Collier grads reunite with teachers at elementary schools, inspire next generation

Golden honor cords and red and black mortarboard tassels fluttered behind a parade of Lely High graduates as they weaved through a frenzied mass of elementary school students Thursday to celebrate the annual Graduation Walk. 

The spectacle, also known as "Grad Walk," is a Collier County Public Schools initiative that brings graduates from across the county to elementary schools to inspire the next generation of students to work hard and dream big.

“It felt like looking at an older me,” said Parkside Elementary student Isaac Callier, 12. “If I’m going to be like them one day, I better get good grades, I better listen to the teacher and I better pay attention to everything in school.”

Isaac hopes to become a lawyer one day because he has good negotiating skills and “because I love to, you know, talk,” he said.

Isaac and other elementary students gathered single-file along the hallways, holding signs that read “Good Luck!” and “Way to Go!” in one hand and doling out high-fives with the other.

Several of the participating graduates were also former Parkside students, including Cristina Cruz, 18. Cruz said she wished there had been a Grad Walk when she was at Parkside and hopes the event inspired the younger students to reach their goals.

“Every kid sometimes doubts themselves, so it’s good to remind them they have the courage to work hard and that they’ll get what they want,” she said.

Cruz said it was emotional to return to her elementary school, where she remembered participating in field day and spending time with her teachers. Now she plans to study computer engineering at the University of Florida.

Parkside teacher Cynthia Deleon remembered Cruz as a little girl with pigtails and said seeing her and the other graduates about to head off into the “real world” gave her goosebumps. It also made her cry.

Marlene Ashley, a media specialist at Parkside, also became emotional as she remembered a young, sweet Cruz. She said Thursday’s graduation walk meant everything to the elementary students, many of whom come from low-income families who don't speak English.

“These kids are as capable, as enthusiastic, as intelligent and as curious as anybody else’s kids,” she said.

High school is an abstract thought to any elementary school student, she said, “but when they see them there in their caps and gowns, they realize it’s something special that they want to accomplish too.”

Parkside Principal Tamie Stewart said it was a joy to watch how receptive her students were to the graduates.

“One day that’ll be them,” she said. “It was an inspiration for us as well.”