The class of 2026 celebrated a year of hard work and success at Aubrey’s high school Senior Night on May 6.
The event recognized students' achievements, accolades, scholarships and other prestige.
Aubrey High School Principal Dr. Vanessa Zavar welcomed the audience before yielding the floor to Aubrey’s secondary English teacher, Dawn Dooley, who read the students' names as they walked across the stage and shared their post-graduation plans.
The first handful to walk across the stage were the students who finished in the Top 10% of their class, which included Cade Smith, valedictorian; William Simon, salutatorian; Chiamaka Okafor; Maia Dickmyer; Brynnlee Bohannon, who was not present but was recognized later; Shanmukha Bommana; Braelyn Myers; Matiana Walter; Haylee Ducharme and Claire Rose.
The scope of careers was broad, with students pursuing degrees in agriculture, medical fields, STEM, Criminal Justice, music and others.
The final student to be called was Jaidah Powell, who will be studying industrial engineering. She received around 20 scholarship offers from different universities, “for a total of, brace yourself, $1.8 million,” Dooley said.
After the roll call, the students who received special honors cords or stools stood from their seats to be recognized by Assistant Principal Amber Cottingham, for participation in clubs and organizations like FFA, National Honor Society, academic decathlon, FCCLA, International Thespian Society, Top 10% and student athletes.
“These are for students who are going to participate in athletics in college,” Cottingham said. “These stoles were donated by Shawn and Jana Temple. Thank you, JTS Insurance Advisors. This is for all the hard work and dedication that it takes to be a student athlete and play at the next level. So a round of applause for our athletes and our donors.”
The students who are joining the military stood up to be recognized by Assistant Principal Dr. Duane Flowers.
“We are always honored and proud to have students choose service to this country upon graduating high school,” Flowers said. “As an Army veteran myself, I know the sacrifice that is made when you take the oath to protect and serve the Constitution of this great nation. We are proud of your decision to put the mission of protecting our freedoms first and foremost.”
Following the special honors were scholarships. Superintendent Dr. Shannon Saylor presented a few awards created in honor of former staff, and community members also presented scholarships, several of which were established in memory of loved ones.
Additional scholarships were presented by the Lake Ray Roberts Rotary Club, and Coach Tyler Walterscheid presented Athletic Booster Club Scholarships.
Aubrey’s Education Foundation Executive Director Holly Drew also presented a few of the scholarships on behalf of the foundation.
“The Aubrey Education Foundation would like to take a moment to recognize something truly special, our Aubrey ISD employee giving program,” Drew said. “This year alone, our teachers and staff contributed $25,000 to support student scholarships and teacher grants. How amazing is that?”
In total, the Foundation awarded $42,500 in scholarships during the ceremony to seniors pursuing education after high school, whether in college, trade school, certification programs or other endeavors.
To end the night, Zavar provided the closing remarks.
“As you heard, this class has excelled academically as evidenced by the number of colleges and other scholarships offered to our students,” Zavar said. “In addition to those that were awarded tonight, we only heard a small portion of these awards that were accepted by our students. To date, this class has accepted scholarship money or offers in excess of $3,234,672. We are extremely proud of the awards and the accomplishments of the class of 2026.”
