Prosper hosts graduation at Children’s Health stadium
By Sofia Ayala, Jake Radcliffe, and Erica Deutsch
•
May 30, 2024
Arm raised, senior class president Malick Katalika takes one last picture with the 2024 graduates. Katalika gave a brief speech to share his experience as class president this past year. He will be attending Oral Robert’s University in Tulsa, Oklahoma. (Sofia Ayala)As superintendent Holly Ferguson tells students to take out their phones, seniors Nada and Nelly Gad send a message to a loved one thanking them for their support. Nelly Gad will attend the University of North Texas in the fall. Nada Gad also plans to attend UNT. (Sofia Ayala)Seconds after entering the gates of the stadium, senior McKenna Mitchell and Taylor Nguyen catch up before the ceremony. “I’m excited to go to UT Austin, ‘hook’em,’” Nguyen said. “Just explore a new life, and make new friends.” (Sofia Ayala)Moments after walking the stage, senior Michael Factor embraces his mom, Kelly Factor, who also teaches at Prosper High. Michael Factor attended PHS all four years of high school. He played in the football program during his time here. (Sofia Ayala)Looking into the crowd, senior Haven Sherman walks to the end of the field to get her photo taken before heading back to her seat. Sherman participated in theatre. She also helped with this year’s fashion show on May 15. (Sofia Ayala)Caps in the air, senior Kaya Miller celebrates the conclusion of the graduation. PHS graduates, all 823, had their own favorite memories to share. “My last football game season was definitely memorable. I always went with my three friends and we would make a whole tradition out of it,” Miller said. “We would get ready, go to the game and then go to either dinner at Texas Roadhouse or In-n-Out.” (Sofia Ayala)In the air moments before the ceremony begins, senior James Kim celebrates alongside “The Top 10” people in his class. Kim graduated seventh. He will attend Yale University in the fall. (Sofia Ayala )Before walking out onto the field, seniors America Obregon, Summer Washington and Brenna McFarland laugh at the phone. They made a couple of TikTok videos, each showing the symbol of the college they are going to. For the re-scheduled event, students arrived at PHS at 7 a.m. before being bused to the Children’s Health Stadium, where the ceremony took place. (Erica Deutsch)Diploma in hand, senior Taryn Stilson walks the field. “I’m going to Texas A&M University, and the thing I’m most excited for is like all the Aggie traditions,” Stilson said. “And just finding people that are similar to me.” (Erica Deutsch)Arm raised, senior Lauren Hegarty walks off stage after receiving her diploma. The ceremony was postponed until Thursday morning at 9 a.m. due to inclement weather the previous evening. The original ceremony was supposed to take place Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. (Erica Deutsch)After receiving his diploma, senior Remington Martin shakes hands with teacher David Perkins. Each senior took a photo with their diploma immediately after receiving it. Photographers also took pictures as each senior received their diploma on stage and then sent a copy of it to the student or a parent via text message. (Erica Deutsch)Arms out wide, Anu Ganesh walks behind stage. “When I threw my cap, I thought I’d be sad,” Ganesh said. “But, honestly, I felt really free and happy like a weight was off my back.” (Erica Deutsch)Before they get ready to throw their caps, seniors clap after the student council president, senior Malik Katalicka, gives his final speech. The ceremony began at 9 a.m. on Thursday and ended at 11:30 a.m. (Erica Deutsch)After the end of the graduation ceremony, senior Jake Corral walks with fellow graduates to the exit of the Children’s Health Stadium. Corral was a member of the Automotive Technologies team. He will attend Oklahoma University in the fall. (Jake Radcliffe)
Who: Prosper High School Seniors
What: PHS Graduation
Where: Children’s Health Stadium
When: Thursday May 23 at 9 a.m.
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What’s next: The 2024-2025 school year will start Aug. 13.
![NEW CHALLENGE, NEW TEAM MEMBERS: Every season, VEX creates a new game that robotics team members are faced with and have to build a robot to compete in. This year’s game forces students to create a robot that is able to stack rings onto mobile goals in order to score points. The change in games each season is something that robotics teacher Audrea Moyers appreciates.
“One of the things that I like about VEX is that they have a new problem to solve every year,” she said. ¨Even though the equipment’s the same, they have to analyze the game, and they have to come up with solutions that are unique that year. They are using their knowledge from prior years, but they have to kind of redesign a problem.”
As returning teams were faced a new game, some new teams and members had to adapt to a uncommon playing field and game.
“Three of our four teams were competing for the first time this year, and they had very different experiences match to match, so I think they learned a lot,¨ she said. ¨It’s hard just watching a video online to know how it’s actually going to be in person, so they all learned a lot about what gameplay is like, how to work with an alliance partner [and] how to adapt during the day to changes.”](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG_9283-1-1200x800.jpg)
