The location may have changed this year, but the heart and soul of the Wylie High School Commencement remained the same: students, individually and as a group, who achieved much, attained many goals, and left the halls of WHS ready to take on the world.

 

Though traffic snarls delayed the ceremony by 40 minutes, Allen Event Center held the standing-room-only crowd of Wylie ISD faculty and staff, family and friends of the graduates.

 

Principal Gary Brown told members of the Class of 2010 that he was proud of them and felt confident in the knowledge that the community, state, nation and world were in good hands.

 

Associate Principal Justin Terry told those gathered that a total of 635 students had met the requirements to receive their diplomas; that included 65 Distinguished Achievement Program graduates; 467, Texas Recommended Program; and 60 students who graduated from Choice Academic High School May 28. 

 

WHS teacher Leny Philipose introduced Salutatorian Ajla Porca, describing the “countless honors” she has received in a variety of areas. She announced that Ajla has accepted a full scholarship from Yale University, worth $209,000, and described her as having a vivacious personality, contagious smile, and being “delightfully inquisitive.”

 

Ajla, with a GPA of 4.34, began her lighthearted speech by congratulating her classmates. Recalling a memory from freshman year, she said she had chicken nuggets for lunch in the cafeteria almost every day, even though she didn’t like them. She said, however, that she didn’t want to waste any of the time she could otherwise be spending with her friends choosing different food. 

She spoke of the things she had learned in high school. One was that there are many layers to people other than the one they choose to show; another was that not all of her class would be successful and/or rich. She noted that everyone has something he or she may not be able to do as well as the next person – for her, it’s singing, she admitted – but those lucky enough to be blessed with talent and a passion for something should not be afraid to help others achieve their level of success.

 

Stressing the love and importance of family and friends, Ajla noted several things that “meant little” until she was able to share them. “It meant little to me to win awards; it meant a lot when my parents would take time out from work to attend the awards assembly,” she said.

 

She challenged those present not to “let bad habits define” them, and she urged everyone to keep an optimistic attitude. “At the end of the day, if you feel unappreciated … smile because things could get worse. You could be in the Allen Event Center on a Saturday night, waiting for Ajla Porca to finish her speech,” she concluded. 

 

Kaitlyn Vance, valedictorian, was introduced by WHS Counselor Doug Fortenberry, who said she had the highest Wylie GPA of which he is aware – 4.716. As an example of how “passionate and tenacious” she is, he noted a time that she broke her arm first period, and was back in class by second, not wanting to fall behind. 

 

Kaitlyn began by saying it was an honor to stand before her class and the people who supported them, and she thanked those who had “helped to mold this unique and unforgettable class.”

 

Her sometimes tongue-in-cheek speech dealt with the many ways in which she and her classmates embodied the idea of “pirates.” She recalled how much teacher Susan Fajardo looked like “Pirates of the Caribbean”’s Jack Sparrow and noted that the ROTC hoists the skull and crossbones to show its spirit. 

 

“We got our fill of a pirate’s unfavorable smells while making esters in chemistry and spent four years dressing in a manner unlike other people our age,” she said. 

 

“If you haven’t noticed by now, our high school experience has run remarkably parallel to that of a pirate’s life, and over the past four years we have learned to be independent and not care what other people think, just like true pirates.”

 

She mentioned the ability of pirates to cause fear in their enemies’ eyes, likening the Pirates football team, “emerging from the Pirate skull,” as having that ability, and listed some humorous examples of other times souls have been made to fear the wrath of the 2010 Pirates, including “… underclassmen when they were pitted against the deadly combination of seniors and snow!”

 

In the end, however, she said pirates … and Pirates … “are experienced sailors, able to understand the dangers of impending weather and read currents in the water and wind; they have an impeccable sense of direction.” She noted that she and her fellow Pirates “weathered the storms and hallways together and will leave this building today with more than just a sense of the direction in which we are headed because we, too, are experienced.” 

 

“Wylie has shown us what the Pirates can do; let us now show them what the Class of 2010 can do. Class, it is time for us to captain our own lives and demand respect. We all have goals, dreams and aspirations for the open waters ahead, but I challenge you to go and get what you want out of life … like a Pirate ought to.”

 

Following the salutatorian and valedictorian addresses, Dr. Brent Ringo, WHS assistant principal, noted that over $7 million in scholarships had been awarded to the class of ’10. He also recognized those students who would be serving in the military; it was one of the most rousing ovations of the night. 

 

Superintendent Dr. H. John Fuller said he was proud of the class and looked forward to the “bright future” the members would no doubt enjoy. “Your class will be honored and remembered for years,” he said, adding that each student’s success was the result of “hundreds of thousands of choices” he or she had made.  

 

“This is the largest class in the history of Wylie High School,” he said, and the class cheered. “You will be remembered as a special class that will make its mark on the next century.”

 

Caps were thrown in the air; the school song was played by members of That Wylie Band and sung by all. The class of ’10 had turned their tassels from one side to the other and turned their faces toward the future.

 

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