I arrived at Prosper High School in the middle of my high school journey, right at the start of junior year. Two months earlier, I had moved to the DFW area from West Texas, Amarillo specifically. If you know nothing of the Texas Panhandle, imagine a vast prairie with no large trees, no deep green vegetation — just shrubs, tumbleweeds, and prairie grass. Although Prosper is almost the complete opposite of my old home, I can proudly say I found purpose and joy in PHS.

The AP and Dual Credit courses offered at PHS have prepared me for the hard work and pressure that college will surely bring. The large school and environment of 4,000 people have prepared me for the crowd of a university. Lastly, the amazing teachers at this school have encouraged me to give my all and pull myself from a report card of B’s and C’s to straight A’s my last year. I want to thank my newspaper advisor, Lisa Roskens, my Talon Tech teachers, Ryan Miller, Stephanie Riley and Becky McBreen, my AP Biology teacher, Alysha Jaballa, my AP Environmental Science Teacher, Micah Evans, my Statistics teacher, Nipa Patel, my Dual Credit English professor, Michelle Furr, my Environmental Systems teacher, Jenny Mills, my United States History teacher, Micah Webb, my Economics teacher, Clay Wilson, and my English III and AP Language teachers, Jonathan Smith and Stephanie Smith.

The ship to graduation wasn’t exactly smooth sailing; it was a fierce ocean with 50-foot waves and thunder cracking overhead. All my life, I’ve been the kid who was different — out of school for one reason or another. Now that I’ve overcome many obstacles to finally receive my high school diploma, I can say that achievement will push me forward and assure myself mentally that I can and will be successful in the real world. To any other students struggling to reach that finish line, think of the feeling of accomplishment when you finally walk the graduation stage, remember the people who invested time and love into you to make you the person you are today.

I am so lucky to have found one of those people right here at PHS, Lisa Roskens, my amazing teacher and adviser for Eagle Nation Online. Without the experience I have gained on the newspaper staff, I would no doubt still be stuck in the same shell I have hidden in my whole life. Roskens pushed me to be the best version of myself, knowing my full potential before I even did. I will be forever grateful for her, along with my amazing fellow students and staff members who have supported my environmental reporting and dedicated their time to helping me improve my writing skills. I hope leaving this amazing journalism organization will allow new and innovative students to step up and make our newspaper better than we left it.

The heart of the Nest here at PHS and my Talon Tech teacher, Ryan Miller, is another amazing example of someone who has shaped me for the better. Never have I had a teacher so supportive, caring, and motivating in my 13 years of school. Mrs. Miller has created a safe space where I can create trustworthy friendships, gain critical tech skills and use my own creative ideas to make physical projects I can show others. But most of all, she is a symbol to me and many other students of how we should treat others. She is warm, welcoming, respectful, and relates on a personal level to understand every one of her students. I truly believe the space Miller has created in the Nest has helped thousands of students feel a sense of community and belonging, including myself. I hope to see the Talon Tech program prosper and grow as more and more students learn to spread the kindness that this amazing teacher offers to each and every student.

Though I may have a bit of bias in this area, I would also like to recognize another staff member who has had an immense impact on my life: my mother and the Student Support Counselor at PHS, Stephanie Clayton. I cannot thank her enough for being there for me with each step I took. Even having her at the same school as me made moving from one high school to another much easier than I thought. Throughout the course of these past two school years, I have seen her change the lives of countless students, solving every crisis with a warm smile and supporting hand no matter what. I love you mom. Thank you for always supporting my dreams and pouring endless amounts of energy into my development as a new individual. You don’t know how much the students of PHS appreciate you.

As of now, my future holds a four-year experience at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA), where I will be pursuing a career in herpetology. One day I hope to travel to destinations such as Brazil and the Galapagos Islands to study unique reptiles and amphibians in their natural habitats. Perhaps I can leave this planet in a better state than I found it. For now, I advise my fellow students and teachers to spread kindness and be the light that others need in a world shrouded in darkness. Give back to those who have shown you love, and above all, have hope for the future.

Best wishes to the future staff of ENO and the student body of Prosper High School,

Lauren Clayton.