Loi “Leon” Le, Wylie East’s valedictorian, and Caden Ly, salutatorian, will walk the stage with their classmates Saturday, May 24 at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center in Allen. Allison LaBrot/The Wylie News

Wylie East High School seniors Loi “Leon” Le, Class of 2025 valedictorian, and Caden Ly, salutatorian, spent their high school years bettering themselves and those around them — and plan to do the same in college.

“I just love bringing smiles to other people’s faces, whether through something big or something small,” Caden said. “That’s just what brings me fulfillment, and that’s what I would love to continue doing.”

While Leon and Caden earned weighted GPAs of 5.8857 and 5.8367, respectively, they also developed storytelling and leadership skills through extracurriculars. Beginning as a costume designer who did not know how to sew, Leon participated in several theater productions, with his most recent role being head of puppet design for the January production of Into the Woods. He credits his directors with helping him become not only a better performer and technician, but also a more confident person. Kimberly Creel, Shannon Carraway and Kristy Raymond are also supportive teachers who have been influential during Leon’s time at Wylie East.

Growing up in Texas in a family of Vietnamese immigrants, Leon said he navigated his identity through pursuing activities such as journalism and yearbook.

“I think that the only thing that really has united these two different cultures together, for me, was in storytelling,” Leon said.

To read the full story, support local journalism, subscribe to your community newspaper The Wylie News today!