NTMWD 2025 Summer

Wylie East names top graduates

by | May 4, 2022 | Latest

Hard work and dedication drove two students to earn the highest honors –valedictorian and salutatorian – of the Wylie East High School Class of 2022.

Rankings at Wylie East High School place Kayla Nguyen as valedictorian and Hanna Harmon as salutatorian.

Kayla posted a weighted grade point average of 5.83 and Hanna came in at 5.76. Both students had an unweighted GPA of 4.0.

The weighted averages consider additional points awarded for completing advanced academic classes.

Kayla said she has committed to the University of North Texas, where she will study biochemistry. During college, Kayla plans to apply for the medical assistant program at Baylor, Scott and White. After college, she wants to apply to a physician’s assistant program.

Hanna said she will be attending Texas A&M in College Station where she will study computer science.

Both students said they are excited to start college.

Kayla said when she found out she was in the top ten rankings of her class during her sophomore year, she was surprised because she didn’t expect to rank.

“It motivated me to work harder in school,” Kayla said. “I always strive to be the best that I can be so here I am.”

While her parents are not strict, Kayla said they do have high expectations of her.

Kayla has been a part of Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) during high school, serving as an officer during her junior and senior years. Her time with HOSA allowed her to compete in several competitions, including the health issues and dental terminology exams, where she advanced to state.

“Being an officer has given me a lot of opportunities to build relationships,” she said.

Additionally, Kayla is a member of the National Honors Society and the National Arts Honor Society.

Hanna said band is the most important extracurricular activity she was involved in.

“I played flute all four years,” Hanna said. “I was pretty much the first chair the whole time. That was pretty cool.”
Hanna said she auditioned as a freshman and soon was playing her first solo with the marching band, an experience she described as “very scary.”

She credits her time in band with becoming closer to her friends, especially underclassmen because she is expected to help teach new students various aspects of band such as marching.

“Band consumed my whole life in high school,” Hanna said. “It was the thing I focused most of my energy on.”

Hanna said she will take a break from playing flute in college so that she can focus on her academics.

Both students credit their families for academic success.

Kayla said she wants to be able to help her parents in the future as a way to thank them for their support.

Both of her parents were born in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Kayla’s dad emigrated to the United States when he was a teenager. She said it was difficult for her because of the language barrier. He was able to graduate high school after which he joined the military and eventually married Kayla’s mother, bringing her to America.

Hanna said her family makes it easier for her to focus on school.

“It makes it less stressful,” Hanna said. “I don’t think I can come close to where I am right now without them.”

Kayla and Hanna said they are looking forward to the independence that college life will bring.

Wylie East High School graduation will be held at 3 p.m. Saturday, May 28, at the Allen Event Center, located at 200 East Stacy Road # 1350 in Allen.

Collin Summer 2025

Deprecated: Creation of dynamic property ET_Builder_Module_Comments::$et_pb_unique_comments_module_class is deprecated in /home/csmediatexas/wylienews/wp-content/themes/Divi/includes/builder/class-et-builder-element.php on line 1380

0 Comments

Subscribe RH Love

Related News

Operation targeted online child exploitation

Operation targeted online child exploitation

Operation Soteria Shield was conducted in April resulting in the rescue of 109 children and arrest of 244 offenders. Federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, prosecutors and advocacy groups completed a month-long collaborative enforcement effort aimed at...

read more
Local legislators recap session

Local legislators recap session

Two Texas House members from Collin County take pride in what lawmakers accomplished in the 89th Legislature that ended this month. “The only item we are required to pass each session is the state budget,” said Rep. Jeff Leach. “I’m proud to say that the budget we...

read more
County returning to hand-marked paper ballots

County returning to hand-marked paper ballots

Paper ballots for upcoming Collin County elections contain oval bubbles that voters will fill in by hand. Starting with November’s general election, Collin County voters will be going back to the future. Collin County commissioners have agreed to return to hand-marked...

read more
Board appointments at council

Board appointments at council

Wylie City Council kicked off its June 11 meeting with a round of recognitions, honoring a Wylie Way student, celebrating In-Sync Exotics for its contributions and applauding the municipal clerk’s office for earning the Achievement of Excellence Award. A proclamation...

read more
Wylie East Year in Review: Fall Sports 2024

Wylie East Year in Review: Fall Sports 2024

Wylie East alumna Erika Hernandez fires the ball around the hands of Wylie senior Peyton Stade during a District 9-6A volleyball match on Tuesday, Oct. 8 from Montgomery Center. Hernandez was later named the district’s most valuable player. Photo by Maddie Smith /...

read more
Potential measles exposure in Collin County

Potential measles exposure in Collin County

Collin County Health Care Services has been notified that an individual who spent time in Collin County from Saturday, May 31, through Sunday, June 1, has tested positive for measles. The individual visited two public venues while infectious: • Lemma Coffee Company,...

read more
Three charged in local burglary

Three charged in local burglary

The Wylie Police Department has charged three teen-agers in connection with the burglary of a convenience store, a police spokesman said.  Sgt. Donald English said an 18-year-old man and two juveniles have been charged with engaging in organized criminal activity...

read more
Order photos