership in Organizations from Vanderbilt University in 2021. She was later appointed Superintendent of Schools for the Silver Creek Central School District in 2023.

Ralston shared several memories with teachers from throughout her time as a student in Olean who encouraged her dream to become a teacher herself from age 5, and the various administrators and colleagues who supported her as she then became a principal and later a superintendent.

“I’ve always called these memories emotional punctuation marks, which are moments I think illicit a great emphasis or a great emotion, even when the individual in the moment doesn’t know their part of it,” she said.

Ralston is a champion for Sweethearts and Heroes, promoted the Bald for Bucks campaign and is active on the Board of Directors for Olean’s homeless shelter, Genesis House, in honor of her mother, Debbie. She thanked those from these organizations and others and her family for helping her get to this point and receive the Wall of Honor recognition.

“It feels like a nod to all of these people, and it feels like a nod to Olean, the place that built me. The lessons they taught me resonated, and the emotional punctuation marks will be forever,” she said. “In their own little way, they got me to be Dr. Katie Ralston, Wall of Honor inductee.”