For the seniors graduating on Saturday, there was one essential message from Texas Early College High School Principal Bob Garcia: Now’s the time on your next massive step.
“This is not the end, this is just the first big step,” he mentioned. “So now that you get to do that, you get to go to work, you get to go to the military or you get to continue in your education. You got to do something, you can’t go home and lay up on the couch. None of your parents want that.”
Indeed, 18 college students from the college are embarking on their next chapter in life with their affiliate’s diploma already in hand. Garcia famous 16 college students had earned their diploma together with their highschool diploma.
This yr’s graduates are Montana Allen, Shelby Battershell, Bianca Bennett, Crystal Brown, Justin Butcher, Nathan Davis, Cadence Foster, Roman Graves, Halie Lay, Kelsie Lay, Vinh Nguyen, MiKembria Nickerson, Abigail Pogue, Kaydence Smith, Benjamin Surholt, Dakari Terhune, Jesse Wheat and Julia Wilson.
Garcia famous the graduates this yr had seen numerous modifications. During their sophomore yr, the COVID-19 pandemic meant they left for Spring Break and by no means got here again. When they did yr greater than a yr later, the constructing had been renovated from a church into lecture rooms.
“During that time, some of these guys didn’t miss a beat,” Garcia mentioned.
MiKembria Nickerson delivered the category speech, after Valedictorian Roman Graves and Salutatorian Halie Lay determined they didn’t wish to converse at commencement.
Nickerson spoke in regards to the “end of the road” that was years of constructing new buddies, shedding some, welcoming newcomers and being supported by their academics and households.
“One of the biggest complaints we have had to do with after class is COVID-19,” she mentioned. “We were the class that left our sophomore year and didn’t return until our senior year.”
Nickerson mentioned COVID put a damper on their time at school, however they have been glad to have the ability to return to campus once more to be round each other earlier than graduating and going their separate methods.
“As this chapter closes in our lives, the Class of 2022 would like to give a special thank you to our teachers, staff, Mr. Garcia and most importantly our families. Without y’all we couldn’t have made it this far, and we promise to make y’all proud as we go out into the real world.”