HARLINGEN — Ginger Bennett stood beneath the bright lights and spoke about her journey to graduation.
“High school brought many memories that I will forever cherish, but like my grandma told me the other day, this is just another chapter in my life,” said Ginger, 17, this year’s valedictorian of her senior class.
Ginger was speaking to her fellow Early College High School graduates last night at the Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District Performing Arts Center. Friends and family of the 75 graduates had filled the auditorium.
Ginger, who plans to become an environmental scientist, spoke unabashedly about the years which had brought her to this moment.
“I still have the mentality of a 12-year-old so I’m going to open up and kind of break the ice here with a few knock knock jokes,” she said, and so she did, entertaining everyone with her casual humor.
Salutatorian Jose Feliciano Velazquez, 17, also had some stories to tell about the path he’d taken toward his future.
“The Class of 2017 is a lot of things,” said Velazquez.
“What I’d describe this class as is it’s adaptable to change,” Jose said. “Our class has not only gone through huge change in our surroundings, but also ourselves.”
He described changes in teachers and administrators, and even friends who’d left. And yet, they’d persevered, he said.
“We stuck by one another and continued to persevere,” he said. “This adaptability to change is what will help us succeed in the future.”
Everyone in the audience had something to say about their friends, relatives and children on stage.
“I am very proud of her,” said Julie Cavazos, speaking of her daughter Cassandra.
“It’s a big accomplishment to finish high school,” she said, adding that graduating with college credit was even more commendable.
“She’s going to UTSA to major in physics with a concentration in astronomy and astrophysics,” she said with a big smile.
Matthew Flores, 15, was anxious to see his friend Josephine Rodriguez walk across the stage.
“I feel really good,” said Matthew. “It’s great to see her graduate from Early College.”
“We are extremely proud,” added her mother Rita Rodriguez. “It’s a great opportunity for her.”
Thomas Bennett Jr. held a commanding presence in the auditorium as he spoke about his daughter Ginger before the ceremony began.
“She’s been at the top her whole life,” he said. “We’re ecstatic.”
Ginger spoke earlier about the challenges of attending ECHS and making good grades.
“I really like the size of the school,” she said. “It’s a lot smaller. Everybody’s really focused on education. We’re all here for the same reason so there’s not too much of a distraction from having a bunch of other stuff going on. It’s been nice to get a lot of my basic college courses out of the way.”
Time management and priorities are crucial for achieving good grades, she said. However, she laughed as she revealed her study habits aren’t that great.
“I work really good under pressure, so I like to wait until the last minute to do stuff,” she said. “I know that’s not going to work out really well for me in college next but I’ve been doing OK so far.”
Jose, who plans to become a plastic surgeon, gave thanks to many people for his success. First were his parents Nancy and Ruben Velazquez, and then so many others.
“I owe my success to the huge amount of love and support I was shown by the very people sitting in this room,” he said. “To my best friend, Julissa, I’m so glad that I was able to meet you early on in high school. Abby, you’ve shown me how to be kind to others and continue on, even when there wasn’t anything nice to say.”
