Wharton Valedictorian Manages To Make It Look Easy

Siya Patel, foreground, worked hard to graduate with the highest GPA for a female in Wharton history, utilizing advice from brother Yash (background), last year’s salutatorian. (Photo: Charmaine George).

Siya Patel knew when she entered Wharton High that she could become her class valedictorian, but she didn’t really give it much thought.

Instead, Siya decided to focus on her grade-point-average. While the two things — a high GPA and becoming a valedictorian — go hand in hand, she decided she wanted to post the highest GPA ever, so instead of chasing another student for valedictorian, she decided to chase a number: 9.0.

When Siya officially graduates, it will be with a 9.09 weighted GPA, the highest ever for a Wharton High female. Tori Bell had a 9.01 in 2019.

“I wanted my GPA to be well over 9, because that’s the highest in Wharton’s history,” Siya says. “Due to Covid, I thought I wouldn’t make it because some of the classes I wanted to take were only being taught in school. But, I was able to work around it and accomplish my goal.”

Siya achieved her goal with a busy schedule of classes, taking as many as she was allowed. In her time at Wharton, she took 15 dual enrollment course online — three classes each semester her last two years — through Hillsborough Community College, as well as 13 AP classes for Wharton. 

While that may sound like a grind, for Siya, it wasn’t. She managed to fit in time playing the violin in the school orchestra, she was in a number of Honors clubs and volunteered 200 hours.

Like almost every valedictorian at every school, she was masterful in not taking too much and using enhanced time management skills to get it all done.

“I didn’t ever think it was too hard,” she says. “I always just did what I could do.”

The key was not letting the schedule get the best of her. She was attending school during normal hours, and would do her homework before starting on her HCC assignments. She says she split up everything evenly during the week so her weekends wouldn’t be filled with stressful deadlines.

She did not try for an AA degree, saying that it would have involved too many unnecessary classes that she wouldn’t normally be taking. So instead, she took extra math classes. Her favorite was AP Statistics. 

She’ll attend USF in the fall and major in finance. Sometimes, she sits with her father, Dr. Prakashkumar Patel, a neurologist, and her mother, Aarti Patel, and helps do the billing for her father’s practice.

Siya will join brother Yash, a biomedical science major, at USF. Last year, Yash was the salutatorian at Wharton, and used his experience to help guide his sister to the top of the academic standings this year.

“He always helped me whenever I needed help, and was one of the biggest reasons I was able to become valedictorian at Wharton,” she says.

Yash says he is proud of his sister. He advised her about what classes to take, and which ones to avoid, and was happy to see her finish No. 1.

Yash says the best piece of advice he gave his sister was to not rest on her laurels. No one ever asks if he was salutatorian in high school, and next year, no one will probably ask Siya if she was valedictorian. It is one of those nice but fleeting distinctions, and something he says she will discover quickly fades into the past.

“This is just one step in the journey,” he says. “When you go to college you still have to show that same rigor and effort and still be motivated, even if you’re not first every time.”

That won’t be a problem for Siya. When she reunited with the senior class of 2021, which has been scattered due to Covid— some learning in school, others learning at home — due to Covid, she shared that same advice with her classmates at graduation.

“Take everything they’ve learned the last 13 years,” she says, “and put it to good use.”

One Year Later, No Regrets For These Parents

It has been nearly a year since families had to wrestle with one of the toughest decisions of their lives — whether to send their kids to brick-and-mortar classrooms, or have them learn at home via computer.

Because of Covid-19, the choices caused a great deal of consternation and debate among families in New Tampa, along with the rest of the state. We talked to three of those parents last July, each of whom had different and complicated choices to make.

So, how did those decisions work out?

Well, we caught up with those families as the 2020-21 school year was coming to a close, and they all say they would make the same decision again, even though the results were mixed.

Laurie Gonzalez and her son Grayson.

Laurie Gonzalez actually had two decisions to make — should she return to teaching in a classroom at Turner-Bartels K-8 School, despite having an auto-immune disease, and should she allow her son Grayson to attend classes at Benito Middle School?

The answer, in the end, was no to both questions.

Gonzalez was fortunate, however. The administration at Turner-Bartels accommodated her health concerns, and she was not forced back into the classroom. She says that other teaching friends of hers weren’t so lucky.

“The administration at my school deserves some recognition for being amazing,” she says. “Other schools were not as flexible.”

Gonzalez admits that teaching virtually paled in comparison to teaching in a classroom, and it wasn’t her preferred method of doing her job. Even so, she says the school year went about as well as it could have.

However, she says Grayson did not have as good an experience. 

While he had great teachers, Gonzalez says, Grayson did not enjoy learning online. “There was too much information being thrown at a 12-year-old,” she says.

Socially, eLearning also had a negative impact, because Grayson is outgoing and engaging. Gonzalez says it was “mentally taxing” for him to stare at a screen all day. While he had his friends in the video gaming community, he missed person-to-person contact.

As 2020-21 school year comes to a close, however, Laurie does not regret her decision, because she achieved her primary goal: keeping her family safe.

“I would 100 percent make the same decision again, because it kept us from getting coronavirus,” Gonzalez says. “I had two family members pass away from coronavirus complications, so I am still taking it very seriously.”

Other Decisions, Other Results

Despite the spread of Covid-19 last summer, and the uncertain future of the virus, Lisa Ling did not hesitate about returning her first- and fourth-grade children to school last August, convinced that schools would be taking the proper safety measures. 

Her children attend Hunter’s Green Elementary (HGE), and disconnecting from the school community, which she says her family loves, was never a serious option. 

Her decision was fortified by the end of the 2019-20 school year when, at the onset of the pandemic, all schools had to shut down in March and everyone was forced online. It was a difficult few months for her kids, and one Ling didn’t want to repeat that situation for an entire school year.

But, sending her children back to school turned out to be the right choice for Ling and her husband Eric.

“I definitely don’t regret the decision at all,” she says. “It went as well as it could have, considering the crazy circumstances we found ourselves in. The kids adapted to wearing the masks pretty well. They didn’t love it, but they were okay with it.”

Ling says there were very few cases of Covid-19 at HGE. Her kids did have to quarantine for 10 days once, but that was due to cases at their after-school daycare. She says most of the cases reported at HGE were due to exposure away from the school.

Ling says her children also were fortunate to have the same teachers all year, even as shortages and changes plagued many schools and caused a great deal of shuffling in many classrooms.

“It was a pretty good year for our kids,” Ling says. “I can’t imagine them having spent a whole year out of school.”

One Decision, Then Another 

Meanwhile, Connor Kelly, a 17-year-old Wharton senior, decided to do eLearning for his final year of high school, mainly because he was concerned about bringing the coronavirus home to his parents, Cindy and Patrick.

But, after one semester, and with Covid-19 vaccinations right around the corner, he decided to return to the classroom at Wharton in January.

Truthfully, he says, neither choice turned out as well as he had originally hoped. While he enjoyed the safety and freedom of online learning, he felt the instruction was lacking and didn’t think it was administered very well. He understands it was a difficult experience for everyone involved, “but it was a draining experience,” he says.

School wasn’t the same as he remembered when he returned in January. He’s not sure what he expected, but it wasn’t what he got. It was easier, less challenging. Different.

But, Connor regrets nothing. He loaded up on dual enrollment and AP classes as part of a challenging online workload in the fall, will graduate No. 8 in his class with a grade-point-average higher than 6.0, and plans to study accounting in the fall at Florida State University in Tallahassee.

As far as he is concerned, it wasn’t a great journey his final year at Wharton, but he arrived at his destination.

“I wound up where I wanted to be,” Connor says. “And I’m fortunate that the pandemic really didn’t touch that much. I was very fortunate. So, the decision I made led me to where I am, and ultimately I stayed on track.”

Cindy agrees. “I think it went as well as anything in the year of Covid 19. Everyone had to implement new and different ways to keep things moving along. Do I feel good about the decision? What I feel is very thankful to all the teachers and other team members in Hillsborough County education who worked so hard and made sacrifices so our kids could continue the learn, to participate in activities, and in some cases, to eat during this challenging time.”

Luis Viera Op-Ed: Local Support Reaps Results!

City Councilmember Luis Viera has helped increase community involvement in New Tampa.

For too long, New Tampa has been characterized as an area that does not show up when it’s time to secure support from local government.

 Over the last four years, however, we thankfully have begun to see this narrative change.

 Just recently, a $7.5-million dollar New Tampa Performing Arts Center — long championed by former County Commissioner and New Tampa resident Victor Crist — looked like it was doomed in the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners.  Many New Tampa residents — myself included — were disturbed to hear this and showed up to County Commission meetings to let the commissioners know where New Tampa stands. Thanks to this, as well as a promise of likely maintenance support from the City of Tampa, this at-risk project passed by a 5-2 vote.

This Performing Arts Center is but one of numerous local government wins New Tampa has had over recent years:

• In 2017, we passed, after years of rejection in the City of Tampa budget, the New Tampa Recreation Center expansion. Year after year, New Tampa saw this expansion rejected in City of Tampa budgets that seemed to care little about zip code 33647. But, New Tampa residents showed up in red T-shirts to City Council to demand that this Rec Center expansion be included in the budget, and it finally passed. 

 • That same year, New Tampa successfully pushed to have Fire Station No. 23 — which serves expanding New Tampa communities — included in the City budget.      

 • Recently, New Tampa residents supported a compromise in the Kinnan-Mansfield stalemate. Thanks to insistence between the City of Tampa and budget support from Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan and others, Kinnan-Mansfield is now open for first responders, pedestrians and bicyclists.  Though this is only a single — and we wanted a home run — it is a pivotal single for public safety.

 • And, just this past year, a top priority of mine — the New Tampa All Abilities Park for children with special needs — passed our City budget. Soon, New Tampa will be home to a park — a first for the City of Tampa’s budget — for children with intellectual disabilities or Autism.

 And, New Tampa has been showing up. In town halls that I have organized, hosted or co-hosted (see page 6), New Tampa’s engaged citizens have been coming out to express their views.  

 When I ran for Tampa City Council in 2016, I did so because North and New Tampa had too often been ignored in the City budget. For New Tampa, our voice has been heard with results. My vision was and still is not for citizens to be adversarial protestors to the City. Rather, it is one of citizens being involved as stakeholders.  This is the narrative that produces results.  Residents — Republicans and Democrats — coming together to advocate for our neighborhoods.

 And, to quote the Carpenters, “We’ve only just begun.” There is more ground to cover: Residents in K-Bar Ranch look to the County and City to work together on a K-Bar Ranch park; New Tampa lags behind in response times for Tampa Fire Rescue; New Tampa badly lacks robust mass transit investments; and roads like New Tampa Blvd. and Tampa Palms Blvd. also need help.  

 But, we should pause to see how becoming stakeholders in local government has been paying off for our community. New Tampa – Republicans and Democrats working together – is making its voice heard. 

The Best Of The Latest New Tampa Town Hall

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor takes additional questions from New Tampa residents following the April 21 Town Hall held at Freedom High in Tampa Palms. (Photo: Charmaine George)

If you’re into local government, then you have to be impressed with the roster of dignitaries that District 7 Tampa City Council member Luis Viera lined up for his latest New Tampa town hall, held last month at the Freedom High auditorium.

Those sharing the stage included the guest of honor, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, longtime District 2 Tampa Police Dept. (TPD) Major Mike Stout, interim Tampa Fire Rescue Chief Barbara Tripp, City of Tampa director of mobility Vik Bhide and Parks & Recreation director Sherisha Hills. “The Monsters of Rock tour,” Viera joked.

Here are four takeaways from that event:

&%$#@% Roads!

News Flash! — Traffic in New Tampa stinks! That was the message from those who got a chance to speak at the town hall. Whether it was congestion, unpaved roads (e.g., New Tampa and Tampa Palms Blvds.), people speeding or a lack of transportation options — even light rail was brought up! — local residents had a lot to say. 

Unfortunately, there really aren’t a lot of answers that don’t revolve around the city crying poor. The Supreme Court striking down the All For Transportation referendum money (a one-cent sales tax) continues to leave a mark. That money would have fixed a good portion of New Tampa’s problems..

“Hopefully there’s another transportation referendum in the future,” Mayor Castor said.

No Excuses

Not everyone was buying the referendum excuse. Local transportation activist Dr. Jim Davison was his usual feisty self, basically accusing the city of not using the gas and other taxes New Tampa residents pay to fix their transportation woes while blaming the Supreme Court decision instead. 

“There’s millions of dollars there,” Dr. Davison said, to applause. 

Davison also criticized the city for taking the East-West Expressway (aka the E-W Rd.) off the Hillsborough Metropolitan Planning Organization long-range plan. The debate over an E-W Rd. — which would have connected the New Tampa Gateway Bridge (that connects West Meadows to Tampa Palms) to I-275 — goes back more than 20 years. It was killed in 2008 by the Tampa-Hillsborough Expressway Authority but had remained in the MPO’s plans until 2017.

Davison also said he has been asked to reorganize the old New Tampa Transportation Task Force, of which he was a co-founder more than 20 years ago. He think it’s time for a “heart-to-heart” talk about what is happening in New Tampa and basically what the city is and isn’t doing about it.

“Because what is happening now, this ‘If you vote for the one-cent sales tax we’ll build all this stuff,’ that’s extortion,” Davison said, to more applause.

Kick Off?

Did Davison kick off his 2022 campaign for Tampa City Council or the Hillsborough County Commission at the town hall? It kind of sounded like it. 

Davison has run twice for the County Commission and lost, and ran for City Council in a 2016 special election to replace Lisa Montelione that launched Viera’s political career. Davison won 30 percent of the votes (compared to 20 percent for Viera) in a crowded primary field, but Viera won the run-off by 65 total votes.

So, is Davison ready for another run? Hmmmm.

Some Good News

Mayor Castor told the audience that she has signed off on the planning and development contract for the All Abilities Park, which also has been called the Sensory Park and will be built at the New Tampa Recreation Center. 

“That should be started very very soon, so we’ll see another outstanding park out here in the New Tampa area,” Castor said.

Peter Gamborta of the Rotary Club of New Tampa said the club is ready and eager to begin fund raising for the park, as well as improvements for the New Tampa Rotary Dog Park, for which they raised $27,000 to build in 2015.

Castor also said the planning department threw dynamite on its permitting process, blowing it up and starting anew with the focus on new technology and more efficiency and effectiveness. That improvement yielded $4.5 billion in development in 2020, up from $3.4 billion in 2019, despite Covid.

And, despite all the complaints, the mayor insisted that her administration is working on transportation and public safety issues. “One of the reasons I ran for this position…is that this city is going to change more in the next 10 years than it has in my lifetime,” Castor said. “We really have one opportunity to create the city we want Tampa to be, and to hand that off to the next generation. We’re very excited to be a part of that.”

Editorial: Looking Forward To Another Zoom Meeting With Rep. Driskell

Back in August 2020, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic and just a few months after the murder of George Floyd by now-convicted former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin, I organized a Zoom Town Hall meeting about racism and asked Dist. 63 State Rep. Fentrice Driskell (which includes all of New Tampa and some of Wesley Chapel )to co-host it with me. 

The Zoom meeting (photo, above) went exceedingly well, with about two dozen local residents participating, and a lot of great discussion on the specific subject of systemic racism. During the meeting, I promised to organize another Zoom and/or in-person meeting with the New Tampa community in the future.

Well, it’s been a crazy nine months since then, to be sure, but now, Rep. Driskell has invited me to co-host a Zoom Virtual Town Hall meeting with her on Wednesday, June 16, at 6 p.m., and I’m really looking forward to connecting again with her and even more residents of our local communities.

Since it is a Town Hall, anyone who registers to participate (at bit.ly/driskelltownhall, see ad below) can sign into the meeting to hear our State Representative discuss some of the bills that passed during the 2021 Legislative Session, including education, criminal justice reform, the environment, bills related to Covid-19, health care and the state budget. Rep. Driskell also will discuss the bills that she got passed during the session, including police reform and a bill that will create a task force to address the issue of abandoned African-American cemeteries throughout Florida.

We also plan some time during the Zoom meeting for participants to and ask questions about life in their community, from traffic to development to what the state legislature is doing to help improve life in our area.

And, because Rep. Driskell wants to be involved in all of the communities she serves in Dist. 63, whether you miss that first meeting or not, you can connect with both Rep. Driskell and our District 7 Tampa City Council member Luis Viera (see stories on pages 6 & 8 of this issue) at an in-person New Tampa Town Hall the following week — on Tuesday, June 22, 6 p.m., at Compton Park at Tampa Palms. 

As if that isn’t enough, Rep. Driskell also is hosting Virtual Office Hours on both Tuesday, May 25, noon-2 p.m. (the day this issue is certain to arrive in your mailbox, although it could arrive by May 24) and on Wednesday, July 7, also noon-2 p.m. To participate in either or both of these virtual office hours, email Lucile.Malone@MyFloridaHouse.gov or call (813) 936-0854.

As someone who has lived and/or worked in both New Tampa and Wesley Chapel since 1994, all I can say is that there have been very few state representatives — or elected officials in general, regardless of party affiliation — doing as much to be responsive to the needs of our communities as Rep. Driskell (or, of course, Councilman Viera).

My thanks go out to both of them.

No More Masks?

Even though Jannah and I have been fully vaccinated for some time, it took Gov. DeSantis’ repeal of all mask mandates in Florida for us to start going out in public without them.

Although it has been taking a while for us to get used to not having to wear our masks when we go out, I give Gov. DeSantis a lot of credit for taking the lead on this issue throughout the pandemic.