Plainfield East Seniors Ready to Make History as School's First Graduates

senior Ashley Rivera says it feels as if it was only yesterday when she and her classmates walked into the brand new high school as sophomores.

Now, as nearly 400 students prepare to receive their diplomas Saturday as members of East’s first graduating class, it is almost as hard to believe their high school career is over, she said.

“I think everyone is excited to graduate, but deep down, there is a part we don’t want to let go,” said Rivera, student council president for the past three years.

Plainfield East opened its doors in 2008 for freshmen and sophomore students.

The entering freshmen having just graduated from middle school looked upon their new high school with wonder and excitement, Principal Anthony Manville said.

But some of the sophomore students, who had a year establishing friendships and allegiances to either or , were hesitant about changing schools. They didn’t want to leave behind the friends or connections they made at their former schools, Manville said.

“It’s always tough opening a building,” he said. “We wanted to make this a place of comfort, establish connections with the adults and teach the students that this was a safe place to come and learn. We can tell them it’s going to be OK, but as adults, we had to show them why it’s going to be great to be a part of this building. Our staff responded to that.”

The sophomores entering in 2008 had no juniors or seniors to look up to or to learn from – they were the upperclassmen and many students chose to embrace that leadership role, Manville said.

They are students like Rivera, Connor Marchetti, Chris Fries and Emma Hernandez, who showed leadership whether in the classroom, among their peers, on the sports field and in their studies, Manville said.

But, he said, they were also students who entered Plainfield East as sophomores and helped unite the student body, promote school spirit and create a sense of community that exists today.

“They have a sense of ownership in the school,” Manville said. “They have taken great pride in starting the traditions and leading the way for younger classmen to show them how to have school spirit.”

Each year, Plainfield East added another grade level. This is the first year that the school operates with freshmen through seniors.

“We got a blank canvas, and we used it to the best of our abilities,” said Marchetti, captain of the varsity soccer team, vice president of the student council, president of the National Art Honor Society and a member of the Bengal Athletic Leadership Council. “It’s like planting the flag on the moon.”

Fries, who is co-captain of the football team, said having no upperclassmen to look up to was a way for he and his fellow students to carve a new path. He said he learned to keep an open mind and make new friends, which led to a great high school experience.

“I was so excited to be a part of this,” said Hernandez, who serves as a group leader for an anti-drug organization and volunteers to help in classrooms for autistic and developmentally disabled students. “I was completely jazzed to be a part of a new story. I’ve loved watching everyone grow into one big group. We are all very close.”

The students said the teachers and club sponsors helped make Plainfield East feel like home.

Rivera credits the student council sponsors for making the student body more involved in the school and promoting school spirit.

“The student council we have is great,” she said. “It’s been my pride and joy. It’s been an awesome experience.”

Fries said his Spanish teacher, Veronica Tylka, was “always willing to help kids” and had a positive influence on him while Hernandez said that special education teacher, Michele Rickerson, “makes everyone feel at home.”

The group also credits their principal with helping to inspire the students.

“Mr. Manville taught us to feel comfortable with ourselves and confident in ourselves,” Rivera said. “He taught us to believe that no matter what, you can do it. It may be bumpy, but this school has made me comfortable to go into the real world.”

From the football team’s first victory over Oswego East to cheering in the Orange Crush “super fans” section to celebrating homecoming week, the seniors said they have made a lot of memories at East.

But they also have advice for future Plainfield East students.

“Keep your head up,” Marchetti said. “Talk to a different person every day. You can build a friendship and it will spread.”

“Don’t give up,” Fries said. “This is a really great school.”

“Enjoy it,” Hernandez said. “It goes by really fast.”

For this article, Principal Anthony Manville recommended to Patch four students he felt showed leadership, helped unite the student body and promote school spirit.

• Ashley Rivera, 18, of Bolingbrook, has been the student council president for the past three years. She has planned homecoming dances, prom, spirit weeks and students vs. staff basketball games. She also has organized food drives for the needy and planned other charity events. She plans to attend Elmhurst College and become an ultrasound technician. She wants to serve on the student council in college.
• Chris Fries, 17, of Plainfield, is a linebacker and tight end for the football team and serves as its co-captain. He is a member of the Orange Crush school spirit fans section. He plans to attend Joliet Junior College and then transfer to a four-year university. He is undecided on a major.
• Connor Marchetti, 18, of Bolingbrook, is captain of the varsity soccer team, vice president of the student council, a member of the Bengal Athletic Leadership Council and president of the National Art Honor Society, which created the murals in the school. He volunteers in the feeder schools, helping out in the classrooms and helping students with their math or history projects. He plans to attend Lewis University, participate in the Army ROTC program and major in business administration.
• Emma Hernandez, 18, of Plainfield, serves as a group leader for Operation Snowball, an international organization designed to keep teens away from alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. She volunteers her study hall three days a week to help students with developmental disabilities in the classroom and uses her study hall two days a week to help students with autism work on their social skills. She has been a student mentor for three years, shows incoming freshmen around the school on Step Up days, is a member of the National Art Honor Society and served one year as the features editor for the school newspaper. She plans to attend Joliet Junior College before transferring to Lewis University to become a special education teacher.