Plano East Senior High School Class of 2025 graduates toss their caps in the air Wednesday, May 28, at the conclusion of commencement exercises at The Star in Frisco.

Leaders of the Plano East Senior High (PESH) School Class of 2025 challenged their classmates to stay East Side proud and strong as they begin the next chapter of their lives.

The Wednesday, May 28, commencement exercises at The Star in Frisco, honored 1,325 graduates.

Seniors entered the stadium to Elgar’s “Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1” played by pianist Ekaterina Chernaya Oh, who holds a doctor of musical arts in piano performance from the University of North Texas. Oh also performed the recessional, Mendelssohn’s “War March of the Priests.”

Shonali Rao, vice president of the senior class, said, “Plano East wasn’t just a school, it was a place that challenged us, shaped us, and — whether we realized it or not — prepared us for the next chapter of our lives.”

Some may not know exactly what comes next, she said. “The truth is, none of us have all the answers yet, but what Plano East has given us is a confidence to figure it out.”

Two Plano East seniors tied for salutatorian with identical grade point averages (GPA).

Bipul Padhy asked his classmates to remember all the dreams they had going into kindergarten.

“After 13 years, you are now starting out as the kindergarteners of the real world,” Bipul said. “This time, you have the opportunity to make those dreams become a reality.”

Salutatorian Nikhil Raghu said what he would remember most about his high school experience was not the constant grind.

“It’s the desperate text to our friends the night before a test, feeling better about ourselves because they haven’t studied either,” Nikhil said. “It’s struggling through a chem lab with a partner who’s just as lost as you but laughing anyways. It’s the exasperated look you share with a friend when a teacher makes a corny joke. What I’m trying to say is achievement is always sweeter when it’s shared.”

Valedictorian Prisha Bhat, with a 4.848 GPA, told the Class of 2025 not to be too hard on themselves.

“Messing up is inevitable, so don’t beat yourself up when things don’t go as planned,” Prisha said. “The funny thing is: No one really pays that much attention to your failures. But your friends and family will always be there to celebrate your successes.”

She asked, “What’s the point of being successful if there is no one around to celebrate it with you? So tonight, celebrate, hug your parents extra tight, take goofy pictures with your friends, laugh, smile and don’t be embarrassed to even cry a little.”

Student Senate President Blake Letourneau recalled a quote from a speaker at a conference who said, “Don’t let the world change you when you were born to change the world.”

Although the task sounds impossible, Blake said you have to start small.

“We start in our families and in our communities,” he said. “We start where we work, where we worship, where we go to school. The world looks a little different for all of us, and the ways we change the world will look different too.”

Before conferring the degrees, Principal David Jones recognized exemplary groups of students: those who have received a military commission or were enlisting in the armed services, the top 10 students in the Class of 2025, the 26 National Merit Finalists, students who competed and placed in the state science fair or qualified for any of the several national science competitions, students earning an  International Baccalaureate diploma, graduates of the Health Science Academy who earned an associate’s degree, any member of an athletic team that qualified for the UIL playoffs, qualifiers for all-region or all-state band, choir or orchestra, qualifiers for state or national speech and debate tournaments, qualifiers for the state visual arts competition or the state or national history fair competitions.

Jones then asked all graduating students to stand to be recognized.

“You will always have a home at Plano East, and remember all you have accomplished with Eastside pride,” he said. “One of the many strengths of our community lies in our diverse student body, varying perspectives and unique cultures. But as some of our student speakers alluded to, it is our shared experiences that have enriched us with empathy and understanding. Last, I’d like to leave you with a challenge to make a positive impact in the community around you. Choose to be kind, choose to care, choose to help and choose to make a difference.”

As the final graduate collected his diploma, Jones instructed the seniors to move the tassels on their mortarboard hats to the opposite side, signifying their status as graduates. Then, following the singing of the Plano East Alma Mater, students triumphantly flung their hats skyward in the traditional gesture ending their high school education.

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