Bright Students Lead The Way At Wellington-Area High Schools
Young Leaders BY M. DENNIS TAYLOR
Showing endurance, flexibility, perseverance and a sense of decorum few others have been called upon to muster in their young academic careers, the Class of 2020 has made history. The two public high schools serving the Wellington community graduated a combined 1,334 students in this pandemic-altered year filled with unique challenges. Principal Cara Hayden at Wellington High School said that the school is incredibly proud of its 635 members in the Class of 2020. While the traditional graduation ceremony at the South Florida Fairgrounds was canceled, a virtual ceremony was held online Monday, June 1, featuring speeches from valedictorian Max LeGates and salutatorian Hersh Prakash. “Our seniors were instrumental in our transition to remote learning,” Hayden said.“Their focus and maturity helped our teachers maintain continuity in the classroom. They responded to the loss of several senior traditions with kindness and promoted the most innovating ideas. Max and Hersh are wonderful representatives of the grace and maturity demonstrated by our senior class.” Principal Darren Edgecomb at Palm Beach Central High School said that his 699 graduates rose to the occasion.“Of course, it has been an unprecedented year, and our seniors have led the way,” he said.“It is due to their endurance, te58
june 2020 | wellington the magazine
Wellington High School Valedictorian Max LeGates nacity, intelligence and confidence that we were able to persevere.” Palm Beach Central’s class was led by valedictorian Jacob Fingeret and salutatorian Ian Mutschler.“Jacob and Ian are extremely popular, and they helped to lead the way in the Class of 2020,” Edgecomb said. “The class as a whole rose to the occasion, and these two phenomenal young men were truly leaders.” Wellington High School Valedictorian Max LeGates Max LeGates lives with his parents and has two older brothers. The oldest one graduated from Roanoke College two years ago, and the middle brother
LeGates discovered that he was ranked first after his freshman year. “I wanted to keep up my hard work and keep my position. There were no defining moments because I never knew if I would stay valedictorian, but I worked harder and harder every year to keep my position.” — Max LeGates just graduated from Franklin & Marshall College. LeGates starts in the fall at the University of Florida, studying environmental science. LeGates decided to strive for valedictorian when he discovered that he was ranked first after his freshman year. “I wanted to keep up my hard work and keep my position,” he said. “There were no defining moments because I never knew if I would stay valedictorian, but I worked harder and harder every year to keep my position.” LeGates graduated with a grade point average of 4.0 and an honors point average of 5.40. In the time before the virus hit, he ran varsity cross country since his sophomore year and