The Akins Early College High School community, staff, families and friends joined together June 15 to celebrate the 2020 graduating class through a virtual ceremony.

Superintendent Paul Cruz congratulated the graduates of this year's class via a video statement. His remarks were followed by a speech from Principal Tina Salazar.

“I commend you on how you have handled yourself during these trying times. You have shown us the type of strength that does not come from what you can do but from overcoming the things you thought you couldn’t,” Salazar said. “Your resolve and drive have been an inspiration to us all. You have taught us that real strengths come from within, and you have helped show us how to be innovative and creative in an unprecedented time.”

Next, Salutatorian Gabriel Pedraza spoke about the past four years at Akins.

“After what seems like an instant, we finally graduated,” Pedraza said. “We have overcome a lot these past four years and it is all thanks to each one of us and our hard work and dedication inside and outside the classroom. Naturally, there will be times when we fall in life, but when we fall we dust ourselves off and get back up. There is no success without failure”

Before the reading of the names of each graduating senior, Valedictorian Uchechi Asika highlighted how proud she was of her class during these unprecedented times. 

“We survived a pandemic and graduated high school at the same time. During this pandemic, one thing I realized is that distance is not enough to separate your family, and I've never felt closer to my family here at Akins than when we're apart,” Asika said. “I want everyone to know that no matter where you go, you will always have a family here at Akins.” 

The ceremony concluded with a reading of the names of each graduating senior. 

The AISD community is proud of our students and eager to see their future accomplishments. Congratulations to the Class of 2020! We are #AISDProud of our #AISDGrads!