Philadelphia's Top Students Honored By School District
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The School District of Philadelphia's highest achievers were honored Thursday afternoon.
As they approach graduation day, School District of Philadelphia valedictorians and salutatorians from every high school were honored for their years of hard work.
"It takes a lot of studying and it takes a lot of practice," said Shelby Cleveland, valedictorian of Randolph Career and Technical High School.
She says she'll be using the analogy of a monarch butterfly in her graduation speech.
"To illustrate the idea that we're going into our next part of life," she said.
Making plans is the theme of valedictorian Franklin Akpala's speech.
The Frankford High School graduating senior tells me he learned a lot as an international student from Nigeria.
"No matter how much you plan, things are never going to go as planned," he said.
And, he's excited for what's ahead.
"From now on man, everything counts. Everything counts," Akpala said.