A total of 3,324 seniors from seven early college high schools are set to walk across the stage in ceremonies starting Friday and graduate from Brownsville Independent School District schools.
BISD officials said the 2022 graduates have been offered more than $97.2 million in scholarships, including 100 scholarships of $1,000 each raised through the annual Superintendent’s Scholarship Golf Tournament, which took place April 30 at the Rancho Viejo Country Club.
“You have been a witness to snow in Brownsville, SpaceX rocket launches, nationwide gas and toilet paper shortages, historic winter storms, rolling blackouts, and a global pandemic,” Superintendent René Gutiérrez says in a congratulatory letter to the graduates.
“In recent years, you faced statewide mandates to shelter in place, wear a mask, use hand sanitizer, and practice social distancing. The way you handled all situations are a testament of your resilience and your determination to persevere,” he wrote.
The ceremonies will be held without pandemic restrictions for the first time since 2019.
Brownsville Early College High School will go first at 10:30 a.m. Friday at the Texas Southmost College Arts Center, followed by Rivera Early College High School at 7:30 p.m. at Sams Memorial Stadium.
Veterans Memorial Early College High School will go next at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at Sams, followed at the same time on successive nights by Lopez, Porter, Hanna, and concluding with Pace Early College High School on Wednesday.
Gutiérrez wished the graduates the best on behalf of the board of trustees and himself.
“Continue to find solutions to improve our environment, our health, and give a helping hand to those in need. Become that person you dreamed about, be open-minded, and shatter the glass ceiling. Reflect on your core principles. Remember those teachers that influenced you and inspired your intuition. Nurture your loved ones who stood by your side, through your highs and lows,” he wrote.
“You have in you all that you need to overcome any challenge, any setback, and any doubt. I know this because I have seen you put in the work. You have spent years building yourself to be anyone you choose to be. The 2021-2022 school year and all that it entailed is proof that nothing can stop you. Not now, not ever.”
