Lufkin ISD Superintendent Lynn Torres

Over the past few weeks and leading up to the end of school, we have celebrated and will continue to celebrate the academic achievements of our students in honor societies, the superintendent’s honor roll breakfast, and induction ceremonies for the STEM Academy and the Early College High School.

We will soon honor the Top 20 students at Lufkin High School with their teacher of influence and end the week with graduation Friday night.

In all of those events, I am very proud of our students, but I am most taken by the faces of the proud parents and grandparents who are celebrating their loved ones. All of us are grateful to be able to gather together once again in packed auditoriums that were off limits in the not-too-distant past.

This past weekend, I witnessed a first for Lufkin ISD: 14 Early College High School Students also graduated from Angelina College with their associate’s degree.

What a milestone and a testament to what the ECHS brings to Lufkin ISD students.

I’m also proud of our Class of 2022. They are persistent, intelligent and ready for what the world has to offer them. Collectively, this class of ECHS students has accumulated more than 4,000 college credit hours. The majority of these students finished high school being core complete in their college classes and many will be juniors in college when they start in the fall.

Some of the colleges our students will be attending include:

■ 165 students attending Angelina College.

■ 50 students attending Stephen F. Austin State University

■ Eight students attending the University of Texas at Austin

■ 18 students attending Texas A&M University

■ For the military, we have four students going into the Marine Corps, one in the Army and one in the Navy.

Eight students will be attending out of state at these colleges:

■ Princeton University

■ University of Alabama

■ University of Oklahoma

■ Friends University

■ Northwestern University

■ University of New Mexico

■ Ithaca College (2 students)

The accomplishments of our students are outstanding. There is no doubt they are ready for college and careers.

Not only am I proud of their accomplishments, but of all of the teachers, bus drivers, maintenance staff, cafeteria workers, coaches, custodial staff, paraprofessionals, principals, curriculum writers, administrators, community volunteers and board members who made it possible for each of these students to be successful.

We are all proud of you and cannot wait to continue to celebrate your future accomplishments. Together we rise!