CAMDEN – Some may shudder when they recall conversations with their high school principal. Just such a conversation occurred about three years ago between Mastery High School Principal Andrew Anderson and first-generation American and then-Mastery High School freshman Alexis Sanchez. However, for these two, it is a conversation they remember fondly.

“Alexis said to me, ‘I am going to be your valedictorian when I graduate,’ ” Anderson told TAPinto Camden.

While some may think that was a bold assumption, Sanchez said it seemed appropriate given his family’s background.

“My parents grew up in a very disadvantaged area in Mexico,” Sanchez explained in an interview. “So, I am doing the most I can with what they have given me in this country.”

Sanchez kept his word, according to Anderson. As a result, he wore a valedictorian sash over his cap and gown during the school’s graduation ceremony on Wednesday, June 5, in the school’s auditorium. In addition, like many of the school’s 156 other seniors who graduated as part of Mastery High School’s sixth graduating class, he will continue his education, according to Anderson.

About half of Sanchez’s graduating class will go on to either a two-year or four-year school, said Sarah Reyes, a communications consultant for the school. Most of the remaining students who informed school personnel of their post-graduation plans before the ceremony are directly entering the workforce. A small handful will either enter a trade school or join the military. Scattered among those groups are 16 students, including Sanchez, who successfully completed the school’s dual enrollment program with Camden Community College and have already earned an associate’s degree, said Reyes.