Posted on 05/26/2005 8:53:48 PM PDT by SwinneySwitch
LEAKEY, Texas - Gov. Rick Perry took time out from the last-minute legislative rush to attend a small Hill Country graduation at the request of a student.
Sara Wallace, 19, asked Perry to speak to Ed Brune Charter School's graduating class of five Tuesday after meeting him at a turkey hunt near Fredericksburg during the Christmas holidays.
"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," said Perry spokesman Robert Black.
Wallace came to the school two years after she watched as her mother was murdered by her employer.
"It's part of my life, my past, and I've worked hard to deal with it," Wallace said. "When bad stuff happens, you have a choice. You get on with life or you don't. I did."
Wallace plans to work toward a realty license in a Kerrville real estate office. Then, she said she plans to go to college.
Perry, one of a graduating class of 13 at Paint Creek Rural School in 1968, told graduates to "be courageous. Saddle up. And know that with all you have accomplished, there's nothing you can't do."
The Hill Country Youth Ranch opened in 1977 as a long-term, therapeutic-care center for abused and neglected children.
The youth ranch opened the Big Springs center near Leakey in 1997. There are 91 children, ages 6 to 18, referred by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.
"I didn't really think it would happen," said Gary Priour, executive director of the youth ranch. "It says a lot about Rick Perry that he'd take time away from a contentious session to speak here. But Sara can be pretty persuasive."
I had 21. Class below me had 14.
Sara,
If you ever happen to read this -- congratulations on your graduation, and keep your dreams alive.
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