ON THE MORNING of Senior Skip Day, while many of Hillcrest High School’s soon-to-be graduates were sleeping in, Shawn Wingrove diligently showed up for his first class.
He hasn’t even tempted to take the day off. “I figured, ‘I’ve gone this far – why mess it up for just one day?’” he says.
In his 13 years of school – including Preston Hollow Elementary and Franklin Middle schools – Wingrove has never missed a day. It all started, he admits, with a young boy’s desire to win a prize.
“Back in elementary school, you would get a trophy at the end of the year for perfect attendance,” he says. “Back then, I was just going for the trophy.”
The logical question is: Wasn’t he ever sick?
“I’ve been pretty fortunate to the point where I haven’t gotten too sick not to come to school. Only slight coughs or allergies,” he says.
The accomplishment, however, is more than good health. It’s yet another example of Wingrove’s commitment to his goals, something nearly everyone who knows him says he’s good at.
“I’ve tried to instill in him that if you start something, you complete it,” says his mom, Lori. “So he always sticks with stuff.”
“He’s a very trustworthy individual and a hardworking student,” echoes Lorenzo Parker, director of Hillcrest’s band, where Wingrove is captain of the drum line.
His perfect attendance is reflected in many of his other accomplishments: National Honor Society, a Who’s Who Among American High School Students, a three-time Tae Kwon Do state champion.
Even his buddies, many of whom have ribbed him for his attendance record, say they admire him for it.
“I kid him a little bit,” says Wingrove’s friend of six years, Alex Clemens. “But I think it’s a good personal goal he’s achieved. It’s something that he should definitely be proud of.”
The assumption, of course, is that Wingrove is a tad intense about life, taking a goal such as a perfect attendance too seriously. That’s also not the case, Clemens says.
“No, he’s not real serious,” he says. “He’s definitely fun.”
Wingrove plans to major in music in college, and hopes one day to be a music producer. If history is any indication, it’s probably a goal he’ll achieve.
“I’m thinking he’ll be a very successful young man,” Parker says. “I’m quite sure he’ll fulfill those goals in music production.”
And as for his college attendance? “As long as I can go, I’m going to go,” he says. “The thing is, this [tuition] is going to be coming out of my pocket – this is my money.”
“I feel like if I don’t go to the class, then I’d be wasting money.”
