Chaney grads told to dream big, never give up
By Denise Dick
YOUNGSTOWN
Commencement at Chaney High School


Ta’Kora Nall plans to begin her studies toward a criminal justice degree this fall at Youngstown State University.
Dwaylynn Wiley is heading to the Art Institute of Pittsburgh to study game art and design.
They are two of the 43 members of the Chaney Campus High School Class of 2014 who received their diplomas Friday in a ceremony at the school.
Wiley, who was part of the school’s science, technology, engineering and mathematics program, couldn’t point to a specific cherished high school memory. He enjoyed every day.
He liked “everything, the people — there’s nothing to hate.”
Nall listed performing as part of the school’s visual and performing arts program as her favorite part of high school. She played saxophone and flute and especially enjoyed participating in the Black History Month show.
“It’s exciting,” Nall said. “There’s so much that happens during the show.”
Class valedictorian and salutatorian Janay Robinson and Angel Muns, respectively, shared their memories and advice with their classmates.
Robinson credited her mother with helping her with her studies and providing encouragement.
“I have the utmost respect for her and I want to be a strong, independent woman like her,” she said,
Muns said the Class of 2014 is the last class of real cowboys. During their sophomore year, the school transitioned from a traditional high school to a STEM/VPA school.
“We’re a small class with big dreams,” Muns told her classmates. “We have big, reachable goals.”
Judge Benita Pearson of U.S. District Court in Youngstown, the keynote speaker, urged the graduates to give back and to believe in their dreams.
Pearson grew up in Cleveland, one of six children of a single mother.
In her last year of high school, Pearson found herself at a bus stop without bus fare, trying to figure out a way to get home. She swallowed her pride and asked two women who approached for the 18-cent fare, promising to pay them back.
They obliged and she worked to pay it back by helping others.
“Each one of us who achieves some level of success has a responsibility to reach back,” Judge Pearson said.
She graduated from college with a degree in accounting but was always interested in the law. After seven years, she returned to school, pursuing a law degree.
She clerked for a federal judge and served as an assistant U.S. attorney but wanted to be a judge.
When the seat in Youngstown opened up, she told some colleagues she was considering applying. They weren’t encouraging, telling her she wouldn’t get the appointment.
President Barack Obama nominated her to the bench in 2009, and she was confirmed in 2010.
“Never give up on your dreams and dream big ... even if you’re the only one who believes you can make it,” she said.