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Message From The Publisher
Class Of 2020: Party Like A Rockstar!
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Showing endurance, flexibility and perseverance few others have been called upon to muster in their young academic careers, the Class of 2020 has made history, and in this issue of Wellington The Magazine, we have aimed to honor the more than 1,300 local students who had their final year in high school cut short. We set out on a mission to do something special for our graduating seniors during these unprecedented times — something no one else was doing and that would be meaningful for years to come. Since most of these seniors did not have the opportunity to attend their prom, the idea was born to give these partygoers an opportunity to show off their “prom looks” in a special Celebrating Our Seniors pictorial.
Much of this month’s magazine features this amazing prom fashion pictorial starring dozens of local high school graduates. Although this photo shoot could never replace their actual prom experience, it was a great way to show support to these seniors and help them celebrate their wonderful accomplishments. Many thanks to photographer Abner Pedraza and Iva Ivanova’s team at La Casa Hermosa for making this photo shoot possible.
We continue our salute to the Class of 2020 with profiles of the impressive valedictorians and salutatorians who finished at the top of their class at our local high schools. Each of these future leaders — Wellington High School valedictorian Max LeGates and salutatorian Hersh Prakash, along with Palm Beach Central High School valedictorian Jacob Fingeret and salutatorian Ian Mutschler — offer their own unique perspectives on a senior year unlike any other.
While most students her age were completing high school, Wellington teenager Juliana Wandell has graduated from Florida Atlantic University with dual bachelor’s degrees in computer engineering and computer science. At age 17, she became FAU’s youngest student ever to accomplish this feat. Wandell has been on her accelerated educational trajectory for a long time — since she was 24 months old, in fact. Meet this fascinating future scientist profiled in this month’s issue.
Finally this month, we look at just one of the many things that the Village of Wellington has done to help residents in these unprecedented times. As the world began locking down, the Village of Wellington started brainstorming on how to continue serving the community — virtually. Among the questions was how to continue the village’s award-winning recreation programs. Through the new “Virtual Recreation Department,” Wellington’s Parks & Recreation Department found new ways to bring fun and educational activities to residents.
The past several months have certainly been challenging times for everyone. However, now that life is slowly inching back to normal, we’re proud to be able to bring you this new issue of Wellington The Magazine. Be strong and stay safe, and we’ll be back next month with our annual health-themed edition celebrating the wonderful work that has been done by everyone in the healthcare sector to help us through this pandemic.
Dawn Rivera
executive editor
Joshua I. Manning
publisher
Dawn Rivera
senior graphic designer
Stephanie Rodriguez
graphic designers
Nancy Pobiak
Yolanda Cernicky
account managers
Betty Buglio
Evie Edwards
Joetta Palumbo
bookkeeping
Jill Kaskel
Carol Lieberman
photography
Abner Pedraza
contributors
Matthew Auerbach
Meredith Burow
Denise Fleischman
Melanie Kopacz
Mike May
Callie Sharkey
M. Dennis Taylor
Y.A. Teitelbaum
Deborah Welky
Dawn Rivera,Publisher