In 2016, a committee of Elmira District Secondary School current and former staff created a list of fifty graduates who have been successful and made their Alma Mater proud. Author Silcox who has done this service for other high schools and who had no connection to EDSS before she took on this project, interviewed the subjects and others who knew them as well as researching other sources to obtain the information she used to write the brief biographies about each graduate.

In the biographies, she usually describe the persons youth and early family life, their contributions to their elementary school, EDSS, the community of Elmira, post secondary institution and finally in their career or in many cases careers. Some the prominent names one may recognize are writers Malcom Gladwell, Isabel Huggan and Tarah McKay Korir. Athletes Butch Martin, Rod Seiling, Dan Snyder & Garrett Rank. Artists Tim Schmalz.& Rob Martin. Musicians Paul Frey, Kate Greenwood, &Sarah Mercy. Politicians Judy Wasylycia-Leis & Ken Seiling. ( )