A day filled with family, applause and the kind of courage it takes to keep creating
There are signing days when the table is covered with hats and jerseys. Then there are signing days when the room feels a little more like a final curtain call.
At the Wylie High School Performing Arts Center, families, friends, teachers, administrators and supporters gathered to celebrate seniors who are taking their fine arts talents to the next level. One by one, students took the stage and signed their intent to continue in music, theater, visual arts, digital art, speech and other creative fields after graduation.
For Wylie ISD, the moment was about more than college plans. It was about recognizing years of rehearsals, performances, auditions, art projects, bus rides, late nights, friendships and the steady courage it takes to share your voice with others.
Wylie School Board Trustee Cameron Wiley said the celebration is a reminder that Wylie is a district with many kinds of student success stories.
“It really shows that our district is more than one thing,” Wiley said. “As we grow, opportunities come along with it. Being able to celebrate and recognize fine arts students, just like any other group, is important.” He said Wylie has traditionally had a strong fine arts program, and each year it continues to grow with more community involvement and support.
For Mrs. Maddie Jones, Wylie’s musical theater director and assistant theater director, the day felt both joyful and emotional.
“For these students specifically, it feels like the beginning of the end a little bit,” Jones said. “It feels kind of like the exclamation point at the end of a really long season of hard work.”
That hard work often happens long before the applause. For theater students, it includes auditions, waiting, callbacks, more waiting and the vulnerable work of putting yourself out there again and again. Jones said that is why a Fine Arts Signing Day matters.
“I feel like it really does elevate and bring attention to the arts, to celebrate their hard work,” she said.
For senior McKenna Herberg, who committed to Abilene Christian University to major in music education and participate in marching band, fine arts became more than something she enjoyed. It became part of who she is.
“I’ve realized that music is a big part of who I am, and that I want to be able to share that with other people,” Herberg said. “I’ve also kind of found myself, in a way, in music, and I think that’s really cool, because I gained a lot of confidence through that.”
Herberg has been in the Wylie music program since sixth grade and has served as drum major for three years. She said she is excited to march again at ACU and hopes to be involved in several ensembles, including jazz band and orchestra. Looking back, she said her advice to younger students is simple: “Don’t let fear stop you from achieving something you want to do or be.”
That same courage showed up in different ways across the stage.
Reece Harvey, who is heading to ACU to study musical theater and theater education, said she chose the program because it brings together her faith and her passion for performing. She said one of her favorite Wylie memories is traveling with her One Act Play cast, especially the bus rides, which could be full of energy, laughter or, as any fine arts parent knows, complete exhaustion.
Harvey also shared that she still experiences stage fright.
“I see my stage fright as another way to trust God and not do it by myself,” she said.
Her long-term dream is to perform and then teach theater, bringing the journey full circle.
Senior Ashtyn Kershner, who will also attend ACU to pursue a BFA in musical theater, said he would not have believed it two years ago if someone had told him he would be studying theater in college. He started theater in fourth grade, but it was at Wylie where the calling became clearer.
Kershner said being able to perform alongside both of his siblings was one of the gifts of his high school experience. He especially treasured wrapping up his senior year in Newsies with his younger brother.
“Getting to bring theater in with my entire family, and then branching out and finding my family in my peers around, is just really what made theater my own,” he said.
He credited Mr. Shoemake for giving him an early chance and Mrs. Lowery Jones for helping him grow in vocals, acting, theater, leadership and as a person. His advice to younger Bulldogs is to try things, keep going and “do what you love.”
For Abby Anderson, the next chapter leads to BYU-Idaho, where she plans to study illustration with an emphasis in entertainment design as she works toward a future in animation. Anderson said she has wanted to pursue digital art since third or fourth grade, and over time she has pushed herself to keep developing her skills.
She said one of her favorite Wylie memories was participating in VASE, where students submit artwork and talk through the meaning and process behind their pieces.
“I’m just excited to start the new chapter,” Anderson said, “really get my creativity flourishing and learn new techniques that I don’t know about yet, and make new friends and just see where life takes me.”
Jones said she hopes these seniors carry something from Wylie with them wherever they go.
“My hope is that they stay grounded and true to who they are,” she said. “What’s so special about this place is the community. We have a very rare thing here. It’s a very celebratory and cooperative community of students.”
On this day, that community filled the Performing Arts Center with applause. Parents smiled from their seats. Teachers watched students they had guided, encouraged and occasionally nudged through long seasons of growth. Seniors signed their names, posed for photos and stepped a little closer to the future.
It was not just a ceremony. It was a reminder that fine arts gives students a place to belong, a way to grow and a voice to carry with them long after the final bow.
The day belonged to every senior who stepped onto that stage: Josh Corrigan, Abby Anderson, Ryson Wilson, Rylan Kerby, Taylor Wood, McKenna Herberg, Alex Le, Ryleigh Stuart, Brooklyn Cano, Reece Harvey, Ashtyn Kershner and Rylee Robinson. Each name represented a different story, a different gift and a different next step - but together, they showed the depth of talent growing in Wylie Fine Arts.
And on a stage full of Bulldogs ready for the next act, it was easy to see once again why it’s great to be a Wylie Bulldog.
