Salutatorian, Keira Robinson – Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University/Homeland Security and Intelligence
Goals: Valedictorian and Salutatorian
No, this was never really a goal of mine. I have always expected quality work from myself even back in elementary school. I didn’t have an end goal in mind. Having a high rank just sort of came as a bonus.
My Time at Wylie
Varsity Soccer, Varsity Track, UIL Journalism
Most Impactful Activity, Class, or Teacher
Soccer and track have impacted me the most. Coach Ruffin, Coach Oglesby, Coach Maddie Martin, Coach Richardson, and Coach Hurst have all changed my life during my time as an athlete in high school. Through asthma attacks, injuries, and many frustrated tears, they continued to expect me to give my best effort, which helped me to never give up on myself. These women have changed everything about the way I handle adversity.
Most Cherished High School Memory
My most cherished high school memory was winning the Area championship game in soccer my sophomore year. Playing in the game wasn’t particularly memorable; it was what happened after the final buzzer went off. One of the senior girls on the opposing team crumpled to the ground in tears because of the loss. Me and one of my other teammates kneeled down and hugged her. I remember this so clearly because I thought about how that would one day be me. My high school soccer career would come to an end, and I would reach out in tears to hug a girl I didn’t even know the name of, from a town hours from my own.
Overcoming Challenge & The Lessons Learned
It might be surprising, but I struggle so much with getting my schoolwork done. Something about getting to the end of a long day of school and practice and then sitting down and trying to get homework done in the evening is really difficult for me. My solution for this was to just start writing. I have this journal that I started my freshman year. It is filled with timelines for history classes, equations for math classes, to-do lists, and anything else I jotted down. If I needed to memorize something, I would just write it over and over again. Now, in my senior year, I am on my last five pages of the journal. I have almost filled it cover-to-cover, and it is not neat, but that is exactly what doing this has taught me. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It doesn’t have to make sense at first. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It doesn’t have to make sense at first. But in order to get something done, you just have to start. Whatever that may look like.
My Inspiration
My parents inspire me. They always seem like they have everything about being an adult figured out, but they are quick to remind me that they were young once too. They took chances, trusted each other, got through hard times, and built a life that they are proud of.