Eyeing their future
By Joey Pitchford
Published in News on May 24, 2017 8:34 PM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
A graduate plays with the end of his cord during commencement for the Wayne School of Engineering Wednesday night at Goldsboro High School.
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Senior speaker Morgan Yelverton addresses her classmates during graduation for the Wayne School of Engineering Wednesday night.
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Blake Summers, center, and his classmates cheer after turning their tassels as graduates of the Wayne School of Engineering class of 2017 Wednesday night in the auditorium of Goldsboro High School.
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Senior speaker Morgan Yelverton addresses her classmates during graduation for the Wayne School of Engineering Wednesday night.
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
The Wayne School of Engineering class of 2017 turns their tassels together Wednesday night in the auditorium at Goldsboro High School.
Even a potential tornado couldn't dampen spirits at Wayne School of Engineering Wednesday evening, as 59 students of the class of 2017 graduated from high school.
The ceremonies, slated to begin at 6 p.m., were delayed until 6:15 after the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for southwestern Wayne County. For safety, families of the graduates were moved to the school hallway outside the window-ringed auditorium where the ceremony would take place.
Although the hallway grew cramped and hot, no one seemed to mind, and when the warning lifted at 6:15 everyone filed quickly into the auditorium.
The school brought three featured student speakers to the stage, all three with different plans for post-graduation.
First up was Caleb Howard, a graduating senior who plans to join to Coast Guard in early June. He thanked his teachers, administrators and fellow students for helping him to achieve his potential and urged them not to give up when things get hard.
"Let us not let doubt or thoughts of inadequacy stop us. The sky is the limit," he said.
Howard said that, if the graduates work to the best of their abilities, there is nothing to keep them from making whatever kind of impact they choose for themselves.
"For me, that involves joining the Coast Guard, working to save lives and improve the world with my own two hands," he said.
Second on the stage was Ruben Quiroz, a senior who will stay at WSE for a fifth year to earn an associates degree from Wayne Community College. He thanked the school for being a welcoming environment, and specifically gave thanks to his best friend Cameron Anderson, another graduate who will remain for a fifth year.
The two became friends early on, and Quiroz said he felt at home with the Anderson family.
"I even felt like I was actually part of the family, and I am," he said. "The family I get to choose."
The third and final speaker was Morgan Yelverton, a graduating senior who will take $26,000 in scholarships with her to the Penn State Behrend as one of two students nationwide to join the accelerated optometry degree program there.
She told her fellow graduates that failure is an inevitable part of life, and that they should treat each setback as an opportunity to learn.
"Life will push you down, so know how to get yourself back up. We know that only way to keep moving is to push through and never lose your stamina," she said. "WSE is a school that helps us gain success by not being afraid to put real-world obstacles in our way."
Ms. Yelverton said that she plans to earn her optometry degree and eventually open her own practice working with special needs children. She said she is considering bringing her talents back home to Goldsboro once her education is complete.