Wharton High senior Zack Chandler was at a baseball game with his teammates this spring when he noticed that every one of them had the same name on the backs of their jerseys.
In fact, it was on all of the jerseys for all of the sports at his school — and on a lot of other shirts, too. They all said, “Wharton.”
Of course they did, since that’s the name of the school they all were attending.
It hit Zack that although he vaguely recalled that Wharton High was named after someone, he had no idea who that person was or why he was chosen to have a school named after him.
So when Zack, who was the school’s 2023- 24 senior class president, was given the honor of speaking at his graduation ceremony on May 25, he knew what he wanted to do.
Rather than talk about himself, Zack wanted to find out who exactly Paul R. Wharton was, and why Zack’s school was named after him.
“I did some research and found out what a cool guy Mr. Wharton was, and how he affected the community,” Zack says. “I wanted to make a metaphor out of it. Don’t take things that you have every day for granted.”
He learned that Wharton retired as the assistant superintendent for Hillsborough County Public Schools, after serving as principal of both Plant and Robinson high schools. He started in the county as an innovator who advocated for vocational and technical schools in the District, and also served as principal of the Brewster Vocational Technical Institute.
Wharton did all of that after starting his career teaching in a one-room school house in Springfield, KY, and then serving in the U.S. Army before moving to Tampa.
Zack found that Wharton had passed away in 2009, but Zack wanted to invite Wharton’s family members to his graduation to hear Wharton honored in front of the student body.
Mary Wharton Shroeder is Paul’s daughter, and she attended the ceremony, along with her husband Stephen Michelini and her son Jeffrey Schroeder. She says this was the first time anyone had approached her about recognizing her dad at the school.
Mary and her family were seated in the graduation ceremony’s VIP area and were honored when Zack acknowledged them from the podium. “I was delighted,” she says. “I know what an amazing man Daddy was, and all the things he did for this community. It’s just a wonderful thing.”
She says that if her dad had been able to address those students at Wharton, he might have told them it’s important to choose carefully who they emulate. They should choose their role models wisely, because who they look up to will make a huge difference in who they become.
“It made me so proud of him to receive the recognition that he so deserved,” Mary says. “He never asked for the recognition, but he earned it because he helped to shape our community. He was always a leader and had a great sense of humor.”
It’s been more than 25 years since Wharton High opened on August 21, 1997, so it’s understandable that today’s graduating seniors had never before heard of the man for whom their school was named.
But now, thanks to Zack Chandler, they have.