AISD top students: Diversity, high grades, involvement is common thread
Fifty-six - no, make that 57 - Abilene ISD graduating seniors were honored Tuesday morning for ranking academically at the top at their respective schools.
The top 25 at Abilene and Cooper high schools traditionally are honored, along with the top 10% at the smaller Academy of Technology, Engineering, Math and Science - this year six students.
But at Cooper, there was a tie for No. 20, meaning 26 students were honored.
And listening to the students' accomplishments, interests and plans for their lives, Heinz 57 would be an an apt description of the Class of 2023.
At Cooper, one student honored is named Presley. You know, for the King of Rock and Roll. But she goes by Cheyenne. Nothing wrong with Presley, she said, but she likes Cheyenne and follows a new family tradition of going by a middle name. Her dad goes by Amby, his middle name.
Presley Cheyenne Gray ranked No. 3 in her class.
It's an example of the individuality that was on display. Students came dressed up, or not. One wore shorts and T-shirt, another boy's hair was colored blue. A girl's hair was naturally red.
Others chose Chucks over more formal footwear. Some were tall, others quite short. Many were athletes. Ethnicities mixed.
What they had in common was four years of hard work in classes and balancing their extracurriculars.
Abilene High: Published author wants to be a songwriter
When she was a sixth-grader at Craig Middle School, Vickie Gao organized a petition effort to stop the use of Styrofoam lunch trays throughout the school distirct.
At 11, she wrote a book, "The Curse of the Stone."
Those who followed her path, which included music, will find it hard to believe that she is a senior. And graduating from AHS as the salutatorian.
Gao is bound for Belmont, in Nashville, with plans to hone her newfound skills as a songwriter.
"I started writing songs the summer before my junior year," she said. "I really just fell in love with it. Nothing ever has come easier to me.
"I always wanted to make a difference, that I was impacting people through my job. I think I can do that through my songwriting."
Two songs have been released as singles, she said.
Going to Nashville is a smart move, being in the epicenter of country music. Her music trends more toward indie but a good song works across many genres.
"I feel like I fit into a lot of genres," she said.
"I am super excited. Of course, it's very sweet," she said of breathing in the air of success Tuesday.
And she's excited about her summer plans. Gao's family is going to China, the homeland of her parents. That includes siblings - James in sixth grade and Tine in third. They will be in Chengdu for a month or so.
The family time could make leaving Abilene a bit easier in a few months.
"It's going to be something new," she said. "I haven't done anything like this in my life."
Cooper High: Girl goals of being a pilot and a doctor
Two Cooper High seniors soon will trek an ambitious path.
Sydney Smith, who ranks No. 11 in her class, hopes to follow in her father's footsteps and become an Air Force pilot. She is bound for the Air Force Academy prep school in Colorado Springs.
Daniela Tawiah is going to the University of Houston, with hopes of entering the medical field. She plans to go to Ghana. She is half of the tie for No. 20 at CHS, sharing that rank with Madison Ewest.
Smith is continuing a military tradition in her family.
Her grandparents on both sides were military and her father piloted B-1 bombers before retiring.
"That interested me a lot in becoming a pilot," she said. "If I could pilot the F-22, that would be awesome."
The F-22 is a stealth tactical fighter.
"I know that is so selective, but if I could be a pilot of any airplane, that would be awesome."
Her older brother is on his way to becoming a commercial pilot, so Smith is continuing the Smith tradition of aiming high.
What sold her on the Air Force Academy is that it has a dance team. Smith was a four-year Cougarette at Cooper.
"I've been dancing since I was 3," she said. Unlike most military kids, she grew up in Abilene.
Her summer will be short. Basic training begins July 7.
Tawiah said all members of her family were born in Ghana. They moved to the United States when she was 5.
"There are a lot of adversities and complications going on back home, so I want to become a doctor to help people get adequate health care," she said. She believes it's God's plan for her.
She said she harbored ambitions of becoming a doctor but "it kind of clicked" when she saw is needed in Ghana, which is in West Africa.
She said the University of Houston is diverse, something that greatly appealed to her.
Tawiah hopes that she is setting a role model example for her two younger brothers. She said she did not expect to make the top 25, "but it's to the glory of God" that she is.
This summer, she will be involved in Upward Bound.
ATEMS: It's a family tradition
It's the end of the line for the Brokovich family, and what a run it has been.
Dad Jeff, who is director of instructional planning and completing his 34th years in the Abilene ISD, and mom Laura, who in accounting with the district, have sent four children through the AISD:
Pressure to follow his siblings?
"Honestly, I didn't consider it. I just forged my own path," he said. "I did what I thought I needed to do."
Brokovich enjoyed his ATEMS experience, which included moving to the LIFT site. He broke tradition by going to ATEMS, through Cooper remained his home campus.
"I liked being in an environment with people who maybe have different thoughts and separately from other campus," he said.
He picked McMurry for his double major of music and interest in physics. Brokovich was an all-state band selection as a percussionist his senior year.
McMurry offers both smaller classes, research opportunities and a chance to be the War Hawks' band, he said.
Ahead in life?
"That's a good question," he said, smiling. Not one that has to be answered immediately. But something perhaps in cybersecurity or physics-related, she said.
"Proud of all four of our kids," Jeff Brokovich said.
Added mom, "Unbelievable. It has been a wonderful journey."
2023 top AISD students
Here are the rankings announced Tuesday by the Abilene ISD, with college choice:
∎ ATEMS
∎ COOPER HIGH
∎ ABILENE HIGH
This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: AISD top students: Diversity, high grades, involvement is common thread
