On Tuesday, May 23 at noon at the South Florida Fairgrounds, 719 Palm Beach Central High School seniors will celebrate their last moments as high school students before embarking on their post-high school careers.
Principal Darren Edgecomb is looking forward to the excitement of the ceremony.
“Every year has its own feel to it. The emotions of the students, my relationships with the students, increases each year because I know them better. This will be a group that I’ve had the pleasure of working with for three years. It becomes more and more personal the better you know the students,” he said. “I’m looking forward to the unexpected, that raw excitement of the event, customizing to the things that have happened with this particular class.”
Edgecomb enjoys the graduation ceremony and is looking forward to the future of his students, after they graduate and begin new chapters in their lives.
The Class of 2017 has increased AICE diploma numbers; students have to take seven classes to earn the advanced diploma. He is proud to see that number increasing as students take on the challenge.
“I’m excited about the things that the kids individually and collectively have accomplished with various groups and organizations on campus,” Edgecomb said.
One student at the school, Matthew Petrides, was a national merit finalist, scoring with the nation’s best 1 percent of students. He is also the school’s first national merit finalist. Many students placed in the state and national science fairs, as well as speech and debate at the national level. The band and cheerleaders were named state champions, while FBLA students will be traveling to California. A large number of students also excelled in art, drama and chorus.
“There has been a lot of work come our way this year. The kids have made us extremely proud,” Edgecomb said. “Every time I turn around, they’re winning something and accomplishing a great feat.”
Valedictorian Tarang Patel started the journey to first in the class his sophomore year when he discovered he was ranked at the top of the class.
“I wanted to stay on that path starting from my sophomore year. Finally, my senior year, after taking the rigorous course loads and having a busy schedule while maintaining a lot of activities, I was able to find out that I would be valedictorian a couple months ago,” he recalled.
Patel took Advanced Placement classes in 10th grade and was motivated to maintain his class rank. The official announcement was special for Patel and his family.
“They were impressed and shocked,” he said. “They always believed in me, and that’s one way that I was able to maintain that high rank.”
His hard work has given him the opportunity to speak to his class and the audience at graduation. He is making the final edits necessary to render his speech memorable for all those attending.
“I almost want to put it in a motivational direction, telling everyone they can do anything,” Patel said, with an emphasis of not taking for granted the support system that they have, always there to help them achieve their goals and dreams.
His fondest high school memory was this recent spring break when he went to the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) conference. After winning third in districts, he won first in the state competition in the public service announcement category. “That was an amazing time for me,” he said.
After graduation, Patel will be attending the University of Florida, majoring in business administration. Being the CEO or CFO of a company would be his dream job. He is also considering working as a professor.
“I’ve always enjoyed being around other kids and always helping them, but I’d like to take it up a notch and perhaps be a professor at a college,” he said.
Salutatorian Daniel Rodriguez learned his class rank when he and other students were called into the office. He expected to be in the top 10, but was surprised when he took the second spot.
“I was pretty excited,” he said. “I wasn’t shooting for valedictorian or salutatorian or anything like that. I was just shooting to get into a good college.”
Rodriguez started his high school career with advanced classes in middle school. He earned some B grades, which gave him a lower starting GPA.
“When I came, I worked really hard and got straight A grades all though high school,” he said. “I was actually really excited.”
Knowing that his hard work paid off left him in a state of euphoria, he said. Rodriguez, though slightly nervous, is excited to give his speech at graduation in front of 5,000 people and be recognized for his hard work.
Key Club, service clubs and leadership clubs, as well as the Buddy Walk, with friends, are some of his fondest memories from high school.
Hard work, motivation and the realization that every grade matters are important to ranking high in your class, he explained.
Rodriguez will be studying biomedical engineering at the University of Florida, studying links between brain activity and computers.
ABOVE: Valedictorian Tarang Patel and Salutatorian Daniel Rodriguez.
