Reprinted with permission from The Dallas Morning News

Governor Rick Perry was true to his word when he told 18-year-old Sara Wallace in January that he would speak to her graduating class of 5 on May 24.  The Governor addressed the class and a crowd of 500 who had come to see the historic event – the first graduating class of the Ed Brune Charter School, and the Governor’s only commencement address for 2005.

In his address, Governor Perry joked that part of the reason he came was to see a campus as small as Paint Creek Rural School, where he graduated as one of a class of 13 in 1968.

“The size of the school doesn’t matter,” he stressed. “What’s important is the new life that begins with graduation.  America remains a land big enough for every dream – where every future counts and where what matters most is not where you come from, but where you are going,” Perry said.

“Along the way, each of you will be faced with doubts,” the Governor said. “Critics will tell you ‘No, you can’t.’ The message I want to leave with each graduating senior of Ed Brune High School is ‘Yes, you can.’ “

Citing a quote from John Wayne that “courage is being scared to death and saddling up anyway,” Perry told his audience, “Be courageous. Saddle up. And know that with all you have already accomplished, there’s nothing you can’t do.”

The Governor commented that the graduates had already faced significant obstacles and adversity just to get to graduation day, and having overcome those, they already knew a lot about facing life’s challenges.

Dr. Shirley Neeley, Texas Commissioner of Education, also addressed the 5 graduates, who happen, this year, to be all girls.  Dr. Neeley said she was glad to be speaking to an all-girl graduating class, so she could talk about being a woman in today’s world.  She pointed out how important it is for women to be educated.

“I encourage you to get a college education before you start a family.  Putting off marriage for a few years may be a key to your future success.  I would not hold the office of Commissioner of Education for Texas if I had not taken the time to get an education.  Find a way now, if you can.”  The Commissioner offered to help the girls find scholarships if they needed them.

Says HCYR Director Gary Priour, “These girls are certainly courageous enough to face the world now, and find their way.”  One of the graduates, Sara Wallace, had invited Rick Perry to speak when she met the governor during a turkey hunt over the Christmas holidays.  Sara’s confidence has come a long way since she first came to the Ranch in 1995.

Just 10 years ago – two years after she witnessed her mother’s brutal murder – Sara arrived at the Youth Ranch, which operates the Charter School, “withdrawn, traumatized, walking around with her head down all the time,” says Priour.   “We didn’t realize how bright she was. But the place was good for her,” he adds. “She chased lizards around the river and did well in school. She’s come a long way.”

Sara remembers too well the shooting, hearing the boom of the gunshot, seeing her mother’s blood. She talks about it willingly if asked.  But she doesn’t dwell on it.  “It’s part of my life, my past, and I’ve worked hard to deal with it,” she says. “When bad stuff happens, you have a choice. You get on with life or you don’t.  I did.”

At the Ranch, she learned the joys of learning, she says. She wrote poems. Cared for animals. And learned that people liked her, thought she had value.

Governor Perry was impressed with Sara’s strength and intelligence, said the governor’s spokesman, Robert Black. “The Governor came to speak at the school because Sara asked him. He heard her story and the kinds of challenges she and the other kids at the youth ranch had to deal with, and he wanted to let them know personally that he is proud of them,” Mr. Black said.

Now that it’s time to move on, leaving the only place she’s known as home has left Sara with mixed feelings.  “It’s an exciting day, and a little nerve-racking, but it’s not a scary day,” she says. “The past made me, but I’m looking to the future. And it’s not like I’m leaving here forever. I’ll be back to visit. This is my family.