2023 grads: Wylie's Ferguson is a story of persistence, community
Editor's note; Abilene and Wylie school district commencements are this weekend. Featured Wednesday was Mansi Bhakta of Cooper; on Thursday, it was Duncan Lucas of ATEMS. On Saturday, the series concludes with Abilene High.
Angelo Ferguson's graduation is one that will touch hearts across the city.
In August 2013, a drug sale in northwest Abilene's Holiday Hills neighborhood went sideways, and shots were fired. Angelo, then 8, and his two brothers, one younger and one older, were in an SUV with their mother. They were fired upon. Zackary, the eldest at 12, was struck in the head.
Angelo, who was sitting next to his older brother in the back seat, was hit by glass fragments.
The shooting was in the late afternoon. Police were not immediately summoned.
A man eventually was charged in the shooting, but the boys' mother was not.
"My mom was not one to be hiding that," he said of being involved in a drug transaction. "I was pretty aware of what was going on. But I never really had seen gun violence up to then."
That violent event changed their lives forever.
More: 2023 grads: ATEMS' Lucas aims for space while driving old-school cars
More: 2023 grads: Cooper's well-traveled Bhakta finds new home in Abilene
A time of turmoil
Zackary was taken to Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth and survived but mentally never was the same. He lives separately from his two younger brother today.
Angelo and Kaden for a time bounced around, sometimes together and other times apart in foster care. His mother, he said, got visitation rights reinstated.
"Everything started going good again," he said. But her house caught fire during a visitation when he was 9, and it was back to foster homes. Visitation ceased when he was 10, he said.
Kaden lived in a foster home in San Angelo for three months, then the three boys were reunited and lived four hours from Abilene.
"It was kind of weird bouncing back and forth." he said.
Finally, Angelo and Kaden were fostered by Sam and Cynthia Ferguson, who in 2017 adopted the boys. Angelo was going into seventh grade at the time. Kaden was 3.
On Friday, the couple and young Kaden will see Angelo graduate with the Class of 2023 at Wylie High School.
"The impact he has had on us is more profound than what we've had on him," Sam Ferguson said. "We are really proud of him, and anxious to see what God has in store for him."
'I never thought I'd get to this point'
It no doubt will be an emotional evening for the Fergusons at the Taylor County Coliseum.
"I'm still trying to process everything," Angelo said. Graduating from high school was the furthest thing on his mind six years ago.
At the time, he was looking uphill at his life.
"For awhile," he said, "I never thought I'd get to this point. I figured at some point that I'd drop out and not even finish high school. I think for the longest time that I had it in my head that with my bloodline, these were the cards that were laid out for me and I was going to have to deal with it.
"I was thankful for this family and that I'm adopted. But I am who I am."
It took long, serious talks with his new family to reset his thinking.
He had to learn that he could draw new cards, and be in the game again.
He had Kaden to think about, too.
His baby brother will be a fourth-grader next year and needs a mentor.
Zach lives separately in Abilene.
Angelo is not a top grad, but he is special nonetheless at WHS as a student who, with support at home, school and church, has made it this far.
His aspiration is to become a firefighter.
Finding is footing
What he found in his life was stability.
After the shooting incident, the two younger boys were removed from their home and it would take years to find a permanent home.
Kimberly Ferguson had Angelo as a fifth-grader at Thomas Elementary. She was drawn to his plight and she and her husband, who was director of athletics at McMurry University at the time, sought to adopt.
Sam Ferguson this week took a new job at Abilene Christian, while his wife will be an assistant principal next year at Wylie East.
It took time but they were successful. The boys moved into the Wylie school system.
Angelo learned to adapt in life - he seemed to always be moving and having to trust new people in his life. It was easier in the beginning to withdraw and say little.
"I made a few friends here and there but for the most part, I was more secluded," he said. "Everything was really new. I just bounced around. It took me a little bit of an adjusting period. But overall, I think school and everybody in school and people doing everything for us have been overwhelmingly supportive.
"And my family, too. They were super supportive. They gave me space when I needed it in the beginning."
They embraced him when he needed that.
"Exactly," he said. He often made the choice to not hang out with friends so he could be with his family. As he grew, he spent a lot of time at McMurry, seen hanging out with the athletes or even sweeping the floor at basketball games during time-outs.
He treasured being part of that community. One summer, he was given a helmet signed by all the football players.
Angelo played soccer and football. He admitted that he struggled with his grades.
His parents, while telling him low grades were not working in his favor, encouraged him. They'd tell him "we're here, no matter what. It was nice to know that support was there," he said.
The road ahead
Things have worked out.
He leaves Wylie, he said, with the most friends he has had in his life. He has a girlfriend. He started a part-time custodial job at month ago at nearby Beltway Park Church.
He plays video games and spend time with his buds.
The life many his age enjoy.
This summer, he plans to take classes at Texas State Technical College to become EMS certified.
"I think I'll hang out with Kaden a lot more this summer," he said.
Then, in January, the plan is enroll at Cisco College in its fire academy.
"(Kaden) was scared for the longest time that I'd go away to college," he said.
What is important to Angelo is being a big brother. Kaden is asking questions now about their past and being adopted. There is no contact with his biological mother or previous family.
"It is weird thinking now that he's now the age that I was when I was adopted. It's a blessing and curse knowing where I came from," he said. "I am blessed that I don't have to ask why, but cursed because I know why."
On Friday evening, the future will overshadow the past.
Commencement info
FRIDAY
7 p.m. - Premier High School, Paramount Theatre; Wylie High School, Taylor County Coliseum
8 p.m. - Cooper High School, Shotwell Stadium (gates open at 7 p.m.)
SATURDAY
8:30 a.m. - ATEMS, Shotwell Stadium (gates open at 7:30 a.m.)
8 p.m. - Abilene, Shotwell Stadium (gates open at 7 p.m.)
BY THE NUMBERS
Abilene High: 515 seniors for 135th commencement
ATEMS: 68 seniors in 11th graduating class
Cooper High: 415 seniors in 62nd graduating class
Wylie High: 323 seniors in 120th graduating class
This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: 2023 grads: Wylie's Ferguson is a story of persistence, community
