May 19th was the awards ceremony for this year’s graduating class. Ms. Araujo organized and held this ceremony and a breakfast for seniors who had honors, high honors, completed Project Lead the Way (PLTW), were accepted into the National Honor Society (NHS) or Quill and Scroll, and/or actively participated in student government.

The top ten students with the highest GPAs in the senior class received stoles to wear over their gowns, any students with high honors, honors, and/or completed 3 years of PLTW received cords, PLTW 4-year students got a medallion, and student government members will be receiving a pin. NHS members will also be receiving chords.

Senior Karlyn Delgado is the 2023 student council Vice President, she also earned a high honors cord for graduating with a weighted GPA of 3.99. She also received a stole for being Student Council Vice President.

“I feel like I accomplished a lot both behind the scenes and on the scene. We planned, organized, and executed quite a few different projects and had great turnouts every time. It’s kind of bittersweet that I’m graduating now. It took a lot to get myself to where I’m at now and I’m proud of my accomplishments, but I am going to miss a few things about high school,” Senior Karlyn Delgado said.

Senior Luis Lugo received high honors cords, he is planning to present the American and Floridian flags, sing the National Anthem, sing a solo piece, and sing with the choir Rainbow Connections at graduation.

“This year I procrastinated a lot, but in my early high school years there was a big language barrier between me and my teachers and I didn’t have a lot of friends so I had more time and the attention span to actually focus on my school work and learn the English language,” Senior Luis Lugo said. “I am a boy scout but I’m currently working to get my eagle scout rank, it honestly taught me a lot of discipline and responsibility. I have an interview set up with a ROTC (Reserve Officers’ Training Corps) recruiter at USF and I’m going to move on from there.”

Senior Daniel Manrique also received high honors and is one of the top ten students for the class of 2023. He is presenting the introduction speech in English and Spanish as well as reciting the Pledge of Allegiance at Graduation, on May 25th.

“I am described as an eloquent speaker. I did a lot of theater all through high school so that helped me with my social skills and allowed me to radiate a certain level of confidence. I was the vice president of the Interact club in my junior year.  I had A/B Honor Roll all through high school, my dream is to become a doctor and that’s what has motivated me to do so well academically thus far,” Senior Daniel Manrique said.

Valedictorian Emily Nagassar is the only student from the class of 2023 Four Corners Upper School to receive her Cambridge Diploma and a full ride scholarship from Bright Futures. She is the editor-in-chief for the school yearbook’s PawPrint media staff.

“It is an accomplishment and I hope that I can inspire others or the students in the next graduating years after me to pursue and gain their Cambridge diplomas. The hardest part was definitely motivation, and the biggest thing about motivation was my support system, Senior Emily Nagassar said. “At first my support system at the beginning of the year did break apart, but then I rebuilt it with my friend’s parents taking me in and they’ve given me so much love, so much support, and happiness. They’ve really lifted me up so much. I can’t say that I feel fully accomplished but what I can say is that I do really like this is a great start.”

Ciara Gallagher received high honors cords as well as recognition for being in the NHS. The NHS’s purpose is to elevate students’ academics and leadership skills as well as encourage community engagement.

“I’m a big procrastinator, so, getting work done on time is always a struggle because I just hate doing my work. I’d say that the NHS has helped me motivate myself a bit more because having that title makes you feel a little bit more accomplished with everything you’ve put your hard work into. I’m honestly proud of myself because I didn’t think that I would ever have the motivation to do everything I needed to do in order to graduate, so the fact that I got high honors and National Honors Society is a nice little bonus,” Senior Ciara Gallagher shared.