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Seminole Ridge High School
will officially graduate the Class of
2017 on Monday, May 22 at noon
when 515 seniors cross the stage
at the South Florida Fairgrounds,
representing four long years of
hard work and dedication.
Principal James Campbell is
looking forward to seeing another
set of students graduate.
“It is always the culminating
point of the year,” he said. “It’s
always the biggest event we have
during the school year, and this
is the one I enjoy, personally, the
most. There’s no experience like
seeing the students’ faces when
they come across the stage.”
The school’s graduation rate has
been increasing each year, he said,
with the school’s highest being
this year at 92 percent. He hopes
to raise it to 94 percent next year.
“It would be a tremendous, tre-
mendous percentage for us, and it
is a big source of pride when you
look at a student,” Campbell said.
“They started in ninth grade and
they complete all four years with
you, without all of the different
things that can occur during that
time frame, not getting in the way
and not diverting from the path.”
Another source of pride for the
school is Valedictorian Rowan Pel-
frey and Salutatorian Alyssa Pace.
year process.
“My sophomore year, I found
out I was No. 2, so I took on as
many classes as I could, and once I
became No. 1 the summer after my
sophomore year, I did everything I
could to make sure I stayed at No.
1,” she said.
The final news came early in
2017 that she had held the top spot
through the final stretch.
“I just wanted to be the best that
I could,” she said.
Pelfrey wanted to be in the
top of her class, and when she
saw the goal was obtainable, she
worked hard to achieve it. Learn-
ing that she was officially the first
in the class took a weight off her
shoulders.
Her parents are proud of her
accomplishment, including the
4.0 GPA that earned her the vale-
dictorian title.
Pelfrey, who is involved with
choir and theater, will attend the
University of North Florida for
musical theater. She is collaborat-
ing with band student Jake Krates,
who wrote music to accompany
Pelfrey’s lyrics that she will be
singing during her graduation
speech.
Her fondest memory in high
school, she said, is the shared times
she had with her friends in theater
the same events,” she said.
At UNF, Pelfrey will be double-
majoring in musical theater and
history. “I’d love to be a profes-
sional actor,” she said.
Additionally, she is interested in
dramaturgy, which involves the re-
search behind a professional show
to ensure it is properly put together.
For anyone aspiring to reach the
top ranks of their class, Pelfrey
stresses the need to work hard.
“Everybody wants time off, but
you really have to put that first.
Business first, and then you can
have fun,” she said, noting that
she was able to have fun as well.
She suggests taking as many
high-level college classes as pos-
sible, and working to do a good job
in those classes rather than taking
them just to take them.
“Really put the effort in, because
that makes the difference,” Pelfrey
said.
Pace will join Pelfrey on stage
as salutatorian.
Pace was on a field trip the day
the top 10 students in the class
were called to the office. When she
returned, she was told by one of
the school’s guidance counselors.
“I was excited,” she said. “I
worked really, really hard, not
only this year, but all of my years
of high school to take rigorous
this year, just to maintain my grade
point average not only to be in the
top 10, but for the possibility of
being valedictorian or salutatorian.
That was the moment that I knew
that all of my work and all of my
studying and efforts had really
paid off.”
Pace’s parents were extremely
proud of her for reaching her goal,
especially after watching her study
and put forth such dedication.
During graduation, Pace will
present a speech, which she is
still working on. “I’d like to talk
to my high school experience as a
whole,” she said.
Speaking in front of her peers,
the students she has spent the past
four years with, is something Pace
is looking forward to.
“I’m really looking forward to
telling everyone how much I ap-
preciated the experience I had in
high school and how much I en-
joyed my teachers and my peers,”
she said. “I’m looking forward to
giving everyone a slice of what our
high school experience was like.”
Her fondest high school mem-
ory was the first day of her AP
calculus class. On the first day, her
teacher had the students race down
the halls in office chairs to calcu-
late the speed and the distance.
“That’s something that I’ll al-
ways remember. I thought was
extremely unique,” Pace said. “It
caught my attention right away,
and it ended up having a huge
impact on me and leading me to
pursue more math classes. Now
I’m going to major in biomedical
engineering.”
Pace will be attending the Uni-
versity of Florida. Eventually,
she’d like to attend medical school
and become a surgeon.
For students looking to rank
high in their class, Pace encour-
ages them to set goals.
“When you set a goal, let that be
your motivation. Let that motivate
you to do the work that is required
to achieve your goal,” she said.
There are sacrifices that she
made along the way, such as pri-
oritizing taking more classes over
having more free time to spend
with friends and family.
“I had to miss out on some
nights of fun, going out, to stay
back and do some homework, but
keeping my ultimate goal in mind,
I let that motivate me through the
hard times when maybe it was dif-
ficult to see the goal,” Pace said.
“Keep the big picture in mind, be-
cause eventually, your hard work
does pay off.”
Valedictorian Rowan Pelfrey Salutatorian Alyssa Pace
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Page 6 April 28 - May 4, 2017 www.gotowncrier.com The Town-Crier
‘Suessical Jr.’ At
Elbridge Gale
Elbridge Gale Elementary
School’s after-school program
will hold its spring production of
Suessical Jr. on Friday, May 5 at
7 p.m. For more information, call
Denise Halperin at (561) 422-
9313, ext. 59313.
Volunteer Event
At Barky Pines
Barky Pines Animal Rescue
& Sanctuary will host a “Good
Hands Gettin’ Dirty” event on Sat-
urday, April 29. Grab your friends,
gloves and tools and head to Barky
Pines, located at 6521 Carol Street
in Loxahatchee.
At the event, volunteers will put
their gardening and building skills
to great use helping define and cre-
ate a welcoming front entrance to
the sanctuary, as well as help com-
plete the interior of a new building.
Plants, mulch, dirt and pavers will
be on hand. Donations of building
materials are always needed.
Drinking water will be sup-
plied free of charge. Lunch will
be offered for a donation of $5.
Anyone under the age of 16 must
be accompanied by an adult.
Anyone unable to attend can
make a donation at www.barkyp-
inesanimalrescue.com. Donations
received by Barky Pines during the
month of April will be matched 15
percent by the Allstate Insurance
Company.
For more information, call (561)
402-1451.
Sign Language
Show At WHS
Wellington High School’s
American Sign Language Club
will present “Youth of a Nation,”
a story told through signed songs
with an important message of love,
on Friday, April 28 at 6 p.m. at the
WHS theater. Tickets are $5 for
students and $8 for adults. The
school is located at 2101 Green-
view Shores Blvd. For more info.,
call (561) 795-4900.
‘Star Wars’
Movie Night At
Commons Park
The Village of Royal Palm
Beach will host “Revenge of the
Fifth,” a free “Star Wars” movie
night featuring Rogue One: A Star
Wars Story at Royal Palm Beach
Commons Park on Friday, May 5.
The movie will start at 8:15 p.m.
The evening will also feature
more than 15 food trucks. Come
early for special character appear-
ances. Guests are invited to come
dressed as their favorite “Star
Wars” character. Be sure to bring
seating. For more info., visit www.
royalpalmbeach.com.
Christie’s
Critters Golf
Tourney May 13
The Christie’s Critters Spring
Scramble golf tournament will
take place Saturday, May 13 with a
shotgun start at 9 a.m. Registration
begins at 7:30 a.m. at the Dunes
Course at Palm Beach Polo &
Country Club (11198 Polo Club
Road, Wellington).
The cost is $120 per golfer or
$450 per foursome, and includes
green fees, a cart, a lunch buffet
and more. There will also be
contests, including a $10,000 hole-
in-one contest, a silent auction and
a 50/50 raffle. Sponsorships are
available. For more information,
visit www.christiescritters.org.
Food Giveaway
May 11 In
Belle Glade
Palm Beach County Commis-
sioner Melissa McKinlay and
other elected officials will host
the Fantastic Food Giveaway on
Thursday, May 11 from 10 a.m.
to 1 p.m. at Hands Park (500 NW
Fifth Street, Belle Glade).
At the event, families will re-
ceive a carton of food including
fruits, vegetables, bread and other
staples at no charge, while supplies
last. Registration is not required.
The event is sponsored by Farm
Share, a nonprofit dedicated to re-
covering, sorting and distributing
nutritious food for people in need.
For additional information,
contact Kelley Burke at kburke@
pbcgov.org or (561) 355-2206.
College Fair At
WHS On May 3
Wellington High School will
host a college fair for high school
juniors and their parents on
Wednesday, May 3 from 6 to 8
p.m. The free event is in collab-
oration with Palm Beach Central,
Royal Palm Beach and Seminole
Ridge high schools.
Parents and students from these
area high schools will have an op-
portunity to learn more about the
college application and financial
aid process. They will also be able
to gather information from various
colleges, universities, technical
and career schools, tutors and
higher education planners who
will participate in the event.
The fair, sponsored by the Wel-
lington High School Guidance
Department, will be held in the au-
ditorium. The school is located at
2101 Greenview Shores Blvd. For
more info., call (561) 795-4900.
Genealogical
Society Meeting
The Genealogical Society of
Palm Beach County will meet
Saturday, May 13 at 1:30 p.m.
at Palm Beach County Main Li-
brary on Summit Blvd. featuring
Dr. John Philip Colletta’s video
lecture “Assembling an Account
of Your Discoveries.” Colletta is
one of America’s most popular
genealogical lecturers. After the
video, board members will answer
questions. For more information,
call (561) 616-3455 or e-mail an-
[email protected].
Barbecue At RPB
Chabad May 14
Chabad of Royal Palm Beach
(129 Sparrow Drive) will host a
community barbecue on Sunday,
May 14 starting at 4 p.m. The bar-
becue will be a family event where
everyone is welcome. For more
information, call (561) 225-1766.
Amber’s Animal
Outreach Golf
Event June 3
Amber’s Animal Outreach will
host its third annual golf tourna-
ment, Paws & Putts on the Green,
on Saturday, June 3 at the PGA
National Resort & Spa in Palm
Beach Gardens. The 18-hole tour-
nament will begin with a shotgun
start at 8:30 a.m. The cost is $175
per player, $600 per foursome and
$50 for the luncheon and awards
ceremony only. To register online,
visit www.aaodog.org/golf.
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DOG STUFF CAT STUFF
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