Gonzales Cannon 2013 Graduation Edition

Gonzales High SchoolGonzales High School

The Class of 2013The Class of 2013

DThe Cannon

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Gonzales’ two top grads are Simper, Ince

Morgan SimperGonzales High 2013 Valedictorian

Thompson InceGonzales High 2013 Salutatorian

Graduation is seen as an important event in many people’s lives. As you pre-pare for the special day, here are some wonderful quotes that are funny and true, deep and sincere.

• “A graduation ceremony is an event where the commencement speaker tells students dressed in identical caps and gowns that “individuality” is the key to success.” – Robert Orben

• “There is a good reason they call these ceremonies ‘commencement exer-cises.’ Graduation is not the end; it’s the beginning.” – Sen. Orrin Hatch

• “Your families are extremely proud of you. You can’t imagine the sense of relief they are experiencing. This would be a most opportune time to ask for money.” – Gary Bolding

• “The fireworks begin today. Each di-

ploma is a lighted match. Each one of you is a fuse.” – Edward Koch

• “All that stands between the graduate and the top of the ladder is the ladder.” – Author Unknown

• “Graduation is only a concept. In real life every day you graduate. Graduation is a process that goes on until the last day of your life. If you can grasp that, you’ll make a difference.” – Arie Pencovici

• “An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.” – Author un-known, commonly attributed to Benja-min Franklin

• “Your schooling may be over, but re-member that your education still contin-ues.” – Author Unknown

• “Don’t live down to expectations. Go out there and do something remarkable.” – Wendy Wasserstein

Famous Graduation Quotes

Natural ability, persever-ance and uncanny consis-tency are all traits shared by the top two graduates at Gonzales High School this year.

Morgan Simper and Thompson Ince have been ranked at the top of their class since their days at Gonzales Junior High, and both managed to stay the

course to earn valedictori-an and salutatorian honors, respectively.

“Thompson and I have never considered ourselves as being enemies,” said Simper. “There was no ten-sion, we were just friendly. We were definitely able to reach our goals though.”

“We’ve always kind of had an idea of who was at the top,” said Ince. “Morgan and I have been 1 and 2 for as long as I can remember.”

“For me, it started in eighth grade when they gave me the valedictorian award for junior high,” re-called Simper. “Ever since then I told myself if I can do it when I’m young, then I should be able to contin-ue it throughout my high school career. That was what really pushed me. I come from a family that emphasizes academics and I think that helped me as well.”

Excellence in academics is only part of the legacy Simper will leave behind this year. She was a varsity head cheerleader in ad-dition to being a past all-district performer in vol-leyball and softball for the Lady Apaches. She was the recipient of the 2013 Erwin Ckodre Leadership Award during the recent Apache Athletics Awards Banquet.

To go along with her ath-letic achievements, Simper

also belonged to several educational organizations including National Honor Society, Spanish Honor So-ciety and Mu Alpha Theta. She has additionally been active in her church’s youth groups and a frequent vol-unteer at local nursing homes.

“I was doing a lot, but it didn’t necessarily take up a lot of my time,” she said. “I feel like it all paid off for me in the long run.”

“High school has been like a long, wild roller coaster ride for me, but it’s been exciting. It is defi-nitely bittersweet to know that I’ll be leaving. Being at Gonzales High School has shaped who I am as a young adult and it’s some-thing that I’ll never forget. It’s time to go on and ex-perience new things, but I will carry these memories with me forever.”

By CEDRIC [email protected]

GONZALES, Page D3

The Cannon Thursday, May 30, 2013Page D2

Gonzales High SchoolClass of 2013

Akers, LindseyAllen, SeanAlmaguer, EdgarAlmaguer, JoannaAlmaguer, SalomonAngel, Eduardo

Gabriel CasaresSo Very Proud of You!

Love, Mom & Dad

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Becker, LayneBednarczyk, RebeccaBenes, DevinBolton, AmberBordovsky, AugustBozka, Carly

Braune, KileyBrecosky, HaileyBrumme, NicholasCalloway, StassneyCarrizales, JeredCasares, Anthony

Casares, BrentCasares, DavidCastillo, AlexCastillo, AshleyCastillo, JacobCastillo, Matthew

Chavez-Moreno, GilbertoChristian, MitchellCockcroft, RebeccaCook, JustinCorona, MariaCorrea, Miguel

Curtis, SharondaDeLeon, DestinyDiaz, AngelDiaz, FranciscoDixson, TzitziDolezal, Brian

Simper will be attend-ing the University of Texas in Austin this fall, where she will focus on getting a degree in Biomedical Engi-neering.

She fully intends on go-ing to medical school after her undergraduate studies are over in order to become a pediatrician.

“When I was in junior high I wanted to be a veter-inarian, but after my fresh-man year I began thinking seriously about being a doctor,” Simper said. “As I got older, I knew I wanted to specialize in pediatrics because I love children.”

“I’m definitely proud of all I have accomplished. It took me many years to get to this point because it’s not something that just hap-pens overnight.”

“I’ve spent countless hours studying and work-ing hard,” Simper contin-ued. “It’s been difficult to juggle my time between

academics and extracur-riculars, but it taught me not to procrastinate. That is definitely going to help me in college.”

Morgan is the daughter of Jeffrey and Susan Simper of Gonzales.

When asked about his experience at Gonzales High School, Ince said it was eventful to say the least.

“It’s definitely been inter-esting because there were some ups and downs,” he said. “It was all worth it in the end because I had some fun and made some great friends.”

An active member of several clubs including the Future Scientists and En-gineers of America, Ince also participated in ath-letics as a member of the Apache track team where he specialized in the pole vault, 400-meter run and 800-meter run.

“I actually enjoy running a lot,” he said. “I had a really good shot to go to region-als this year, but then some

things just happened at the end.”

With the milestone of graduation rapidly ap-proaching, Ince said he is extremely excited about the next chapter of his life. He will attend Texas A&M University this fall and ma-jor in Chemical Engineer-ing.

“Not to sound arrogant, but high school wasn’t a real challenge for me be-cause education has always come easy for me,” he said. “To be honest, I didn’t re-ally have to study a whole lot. That’s why I’m looking forward to college.”

“I love the education I’ve received in Gonzales, but I think I need to challenge myself more. It is just like anything else. It doesn’t matter how talented you are in something, you won’t get any better unless you work at it.”

Thompson is the son of Mark and Noell Ince of Gonzales.

The CannonThursday, May 30, 2013 Page D3

Anthony Casares Francisco Diaz

Elea Molina

“I can do all things thru Christ who strengthens me”

Philippians 4:13

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Continued from page D1

GONZALES: Simper, Ince highlight Gonzales High School’s Class of 2013 grads

Cannon News Services

The Gonzales Independent School District (ISD) Education Foundation held its second annual Academic Recognition Banquet on May 20.

The event honors the top ten percent of graduating seniors along with their selected honored guest.

The students were asked to select a Gonzales ISD Pre-K through 12th grade teacher or staff member who has had the greatest influence on their academic accomplishments. The event is designed to bring some much-needed attention to the hard work and dedication of the students and the staff of Gonzales ISD.

In addition to the honorees listed below, the student’s parents will also be guests of honor. Students are their honored guests included the following:• Jessica Baker - honored guest Charlene Henke• Carly Bozka- honored guest Judy Williams• Kiley Braune - honored guest Karen Fougerat

• Hailey Brecosky- honored guest Michael Moers• Thompson Ince - honored guest George Arnold• Trey Kridler - honored guest Joey Carrizales• Jesslyn Lamprecht- honored guest Jami Owens• Ryan Lee - honored guest Nancy Jackson• Trey Lester - honored guest Erin LaBuhn• Laci Lock- honored guest Anita Dement• Kelsey Pippin- honored guest Marilyn Krum• Brie Schauer- honored guest Sandra Holmes• Jill Schauer - honored guest Jami Owens• Morgan Simper - honored guest Edith Lucas• Shayla Simper - honored guest Becky Pekar• Sarah Stout - honored guest Angie Decou• Elizabeth Williams - honored guest Leslie Buesing

Gonzales’ top grads, guests honored during foundation’s academic recognition banquet

Area HighSchool Graduation

ScheduleGonzales High SchoolFriday, May 31, 7 p.m.

Apache Field

Flatonia High SchoolFriday, May 31, 7:30 p.m.

Bulldog Stadium

Shiner High SchoolFriday, May 31, 7:30 p.m.

Comanche Stadium

Waelder High SchoolSaturday, June 1, 6 p.m.

Waelder HS Gymnasium

Luling High SchoolFriday, June 7, 7:30 p.m.

Eagle Field



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Many of this year’s high school graduates will be leaving home for a college campus in the fall. Such a departure is often bitter-sweet for kids and parents

alike. Young men and women

typically look forward to the freedom and indepen-dence that college life can provide, but those same men and women know they will miss the familiarity of

home as well. Parents, too, have mixed emotions when kids head to college, as their sadness over a child leaving home is met with the pride they feel that the child they raised is setting out to make their own way in the world.


How to prepare your recent graduate for collegiate life

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Parents of college-bound youngsters can help their kids prepare for such a significant life adjustment so kids are better equipped to handle both their academic and social lives. (Courtesy photo)

Few moments in life involve such significant change as the moment when a young man or woman first arrives on a college campus. First-year college students often don’t know what to expect once they arrive on campus, but there are steps parents can take to help their kids prepare for col-lege life.

• Teach kids how to schedule their time.

One of the things many college kids find once they arrive on campus is that their life is suddenly much less structured and their amount of downtime has increased considerably. Unlike high school, which keeps many kids in class or involved in extracurricu-lar activities from the early morning through the late af-ternoon, college affords stu-dents much more free time, which is theirs to use as they see fit. Some kids dive right into on-campus activities, while others struggle to use their free time to their ad-vantage.

Parents can teach time management skills such as how to establish a schedule so all of that free time does

not go to waste. This sched-ule can be adjusted on a weekly basis depending on coursework or extracur-ricular activities.

Once kids learn to man-age their time effectively, including using breaks between classes to review notes from a recent lecture or upcoming class, they’re likely to get the most out of themselves academically and find they have more time to pursue extracur-ricular activities as well.

• Discuss finances and establish a financial ar-rangement.

Many college freshmen struggle to manage their money. Some might never have had a job during high school while others who did work only did so to earn spending money.

But many college stu-dents need more than spending money once they reach campus. Rising tu-ition costs have made it difficult, if not impossible, for parents to bankroll their kids’ everyday expenses. As a result, many college students find themselves forced to manage their own money for the first time in their lives. Parents can teach simple financial les-sons, such as the benefits of buying groceries as op-posed to dining out or or-dering in each night.

College is also where many young men and women first sign up for a credit card. Parents can teach their kids the basics of managing credit, such as the benefit of paying off a balance before interest rates kick in and the nega-tive ramifications of miss-ing payments.

Parents who can afford to

provide financial support for their children enrolled in college should reach a financial agreement with their children before they are off to college.

Make sure kids know your financial support does not mean they have unlim-ited access to your funds, and make it known that such support will not con-tinue if kids aren’t perform-ing well in the classroom.

• Encourage kids to con-tact any roommates before the school year begins.

Part of the trepidation many kids have when leav-ing for college concerns how they may or may not develop a relationship with their new roommate. Many schools assign roommates months in advance of the school year, giving kids ample time to make contact and make arrangements about whom is going to bring certain items, such as a television or coffee pot or even furniture if the room can fit any.

Parents should encour-age such contact so kids can get a feel of who they will be living with and lay the groundwork for a friend-ship before they even step foot on campus. The feel-ing of knowing someone on campus can greatly reduce the anxiety many kids feel when they arrive at school for their freshmen orienta-tion.

The day a student leaves for college is a significant day for parents and stu-dents alike. Parents can take a number of steps to make the transition to col-lege easier for their college-bound son or daughter.


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“I can do all things thru Christ who strengthens me”

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We’re Proud ofOur Graduates!

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Waelder High SchoolWaelder High School

EThe Cannon


Scarbrough, Henderson tops at Nixon-Smiley High

Abigail ScarbroughNixon-Smiley High 2013 Valedictorian

• “Wherever you go, go with all your heart.” – Confucius

• “Life is my school. May I graduate well, and earn some honors!” – Louisa May Alcott

• “It is indeed ironic that we spend our school days yearning to graduate and our remaining days waxing nostalgic about our school days.” – Isabel Waxman

• “In the business world, everyone is

paid in two coins: cash and experience. Take the experience first; the cash will come later.” – Harold Geneen

• “Put your future in good hands - your own.” – Author Unknown

• “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” – Ralph Waldo Em-erson

• “The man who graduates today and

stops learning tomorrow is uneducated the day after.” – Newton D. Baker

• “Do not follow where the path may lead. Go, instead, where there is no path and leave a trail.” – Ralph Waldo Emer-son

• “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what

you know. You are the guy who’ll decide where to go.” – Dr. Seuss

• “Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgot-ten.” – B.F. Skinner

• “Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing worth knowing can be taught.” – Oscar Wilde from “The Critic as Artist,” 1890

Famous Graduation Quotes

Nixon-Smiley High SchoolNixon-Smiley High School

Jackie GarciaWaelder High 2013 Valedictorian

Tatiana GarciaWaelder High 2013 Salutatorian

Kelby HendersonNixon-Smiley High 2013 Salutatorian

Garcia girls earn top honors in Waelder

NIXON, Page E2

In a direct contrast to what happened last year, there was very little drama concerning the class rank-ings at Nixon-Smiley High School for the Class of 2013.

The “race” for the top spot came to an anti-climatic end when Abigail Scarbrough was officially announced as the top graduate in her class.

“I’ve known what my ranking was for a while,” she said. “It didn’t come as a surprise or anything, but I was still happy to hear it.”

“I’m a very competitive person, I like to be the best. Also my mom would kind of get on to me if I didn’t keep my grades up.”

Scarbrough seemed to be a part of nearly every-thing her school had to of-fer throughout her time on campus. She was a member of several extracurricular organizations including the Spie Club, Spanish Club, Science Club, Art Club and the National Honor Society.

Scarbrough was also a frequent participant in the Nixon Livestock Shows, where she has raised both Grand and Reserve Cham-pion turkeys, picking up a Showmanship Award along the way.

Scarbrough rounded out her time at Nixon-Smiley by playing basketball, softball and volleyball for the Lady Mustangs. This past season, she earned academic all-district honors in volleyball and softball.

“It’s been interesting,” she said when asked about her time at Nixon-Smiley High. “I’d do my work and I’d play sports. It was your typical small high school experience. It’s going to be different going forward and I’m a little bit nervous about that, but I’m also really ex-cited because I know there’s a whole world out there be-


It’s a family affair at Waelder High School this year in regards to their top graduates.

Jaqueline (Jackie) Gar-cia and her cousin, Ta-tiana Garcia, have been determined to be the vale-dictorian and salutato-rian, respectively, for the school’s Class of 2013.

“It was an overwhelm-ing feeling,” said Jackie when asked her reaction upon first being notified of the good news. “I was very excited to hear it.”

“My parents have al-ways talked about me going to college and that gave me the drive to do so. It made me start set-ting goals for myself.”

Jackie said her expe-rience at Waelder High School is similar to most high schools with small enrollments – everyone knows everybody else, and contrary to the cliché, that familiarity breeds love for one another.

“It’s been great here, I’m going to miss it a lot,” she said. “It makes me want to cry just thinking about having to leave it.”

In addition to taking care of business in the classroom, Jackie also found time to play basket-ball and volleyball for the Lady Wildcats.

Jackie plans on attend-ing the University of Tex-as at San Antonio this fall, where she will pursue a major in Criminal Justice.

“It’s just so different from everything else,” she said when asked about her choice of major. “ I just find it to be so exciting.”

Jackie is the daughter of Juan and Jaqueline Garcia of Waelder.

Not only did Tatiana find a way to ascend to the


WAELDER, Page E4

sides Nixon. I’m ready to go.”

“High school was great and I really enjoyed it. There are some people that I’m going to miss along with the athletics, but that part of my life is over and I’m ready to move on to the next phase.”

Scarbrough will be at-tending Texas State Univer-sity in San Marcos this fall, where she plans to major in Physical Therapy.

“I love sports and I want to do something that would allow me to still be involved with athletics,” she said. “I also want to help people and I’ve always been inter-ested in the medical field,

so it’s like combining those two interests.”

Abigail is the daughter of Maurice and Cindy Scar-brough.

Kelby Henderson is the salutatorian of this year’s graduating class at Nixon-Smiley. She credits her grandparents, John and Nancy Cook, as being the source of her desire to suc-

ceed.“My motivation has been

to make my grandparents proud,” Henderson said. “Everything I’ve been able to achieve has all been done for them. They’ve been a big part of my life and I’ve always looked up to them. I hope to find a man to marry one day who’s like my grandpa. He’s just the

best and my grandma is like the greatest person in the world.”

Athletics was also a large part of Henderson’s extracurricular activities. She played volleyball and basketball in each of her four years at Nixon-Smiley, earning all-district hon-ors along the way. She also played softball, tennis and

qualified for regionals in golf.

“It’s been interesting for me,” she said when asked about her high school ex-perience. “It seems like I’ve been in every possible situ-ation that can be thrown at a student. I’ve had close classmates move away, one who died and have seen others kind of fall by the wayside. As a class, we adapted and overcame it all which helped us to grow as a family.”

“I’m proud of each and every one of my classmates who have excelled with me over the years. It’s going to be hard to leave because I have so many wonderful memories from the last 13 years, but I know I’m ready to move forward.”

Up next for Henderson is Tarleton State University in Stephenville, where she plans to take classes before ultimately transferring to Texas A&M to become a veterinarian.

“Hopefully one day, I can own a veterinary hos-pital,” she said. “I grew up on a ranch so I enjoy being around animals.”

Kelby is the daughter of Sam and JoLynn Hender-son.

The Cannon Thursday, May 30, 2013Page E2

Nixon-Smiley High SchoolClass of 2013

Aguilar, MariahAguirre, ErinAlvarez, RosaAlvarez, TylerArce, SamuelBoatright, Hailey

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Continued from page E1

NIXON: Top graduates looking forward to the next phase

Montantes, JoanaNeubauer, ChaseOlade, JosePape, SavannahPena, EdwardRobles, Priscilla

The CannonThursday, May 30, 2013 Page E3

Nixon-Smiley High SchoolClass of 2013

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Saucedo, CarlosScarbrough, Abigail

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Waelder High SchoolClass of 2013

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upper echelon of her class, but she did so while having to overcome a formidable obstacle – the language bar-rier.

“I was born in Mexico and came here when I was three years old,” she re-called. “It was really hard learning a new language because I was taught to speak Spanish at home, but my parents have always en-couraged me so I got past it.”

“I was glad when they told me I was second in my class. I feel honored to be the salutatorian.”

Not just a good student, Tatiana proved to be a com-petent athlete as well. She played basketball for the Lady Wildcats, where she earned All-District honors twice in the last two sea-sons. She also went to re-

gionals in golf.The same bond of close-

ness at school expressed by her cousin also resonated with Tatiana.

“My high school experi-ence has been great,” she said. “It’s been the best four years of my life. Leaving is going to be difficult because I’ve gotten so used to seeing my classmates every day and now I’m going to be away from them.”

Tatiana will attend Tar-leton State University in Stephenville this fall and pursue a degree in Com-puter Science.

“I’ve always enjoyed learning about technol-ogy and I like to be current on all of the technological trends,” she said. “I think it’s a lot of fun to see how far it will go.”

Tatiana is the daughter of Nauneino and Nanjuana Garcia of Waelder.

Continued from page E1

WAELDER: Top graduates prove that brains must run in the family

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Looking for a gift for your high school graduate? Here, organized by price, are 50 great ideas:

Big Ticket Items (Price is no object)

Vacation or travel tour, Car, Money, Laptop com-puter, Stock or CD, Cell phone complete with a paid plan, Furniture - Great gift for the college graduate who is moving out of mom and dad’s house, Small re-frigerator - A very useful gift for the teen who will be living in a dorm room at college Mid-Priced Items (Priced

$51 - $250)Briefcase, Clothing gift

card, Watch, Microwave, Toaster oven - This appli-ance is useful for college dorm living, especially if

the student is not allowed microwaves in his/her dorm room, Set of luggage, A package from a resume writing service - Excellent gift for the teen who will be looking for a job or a college graduate, Camera, Television, DVD player, IPod, Recorder and cas-settes for lectures, Book-shelf, Pure gold or silver coin with graduate year on it, Stereo, Printer, Tool box with basic tools, Engraved jewelry, Personalized grad-uation item, Money tree, Money clip complete with money, Wallet with some money Economical Gifts (Priced

under $50)Book about future field of

study or career; Devotional self-help book; Inspiration-al book; Photo album filled with memories; Address book filled with friend’s

addresses and phone num-bers; Fill a laundry basket with laundry soap, fabric softener or dryer sheets, roll of quarters and direc-tions on how to separate your laundry - Perfect gift for the teen who is mov-ing out or going to college;

A piece of luggage; Re-sume writing books; Set of sheets; Picture frames with pictures of high school years; Organizer or plan-ner; Desk accessories; Um-brella; Iron; Coffee maker; Hot pot; Footlocker; Jump drive; Phone card

The CannonThursday, May 30, 2013 Page E5


Dear graduating senior,

I am begging your par-don for a somber reflec-tion amid the joy of ac-complishment: not to be a wet rag on the festivities of graduation, but a bright light on the realities of post-secondary education.

If you are going on to a state university, your GPA is 3.5 or better, your ACT or SAT score is at the 70th percentile — placing you in the top 30 percent of current test-takers — and as you enter the university this year, about 56 percent of students with similar qualifications will graduate in four years. What’s sur-prising about this number is that it’s not higher, closer to 85 percent or 90 percent. But college is tough. That is what you pay for.

On the other hand, if you’re going to a univer-sity with a more typical 2.8 GPA and are at the 45th percentile on the ACT or SAT, the likelihood of fin-

ishing in four years drops to well below 50 percent. These are not great odds. Not like the odds you car-ried to high school when graduation was nearly guaranteed. Show up and win.

It wouldn’t surprise you that if you are well-pre-pared for college study — a good GPA, ACT/SAT score and class rank in the top 50 percent — you are more likely to succeed, whether on borrowed funds or on your dime. But access does not equal success.

Nearly two out of three students on the way to a baccalaureate degree bor-row money. This is trou-bling. While the high school experience appears to be free, unless of course you pay taxes, the univer-sity experience is not. Ad-ditionally, the dropout rate for those who take loans is nearly 23 percent. Imagine taking out a car note and never being able to drive it, or buying a house that you can never eat or sleep in.

If you haven’t posted

a good academic perfor-mance in high school, don’t believe a university, its leadership, advertisements or admissions officers who co-sign your promissory note with no responsibility for its payment obligation. They need paying students.

Stoking a deceitful dream on life support — an underappreciated, overfi-nanced, media-hyped cha-rade — is the real decep-tion, and the weight falls on your back, not theirs.

A shameful, elaborate sham, when one out of two college graduates this year are unemployable in their chosen field.

Look carefully at the costs and benefits of a uni-versity education. Univer-sity officials may not tell you the truth: Enrollments could drop. Bankers will not tell you the truth: In-terest income will fall off. Elected officials will not tell you the truth: Elections will be lost. Listen to those really concerned for you carefully.

If you choose to attend

a “second-best” univer-sity, you may be lulled into thinking that your chances for graduation will improve significantly. Not true.

You will find, at good mid-major institutions and many teachers colleges, that high-quality faculty demand energy, interest, intellectual acuity and classroom performance, and if you haven’t exhib-ited them in high school, the likelihood that you will spontaneously develop them amid the distractions of university is near nil. There are very few curve-breakers.

Maybe you can find a low-stress major and get through on little work. You probably won’t find a job — remember half don’t.

A low-employability, near-minimum-wage ma-jor and $50,000 in debt — national averages are a bit over $25,000 — are less valuable than a good high school diploma with four years of experience.

Unenlightened? Call me a caveman. Cruel? I think

of it as honest.Here is the substance of

my advice as you graduate.One: If you have to bor-

row money to enter a uni-versity straight away, don’t. Go to a community col-lege. Pick rigorous courses that you know will transfer and get them at an 80 per-cent discount off the cost of state university prices. Don’t borrow a dime. If you need a boost to finish after demonstrating abil-ity at a community college, borrow sparingly in the last two years, but never in the first two. Never.

Two: If your life circum-stance requires you to work and study simultaneously, do it. There is no law of the universe that says a college education must take four years. If it takes more, and you can do it for cash, do it. Don’t borrow money.

Three: Consider care-fully with your family, and counselors you trust, the dollar value of your career-path choice. Find a way to graduate from college with little or no debt.

Four: If you walk to class on C-note Nikes or check a Diesel watch to see if you’re late, you are acting foolishly. Sorry for insen-sitive straightforwardness. When every friend you’ve got heads to Acapulco on spring break, don’t go. Go do something noble to cre-ate capital. Work. Or study. But don’t spend or export borrowed capital.

Five: Lastly, if you think you worked hard in high school, know that any uni-versity worth its salt will have you working at lev-els four or five times more challenging for a good GPA.

Study hard, work dili-gently and challenge your-self intellectually. Show this to someone you respect and ask him if I sound cra-zy. I dare you.

All the best in your fu-ture.

Walter V. Wendler is di-rector of the School of Ar-chitecture and former chan-cellor at Southern Illinois University.

Open letter to graduating high school seniors

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When asked to list re-nowned classical compos-ers, Mozart or Beethoven may come to mind.

Many people may not think to mention Edward Elgar, but there’s an excel-lent chance thousands of people are very familiar with the most famous work by Elgar.

“Pomp and Circum-stance” is undoubtedly El-gar’s biggest claim to fame. It has become the standard to which many soon-to-be graduates proceed into their graduation ceremo-nies, both in high school and college. As such, it has become one of the most recognized concert march-es.

The song – the trio sec-tion of the first march in a series written by Elgar – was not written with the intention of being a gradu-ation processional.

Elgar built up his reputa-tion as a composer of works for great choral festivals throughout England. In 1901, Elgar began compos-ing five marches that would be named “Pomp and Cir-cumstance Marches.”

He is perhaps best known for the first of the marches, which went on to be simply named, “Pomp and Cir-cumstance,” or “The Gradu-ation March.” Since 1905, it has been use at virtually all high school and university graduations in America.

The first time “Pomp and Circumstance” was played in a graduation setting was when Elgar received an honorary Doctorate from Yale University in 1905. At the end of the ceremony, the march was performed as recessional music. It was so well-received that it was soon expected to be played during graduation ceremo-nies at many other promi-nent schools. Today it is rare to hear “The Gradua-tion March” played outside of commencement ceremo-nies.

Many graduates have fond memories of hearing “Pomp and Circumstance” at their school commence-ment, even remembering the exact moment they re-ceived their degrees. For those attending a gradua-tion ceremony in the near future, expect to hear this powerful march.

Little-known Elgar author of America’s favorite graduation tune

An English march turned into a composition com-monly heard at graduation ceremonies annually all across America. (Courtesy photo)

The 50 greatest gift ideas for the high school graduate


Gov. Rick Perry said state leaders have worked hard to improve Texas public schools over the past decade, with more students faring well.

Perry told lawmakers in his State-of-the-State ad-dress: “According to the U.S. Department of Edu-cation, our graduation rates are at an all-time high—the third-highest in the nation—which rep-resents a significant turn-around from just a few short years ago.”

In a Nov. 27, 2012, press release, the Texas Educa-tion Agency (TEA) said that according to prelimi-nary data from its federal counterpart, Texas tied for

the nation’s third-highest high school graduation rate in the 2010-11 school year, based on tracking in-dividual students through high school.

The agency said Texas was tied with Tennessee, New Hampshire, Indiana, Nebraska and North Da-kota, all with 86 percent rates. Iowa, Vermont and Wisconsin had higher graduation rates by one to two percentage points, the agency said.

Perry spokesperson Josh Havens told us the governor based his claim on that data released in November.

That 2011 graduation rate was 5 percentage points better than the 2009 rate, he said, and

there were more than 26,000 additional gradu-ates. There were 11,100 more seniors in 2011, a 4 percent difference, ac-cording to a July 2012 re-port by the TEA.

The AP story also noted the difference between the sets of graduation data.

The state education agency said the reason for the difference was that the January 2013 report, from the National Center for Education Statistics, which is part of the federal Department of Education, estimated high school at-trition rates among ninth-graders over four years, while the state tracks ac-tual cases that can be ad-justed for things like stu-dents moving away before

finishing high school.“We’re basically count-

ing noses, and they’re do-ing an estimate,” Debbie Ratcliffe, a TEA spokes-woman. “The good news is the trend lines for grad-uates are the same.”

“There are a million different ways to count graduation rates. As long as they’re showing similar trend lines, that’s posi-tive.”

Texas tied with five states for the third-highest rate in 2011, of 86 percent. Then again, three states had higher rates, meaning Texas might better be de-scribed as fourth-ranked.

All told, Texas gradua-tion rates are improving and the state looks strong compared to most others.

Perry: Texas graduation rates at an all-time high


Brie Elizabeth SchauerGonzales High School

Will attend Texas A&M in College Station to study Business Management

Daughter of Brian and Mia Schauer (Johnson Oil Company-Gonzales)

“Congratulations Seniors!”

Lane Allen BrownHomeschooled through Brown Christian Academy in Shiner

Will attend Victoria College with plans to tranfer to UT-Houston to pursue a degree in

Business AdministrationSon of Don and Melva Brown

Grandson of Kay Villalpando (Tiger Tote #15-Shiner)

Dalton VasquezHomeschool Graduate

Currently attending Victoria College with plans to transfer to UT-Austin to pursue a

degree in Mechanical Engineering.Son of Robert & Lisa Vasquez

Grandson of Kay Villalpando (Tiger Tote #15-Shiner)

Shelby Lynn TiekenTexas A&M

Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies

Teach Kindergarten through 3rd gradeDaughter of Bruce & Billie Joe Tieken (Johnson

Oil Company-Gonzales)

Zach OlguinLuling High School

Plans to attend HVAC technical school in Austin or Ft. WorthSon of Lisa Gomez

(Tiger Tote #08-Gonzales)

Dillon Ross SitkaVictoria East High School

Study chemical engineering by attending Victoria College for his 1st year and transfer

to UT-Houston to complete his education.Son of Donna Sitka

(Tiger Tote Food Stores)

Taylor FordLaVernia High School

Employee of Tiger Tote/Subway #304 - La Vernia

Will attend Texas A&M incollege Station to study Business management

Daughter of Rhonda Watson & Charles Ford

Brittany Marie ValdezNew Braunfels High School

Employee of Tiger Tote/Subway in New Braunfels

Will attend St. Phillips Nursing School. Brittany has already received her CNA.

Daughter of Jose & Cindy Valdez (Tiger Tote #21-New Braunfels

Meghan BaetzGoliad High School

Employee of Tiger Tote/Subway #325 in Goliad

Daughter of George and Lorraine Baetz

Not Pictured:

Nicholas Ryan BrummeGonzales High School

Future plans are to enlist in the United States Navy

Son of John & Jennifer Brumme (Tiger Tote #27-Gonzales)

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cided this was what I wanted to do. It’s going to be challenging for sure, but it’s something I really enjoy.”

The difficulty in making the transition from big fish in a small pond to new fish in an ocean is not lost on Berkovsky.

“I don’t want to leave high school,” she said with a hearty laugh. “I mean I do but I really loved it here. I’ve made so many good friends here and with it being such a small school, we’re all really close.”

“It’s a little scary knowing that I’m coming from a place where I know everybody to going to a place where I won’t know hardly anyone. It’s kind of in-timidating, but I’m really excited and looking for-ward to the challenge.”

A long-time friendship spawned a “fight” for academic supremacy in Shiner this year.

Through closeness and com-petition, best friends Emmalie Berkovsky and Meloni Berger helped each other achieve the honored titles of valedictorian and salutatorian, respectively, for Shiner High School’s Class of 2013.

“We found out in eighth grade who the top three in our class were and then I saw how high I was in the rankings after my sophomore year,” said Berkovsky. “I didn’t know I was going to be number one for sure until a few weeks ago. It was exciting and re-ally cool.”

“My best friend Meloni is second and it’s been competi-tive between us the whole time. We’ve always been really close, so we would compare our test grades and stuff all the time. We definitely made each other work harder, but it’s certainly more of a friendship than it is a rivalry.”

When she wasn’t cracking the books, Berkovsky was occupied with her participation in a myr-iad of extracurricular activities. She was president of the Student Council this year and went to several University Interscholastic League (UIL) academic meets in-cluding One Act Play, where she was named to the All-Star Cast for her role in the play “The His-tory of Tom Jones” with her per-formance being a major factor in Shiner advancing to regionals in the event.

Berkovsky also took part in athletics, where she played vol-leyball, track and tennis for the Lady Comanches, in addition to serving as a leader in the Fellow-ship of Christian Athletes (FCA).

“You kind of just learn early on how to balance your time,” she said. “I’ve been doing this for so long, I don’t know anything else so I just do it. You have to have your priorities straight and un-derstand that your academics come first.”

The very capable Berkovsky will continuing pushing herself at the collegiate level. She will matriculate at the University of Texas is Austin, where she plans on attaining a chemical engi-neering degree from the school’s Honors program.

“I really want to end up doing pharmaceutical research and I could have gone in other direc-tions because I’m going to need degrees beyond my undergrad anyway,” she explained. “I was invited to an engineering camp last summer and what I learned while there was so cool that I de-


Shiner High SchoolShiner High School

FThe Cannon


Schacherl, Jasek finish on top at Flatonia High

Abigail SchacherlFlatonia High 2013 Valedictorian

Flatonia High SchoolFlatonia High School

Best friends claim top spots at Shiner High

St. Paul High SchoolSt. Paul High School

Scott JasekFlatonia High 2013 Salutatorian

Emmalie BerkovskyShiner High 2013 Valedictorian

Meloni BergerShiner High 2013 Salutatorian


SHINER, Page F2

In the story of the tortoise and the hare, the moral is a slow and steady pace wins the race.

While there’s nothing slow about Abigail Schacherl, her steady pace allowed her emerge from Flatonia High School as the valedictorian for the Class of 2013.

“When I found out, it was just the best feeling in the world,” she said about hearing the news a few weeks ago. “I was involved in a lot of things and I had gotten my mind OK with settling for salutatorian, so when I found out I was number one it was even more gratifying. It just feels really good knowing that all of my hard work paid off.”

Schacherl has been busy over the last four years at Flatonia High, where she has been active in Stu-dent Council, Future Farmers of America and a member of the Na-tional Honor Society.

The versatile senior, who serves as president of the Senior Class, is also an accomplished athlete for the Lady Bulldogs.

Schacherl played golf and soft-ball, where she was a member of the 2012 state championship team. She was also an All-District per-former both basketball and volley-ball.

“I’m kind of a perfectionist so I have a to-do list for every day,” Sch-acherl said when asked about her time management skills. “I go to sleep thinking about what I have to do for the next day. After a while, it just became routine.”

When asked to summarize her four-year high school experience, Schacherl didn’t hesitate to do it in one word – awesome.

“I love this town and how every-body knows everybody,” she said. “It’s just like one big ol’ family.”

Schacherl will attend the Uni-versity of Texas at Austin this fall on an academic scholarship. She hopes to eventually get into the university’s pharmacy school.

“I’ve always had a special inter-est in science and math,” she said. “I was going to be an accountant until I got the chance to work for one and realized I wanted to work around people more as opposed to being stuck in an office.”

Abigail is the daughter of Rich-ard and Kelly Schacherl.

Finishing second in your gradu-ating class is usually viewed as a great honor, but that’s not neces-sarily the case with Scott Jasek.

Always driven to be the best, Jasek admitted to being a little put off when he learned he was Flato-nia’s salutatorian for the Class of 2013.

“To be honest with you, I was a little disappointed when I found out because I had been ahead of


Abigail since my ninth grade year,” Jasek said. “However, I understand that life can be disap-pointing from time to time so you just have to be able to push through it.”

When he wasn’t studying, Jasek was involved in Future Farmers of America where he served on several teams including Quiz and Farm Busi-ness Management. Additionally, he served on the Student Council, was a member of the National Honor Society, and participated on the Bulldogs track and field team.

Jasek said he has thoroughly enjoyed his time at Flatonia High School, largely because of the affable environment.

“Going to a school in a community of this size, you really get to know your friends,” he said.

FLATONIA, Page F3

Emmalie is the daugh-ter of Jimmy and Janette Berkovsky of Shiner.

Although she came up just shy of finishing at the top of her class, Berger said she is more than satisfied with the way things turned out.

“I was very excited to find out my final rank be-

cause I was third going into my senior year,” she said. “I worked really hard on my grades to get back to sec-ond because that’s where I had been for most of my high school career.”

Every bit as busy as her best buddy, Berger is the Student Council’s vice president and she was also on the UIL Literary Criti-

cism team and a member of Future Farmers of America (FFA). As a freshman, she raised a Reserve Champion in the hog division.

As spectacular as Berg-er’s achievements in the academic arena have been, they also pale in compari-son to what she has done athletically.

Berger has been a force

in track and field, where she has dominated in the 300-meter hurdles. She has run at the state meet in each of the last three years as the Class 1A Region IV champion.

“Track is my favorite sport,” she said. “I’ve been running since junior high. I just try to focus on what it is I need to do and it’s easy

in track because it is such a passion of mine.”

Berger will be attending Texas A&M University in College Station this fall and she fully intends to try and earn a walk-on spot in the Lady Aggies’ program.

“Track is not just some-thing that I do just because, I really love running,” she explained. “I’m not done with track.”

In addition to her run-ning, Berger also went to regionals at Shiner in sin-gles tennis and as a mem-ber of the cross country team.

“I really don’t want to fail at anything, that’s my motivation,” said Berger. “I like to be on top and excel in whatever I’m doing. I’ve always been like that. My parents have been there to encourage me, but I’ve al-ways been driven.”

While the diminutive dynamo is eager to tackle her next endeavor, she ad-

mitted leaving Shiner High School behind is hard to do.

“It’s been a great expe-rience. I love Shiner,” she said. “The people here are amazing and I’ve been with most of my teachers since Pre-K. Between them and the students, I’ve liter-ally known these people for most of my life. I love this school and the way they do everything.”

Berger plans to major in Animal Sciences at A&M for the purpose of becom-ing a veterinarian.

“I’ve wanted to be a vet for as long as I can remem-ber,” she said. “I want to get my bachelor’s degree and then hopefully go on from there to get a PhD. I would love to eventually open my own animal hospital right here in Shiner because I re-ally love it here.”

Meloni is the daughter of Ernie and Stacy Berger of Shiner.

The Cannon Thursday, May 30, 2013Page F2

Shiner High SchoolClass of 2013

Albrecht, JonathanAlegria, JacobArnold, ZachBerger, MeloniBerkovsky, EmmalieBonds, DeMarcus

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Continued from page F1

SHINER: Best friends spur each other to success in Shiner

Koenning, HannahKoonce, JarrydKresta, ShellyLozano, DaphneMcAfee, JeremiahMcElroy, James

Mert, LouisMuehlstein, AnnaOden, LaurenOhlhausen, JamesPardy, HaileyPatek, Kris

The CannonThursday, May 30, 2013 Page F3

Congratulations Class of 2013

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Scott Dierlam (left) recently presented the Texas Scholar Award to Shiner’s Emmalie Berkovsky, one of four candidates in over 1,500 applicants who received an additional $5,000 on top of the $1,000 that was given to 50 applicants in the state of Texas. (Courtesy photo)

Exceptionally Excellent

“When you walk down the halls, everyone will say hi and ask how you are doing. As the days before graduation wind down, I still get the feeling that even though I’m leaving these friends they will still be with me. It’s been a great ride.”

Jasek will attend Texas A&M University at Cor-pus Christi this fall, where he will pursue a degree in Chemical Engineering Technology.

“The field itself deals with hands-on mechanics and constructing things,” he said. “I love taking things

apart to see how they func-tion. Everything about making a living by working with your hands, I just love it.”

In addition to all of his extracurricular activities, Jasek has held down a job at Circle W Feed and Supply since July 2010.

“It’s a smaller feed store but we try to satisfy all the needs of our customers,” he said. “That job, as well as my experiences at Flatonia High, has really shaped me into the person I am today. I’ve been surrounded by re-ally great people.”

Scott is the son of Paul and Nancy Jasek.

FLATONIA: Top graduates will miss FHS, small town feel

Continued from page F1


This week all around the country many teenagers will graduate high school. All the years of homework, minimum wage, and social anxiety will culminate in the wonderful event we call graduation.

Many will consider it their move from adoles-cence into adulthood. Some will go on to college, some directly to careers. Some will enter the military or leave on a religious mission abroad. No matter what the future holds for you, young graduate, there are some tips that I would like you to know as you enter “the real world.”

#1 – Enjoy your time at home. These are your last days with your parents and siblings. Once you leave it will never be the same, even if you come back. You may be in a hurry to get out on your own and experience the “freedom” outside the walls of your home but, trust me, it is a whole lot more complicated than it sounds.

#2 – Don’t grow up too fast. I remember as a teen-ager how I couldn’t wait to turn 18 and graduate high school. Then I couldn’t wait to be 21 and working towards getting into dental school. Eventually you get to a point and realize you spent so much time looking towards the next phase that you completely forgot to enjoy where you were. The future will come in time but you need to enjoy the pres-ent.

#3 – Decide on a vision for your future. You don’t have to decide right now what you want to be when you “grow up.” But you should start thinking about

how you picture your ideal life. When you look into your future, are you mar-ried? Children? What kind of income? What hours are you willing to work? What type of work seems fun and interesting to you? What education do you need to get your ideal job? Where would you like to live? If you can start answering those questions now, they will naturally guide you as you move forward.

#4 – Take risks and don’t be afraid to fail. If you don’t take risks, you will never reach your full potential, and you also won’t have much fun.

#5 – Believe in some-thing. If you are not pas-sionate about something in your life, you are missing something essential. Find something to believe in, and when you do, work for it, sacrifice for it. The great joys in life come from de-votion to a great cause; the type of cause that makes you to stretch and grow.

#6 – Ignore the critics. Every worthy cause comes with criticism from those too timid to try it them-selves. In fact, if you never meet with any criticism, you may want to set higher goals for yourself! You will hear them, but do not lis-ten.

#7 - Give something back. All of you were blessed with brains, skill and a drive to succeed, or you would not be sitting there this week in those caps and gowns. You don’t simply own those traits, you also owe those things to your parents, your community, and to your country. You are obligated to use those gifts for some-thing other than your own aggrandizement and en-richment.

Top seven tips for the recent high school graduate


Shiner High SchoolClass of 2013

Remmers, AustinRichard, SierraRogers, JoycelynSanchez, JoseSchroeder, ChaseStrauss, Cole

Strawn, MattWright, EdwinZavala, Maria

Flatonia High SchoolClass of 2013

Alvarez, JuanBargus, LaurenBorman, AustinButcher, EvanCedillo, JoseCherry, PhillipCorrea, YeseniaCraig, ColbyDale, ChristopherFlores, DanielFlores, KarinaGallenbeck, Cheyenne

Mason, JacobNieto, RachelNunez, LeonardoOlvera, CristinaPavlica, MeredithPhillips, JasmineRoller, Stephen AlexSchacherl, AbigailSilva, BrittanyStevenson, DejaToro, CynthiaVasquez, Julian

Vazquez, AnnabellVelasquez, JohnathanVelasquez, JoshuaVrana, SherieWilliams, Taylor

Garcia, MikeGoodman, CadeGrifaldo, MiguelGuerrero, MargaritaIngram, ShawneeJasek, ScottJeter, CodyKalina, KurtisKalinec, RandallKoncaba, HilaryKozelsky, NathanLopez, Brenna

The CannonThursday, May 30, 2013 Page F5

St. Paul High SchoolClass of 2013

Adamek, MaryBarker, JohnBarton, DylanDavis, TannerDenson, KatieFikac, Rachel

Hollenbach, AdamHorne, AustinHull, AbbyHybner, ColeKapavik, RyanKennedy, Martin

Patek, LaddiePokluda, BethanySchaefer, AlexaSchrade, ColbySiegel, JustinSpahn, Colton

Wenske, TheodoreWilgus, KyleZella, Dillon

Knesek, KourtneyKresta, DakotaKurtz, MadisonKutac, AshtonLeist, KatelynnMarcak, William

Markham, JaredMatias, MasonMcElroy, MitchellMorgan, TylerNatal, KylieOpiela, Lizzy

St. Paul High School held its 2013 commencement ceremony last Friday in Shiner. Thirty-three seniors officially brought their high school careers to an end. (Pho-tos by Mark Lube)


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Mason MatiasSt. Paul High 2013 Valedictorian

Katie DensonSt. Paul High 2013 Salutatorian

Madison KurtzSt. Paul High 2013 Historian

Mason Luke Matias, the son of Ronald and Janella Matias of Shiner, is the 2013 St. Paul High School Vale-dictorian.

He has attended Shiner Catholic School since Pre-K 4 and has lived in Shiner all his life. He has been in-volved in academics, athlet-ics, and other extracurricu-lar activities all of his high school years.

Throughout high school, Mason has achieved many academic honors. He partic-ipated in academic meets in Number Sense, Mathemat-ics, and Advanced Math-ematics. He was the TAPPS District Champion in Num-ber Sense in 2011 and 2013, and advanced to state all four years. In both 2012 and 2013, he placed fourth in Number Sense at the TAPPS State Academic Meet.

Mason was a high honors student all of high school career. He has been a mem-ber of the National Honor Society since his sophomore year and served as Secretary his senior year. Mason was a member of Club Med his ju-nior and senior years, serv-ing as Secretary his senior year.

He was a member of the Cardinal band his freshman

and senior years, serving as Vice-President his freshman year. He served as the class Vice-President his junior year and as the class Trea-surer his senior year.

Mason has also been in-volved in sports. He par-ticipated in cross country his sophomore and junior years, and he ran track his sophomore and senior years. As a senior, he was the District Champion in the 3,200-meter run, also quali-fying for the regional meet in the 1,600-meter run. He has played tennis since his sophomore year and served as the Team Captain in both his junior and senior years. All three years he was the District Champion in Singles, qualifying for the TAPPS State Tournament every year. He was a quar-terfinalist his sophomore year and a semifinalist his junior and senior years.

He was a member of the Academic All-State team his junior and senior years. He has also filmed all of St. Paul’s football games since his sophomore year.

Mason has also been in-volved in school, church, and community activi-ties. He has volunteered with the many fundraisers

of Shiner Catholic School. He is an avid volunteer at the Catholic Church’s an-nual spring and fall picnics, strudel bakes, and galas. He has been an altar server for Sts. Cyril and Methodius Catholic Church since fifth grade. Also, Mason has done much volunteer work for the Shiner Public Library both during the year and for the summer reading program.

Upon graduation from St. Paul High School, Mason will attend the University of Texas at Austin, where he plans to major in Mechani-cal Engineering.

Katie Lane Denson, the daughter of Glenn and Lau-rie Jaeger, and Wayne Den-son of Shiner, is the 2013 St. Paul High School Salutato-rian.

She has attended St. Paul since Pre-K 4. She has re-ceived many academic hon-ors and achieved high hon-ors throughout high school. She has gone to the TAPPS State Academic meet every year.

Katie placed 4th as a fresh-man, then 5th, 2nd, and 2nd in Spelling I Vocabulary re-spectively. She also received numerous subject awards including Biology, Religion II, English II, Physics, and

Religion IV. She has been a member of

the National Honor Society since her sophomore year and served as the reporter her junior and senior years. She has also been a member of Club Med her junior and senior years, serving as Vice President her senior year. Katie is also Vice President of the senior class.

Katie has been a part of Fellowship of Christian Ath-letes all four years of high school. She received Aca-demic All-State honors in tennis her junior and senior years.

Katie played volleyball all four years of high school, while participating in bas-ketball and tennis for three years. She advanced to the state tennis tournament her junior years as a singles player and in her senior year as a doubles player, when she and her partner placed 5th and received Academic All-State.

Katie has also been a member of the Cardinal band since 5th grade. She has volunteered many hours in her school, church, and community. She has been a part of all school fundrais-ers. For her church, she has lectored, been an aide for

the Pre-K 3 class during mass, assisted with Vacation Bible School, and church picnics. Katie was the re-cipient of the Gallon Pin for the South Texas Blood and Tissue Center. She has been an active member of Youth Leadership Training since her sophomore year.

Throughout the year, Ka-tie has staffed confirmation and youth retreats, as well as assisted with food drives and summer camps.

She has also served at Gaslight Theatre for many years as well as been a host-ess for the Historic Old Town Shiner Homes Tour. For the past six years, she has been volunteering at the Gaslight Theatre for produc-tions, galas, and concerts.

Upon graduation from St. Paul high school, Katie will attend Texas Lutheran Uni-versity in the fall to major in Biology and minor in Busi-ness.

Madison Dawn Kurtz, the daughter of Dwight and Kim Pesek of Shiner and Nick Kurtz of Shiner, is the Class of 2013’s Historian.

Madison has been an active member of the Na-tional Honor Society since her sophomore year and a member of Yoakum Club

Med since her junior year. Madison has also been a group leader for Fellowship of Christian Athletes since her freshman year.

She has won TAPPS State Spelling in both her senior and junior years. Madison participated in Dual Credit and Advanced Placement classes.

She played volleyball for four years and earned All-District honors. She also participated in golf three years. Madison also ran track all four years and has been a part of two state champion teams.

She has assisted with all school functions, includ-ing but not limited to the Shiner Catholic School Fall Festival, Turkey Shoot, and Strudel Bake. She has volun-teered at the fall and spring Church picnics and count-less Catholic Daughters of America and Knights of Columbus functions. She also volunteered around the community in events such as the City Pumpkin Patch and Shiner Tour of Homes.

Madison will be attend-ing the University of Texas at San Antonio in the fall, where she plans on majoring in psychology before possi-bly pursuing a career in law.

The Class of 2013The Class of 2013Moulton High SchoolMoulton High School

GThe Cannon


Luling’s top grads are Silva, Teafatiller

Jamie SilvaLuling High 2013 Valedictorian

Luling High SchoolLuling High School

Moulton’s top grads are Mitchon, Holub

Daniel TeafatillerLuling High 2013 Salutatorian

Megan MitchonMoulton High 2013 Valedictorian

Michelle HolubMoulton High 2013 Salutatorian

High school is the place where young people can fulfill their po-tential and prepare themselves for a successful and productive life.

Megan Mitchon took full ad-vantage of the opportunity and ended her time at Moulton High School as the top graduate of its Class of 2013.

“I found out about it earlier this month and I was very excited be-cause I’ve worked really hard all of my high school years,” she said. “I feel really honored to get valedic-torian.”

In addition to her regular course load, Mitchon kept herself quite busy outside of the class-room. She was this year’s vice president of The Beta Club, an organization she has been a part of since the seventh grade, but it is her body of work in the athletic arena that is the most impressive.

Throughout her prep career, Mitchon has participated in cross country, basketball, track, tennis and softball. She was a member of the 1,600-meter relay team that won district this year and was also the 31-ADII champion in the tri-ple jump.

Her exploits on the hardwood, where she was named District 31-ADII MVP, earned her a spot on the Texas Girls Coaches Associa-tion (TGCA) All-State Academic Team and a Second Team nod on this year’s All-Cannon Girls Bas-ketball squad. She was also voted by her peers to serve as this year’s Homecoming Queen.

Mitchon said her many accom-plishments derive from the sup-port of her parents and a strong personal desire to succeed.

“My mother has always pushed me to do my best in school and my teachers have always thought really highly of me, so they want-ed to see me excel,” she said. “I wouldn’t have wanted to go to any other school besides Moulton because it feels like a family here. I’ve become really close with not just all of my classmates, but the other students here as well. It’s been a real honor to go here.”

Mitchon will be attending Blinn College in Schulenburg this fall and is thinking of transferring from there to the University of Texas in Austin to pursue a phar-maceutical degree.

“I went to some health fairs last summer and that’s when I became really interested in pharmacy,” she said. “I have some friends who are in that business and they tell me that it’s worth all of the schooling.”

Megan is the daughter of Mark and Jackie Mitchon of Moulton.

Michelle Holub is the 2013 salu-tatorian at Moulton High School.


“When I found out, I was extremely excited and honored because I’ve worked really hard these past years,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to make the best grades I could, no matter what it took.”

“The teachers here motivate you and make you try your best. Plus being best friends with Megan made me want to compete and try to keep up with her grades.”

Holub’s extracurricular activities include her serving as president of the Beta Club and compet-ing in the University Interscholastic League (UIL) academic meets. She went to regionals this year in Current Events and Issues, and had advanced to that level in years past for Poetry Interpretation and Feature Writing.

MOULTON, Page G2

Acumen plus artistic ability equalled academic excellence for Ja-mie Silva, who is the valedictorian at Luling High School for the Class of 2013.

Silva said she was thrilled when she was officially notified about the honor two weeks ago.

“I was very excited,” said Silva. “I worked really hard for it so it’s nice to know that my hard work was re-warded.”

“I’ve always tried my hardest in everything I do. I think that origi-nally came about because my older brother Geno was really good at school and I’ve always looked up to him.”

Being great academically was only one side of Silva, who is a member of the National Honor So-ciey. She also fed her artistic side by playing flute in the band and serv-ing as president of the local Artists’ Society in Luling.

“It’s been really interesting and amazing to be involved in some of the school’s programs,” she said. “I’ve gone to state competitions with the band and the Artists’ Society has done some big projects around town that I’m proud to have been a part of as well.”

“Leaving Luling High School is going to be sad for me, but it’s also very exciting. I’m going to keep on learning and try to stay involved as much as possible. I’d like to thank the Luling community because they are very involved with the high school and they help out with a lot of things.”

Silva will be attending Stephen F. Austin University in Nacodogches this fall and majoring in Ceramics.

“I would like to start my own pot-tery shop at some point,” she said.

Jamie is the daughter of Christine Butler of Luling and George Silva of La Mirada, California.

It’s been a long journey for Daniel Teafatiller, the Class of 2013’s salu-tatorian.

Born in Kentucky to a family of missionaries, Teafatiller has grown up all over the world in such locales as Estonia, Tanzania and Singapore. He arrived in Luling just in time for his freshman year.

“I went to public schools overseas and they just hold education to a higher standard than we do in the United States,” he explained. “It’s really very important to them and you can see it in the data collected that compares them to us in math and science. I think that’s where I got most of my drive from because I had to compete early on.”

While at Luling High, Teafatiller was a member of the National Hon-or Society and also worked in Year-book. In addition, he also competed athletically for the Eagles in foot-

ball, and track and field, where he ran the 400-me-ter run.

With a childhood in foreign countries serving as a backdrop, Teafatiller has a different perspective on his high school experience.

“It’s very different here in America,” he said. “I enjoy it because I love Texas and I love the free-doms we have. I’m nervous to leave but I’m also excited because I don’t know what exactly is going to happen next.”

What he does know is he will attending LeTour-neau University in Longview this fall to major in Aeronautical Engineering.

“Living overseas for so long, we’ve always had to travel on planes so I’ve always wanted to learn how


LULING, Page G5

Holub is also an accom-plished athlete in her own right. She played track, ten-nis and basketball for the Lady Bobcats. In basketball Holub joined her bestie on

this year’s TGCA All-State Academic Team, earned Second Team All-District honors and landed a spot on the All-Cannon Team as an honorable mention.

“These last four years

have been thrilling for me, just a very fun experience,” she said. “Moulton is a re-ally good place to go to school. I’m going to miss it when I leave. I just want to thank my teachers and

coaches, who along with my parents, supported me for all these years.”

Holub will also be at-tending Blinn’s Schulen-burg campus this fall and she has plans to eventu-

ally transfer to a four-year school to major in either Health Information Tech-nologies or Business Ad-ministration.

“I like working with computers but more so in

an office setting,” she said. “I kind of thought those two majors would be suited for doing that.”

Michelle is the daugh-ter of Gregory and Melissa Holub of Moulton.

The Cannon Thursday, May 30, 2013Page G2

Moulton High SchoolClass of 2013

Baker, MikaylaBakker, Anne-ClaireBerckenhof, AmandaCaballero, LayneDaman, LeahDel Rio, Sarah

Dornak, MattEuceda, MeganGabler, AshleyHolub, MichelleJalufka, CameronJones, Tyler

Mitchon, MeganReyes, AlexRothbauer, DallasSutton, KrisSwartz, Tyler

Continued from page G1

MOULTON: Mitchon, Holub highlight Moulton graduates

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The CannonThursday, May 30, 2013 Page G3

Luling High SchoolClass of 2013

Allen, MacyAlvarez, Samantha

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The CannonThursday, May 30, 2013 Page G5


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• In 1995, approximately 50% of American schools had Internet access. Today, that number is 100%.

• The oldest public school in the United States is Boston’s Latin School, which was founded on April 23, 1635. Five of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence were Latin School graduates, includ-ing Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock, Robert Treat Paine, Samuel Adams and William Hopper.

• In the U.K., the term “public school” refers to a private academy. This seeming anomaly dates back to the Middle Ages when private charities started schools to provide education for the poor.

• Although Thomas Jefferson had supported the concept of free public education, elementary school-ing was only available to America’s wealthy until the 1840s when reformers like Horace Mann of Massa-chusetts and Henry Barnard of Connecticut began to push for tax-funded schools in the belief universal education would produce good citizens, unite soci-ety, prevent crime and end poverty.

• Until the 1930s, most Americans only completed eight years of school. “High School” only became popular during the Great Depression when job-strapped communities saw benefits to keeping teen-agers in class and out of the workforce where they’d only serve as low-cost competition to adults.

• Today, the largest high school in America is Morton High School in Berwyn-Cicero, Ill., a co-op with more than 8,000 students. Its East Campus alone has 6,000 students.

• Of the 10 largest high school gymnasiums in America, nine are in Indiana.

• The most expensive college by tuition is Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, with an annual tuition of $43,950.

• Education pays. According to a recent study re-ported in U.S. News & World Report, college gradu-ates earn an average $20,000 a year more than people who only have a high school diploma.

Did You Know?

LULING: Silva, Teafatiller take different paths to gain success

Continued from page G1

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Daniel is the son of James and Dianne Teafatiller.


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Congratulations Graduates!

Gonzales Cannon 2013 Graduation Edition

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Transcript of Gonzales Cannon 2013 Graduation Edition