Up first for Class of 2015: Wayne Early Middle College High School
By Becky Barclay
Published in News on May 22, 2015 2:25 PM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Arlin Castellanos, left, uses a tissue to wipe tears from his eyes as he and other graduates of Wayne Early Middle College High School exit the sanctuary of the The Bridge Church Thursday night. Arlin delivered the closing remarks during commencement.
PRINCETON -- Arlin Castellanos was only 2 years old when his father moved the family from Honduras to the United States for a shot at the American dream.
That dream came true Thursday night as Arlin walked across the stage at the Bridge Church in Princeton to receive his high school diploma and an associate in arts degree.
Arlin was one of 64 who turned their tassels at the graduation ceremony for Wayne Early Middle College High School, some of whom got a high school diploma, but most of whom also got a two-year college degree -- and, in some case, two college degrees.
"I've always been into education," Arlin said. "Education has always been important to me because I'm not from this country, and I feel that education is something that people should be interested in it more than they are."
Arlin has aspirations to become an educator himself because of the inspiration he received from his teachers.
"I want to change the way people think about education, especially the Latino community. There's not a lot of Latinos like me who pursue higher education. Some people don't think this is our country, and I'm here to prove them wrong."
He chose WEMCHS because he wanted to be different.
"I didn't want to be the average kid," Arlin said. "I felt that WEMCHS could bring me that difference that I was wanting."
But it came with a price.
Arlin had to spend his time concentrating on not only high school classes, but also on college classes.
"My friends told me to go out to events, but going to an early college, you have college work, so I had to be more focused," he said. "I knew what I was in for and I had to sacrifice going out and stuff like that."
Arlin will attend East Carolina University for a bachelor's degree in middle grades education, then get a master's degree in administration and eventually a doctoral degree in leadership education.
"I feel like I'm ready to inspire other individuals to pursue higher education like myself," he said.
But this weekend, he'll celebrate his accomplishment with family and friends.
Getting her high school diploma, as well as some college credits, was Melanie Munn.
"I came to WEMCHS because I figured it was different and I really wanted to try something new," she said. "And I wanted to take my education further."
She, too, had to make sacrifices -- like giving up a lot of the friends she had grown up with.
"But it was worth it in the end, because I ended up leaving with more than what I came with," she said.
Melanie didn't have it easy the past four years either. She said it was hard getting through all her classes and keeping her grade point average up.
She will pursue a career in nursing in Florence, S.C.
Keynote speaker for the graduation ceremony was Maria Mandujano. She said that through their four years at WEMCHS, she and her classmates had grown to be confident individuals.
"Each of us has much potential in our future," she told the graduates. "Find something you like to do and go for it. No one can ever stand in your way but yourself.
"Today may seem like the end, but you are just beginning your future."
Rizk Alghorazi also spoke just before the graduates turned their tassels saying, "We have grown physically, emotionally and socially. We learned it's OK to be wrong.
"Sadly we're leaving each other. But we won't forget the memories we've made. It's time for us to leave the nest."
Bryce Mitchell gave student remarks, saying, "We each chose the path not taken and took a chance on what was not much heard about, but we set ourselves apart.
"We've come a long way, but we're not done yet. Today is not the end of your stories, but the beginning of another chapter, a chance to make an impact on the world and make the world better place each day and above all, live like there is no tomorrow."
As a video tribute was playing for the class of 2015, the audience learned what fields the students wanted to go into -- neurosurgery, video game design, psychology, anesthesiology, civil engineering, clinical laboratory science, broadcasting, pharmacy, chemistry, designing prosthetics, anthropology, veterinary science, neonatal nursing and even cryptologic linguistics.
Arlin closed the graduation ceremony by urging his classmates to "dream and to dare and don't be afraid to fail in your aspirations."