30 formerly troubled students face bright futures after MCHS graduation today

YOUNGSTOWN

If all goes according to plan, Rayshawn Wynn will be receiving quite a few passes, but for now, he’s thrilled to have scored a major victory by having received his high-school diploma.

“You’ve got to keep pushing. Once you quit, you won’t succeed in life,” the Mahoning County High School student advised.

Given the level of adversity he’s faced in his young life, Wynn easily could have given up. Instead, he was among the 30 graduates who took home diplomas during Friday’s MCHS Class of 2015 commencement at the school, 940 Bryn Mawr Ave., on the East Side.

Wynn’s main goals include playing wide receiver for Waynesburg University’s football team in Waynesburg, Pa., and possibly studying business management. Another ambition is to perhaps start a welding business, said Wynn, who’s also an ardent Dallas Cowboys fan.

Nyhuh Dawson hopes to use the difficulties she’s experienced as a backdrop for entering a college in Florida, studying law and becoming a defense attorney. The move also will allow her to be closer to her brother.

MCHS, established in 2008, places a heavy emphasis on academics and positive behavior management and support for students who have been suspended or expelled from their schools, noted Magistrate Anthony D’Apolito of the Mahoning County Juvenile Court.

The high school is in a partnership with the court.

“Today, they get to see their accomplishments,” D’Apolito said, adding that the 200th student graduated last year.

Read what the grads heard from commencement speakers in Saturday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.