CISCO – Eldred Poplawski is the Cisco High School Class of 2021 valedictorian while Sadie Taylor earned the honor of salutatorian.

Cisco High School graduation will take place at 7 p.m. Friday, May 28.

Poplawski, the daughter of Mona Poplawski, said of receiving the news she was named valedictorian, “Being valedictorian means that all of my hard work has paid off and that I will be able to attend college. Without the help of academic scholarships, I probably would not have been able to pay without some terrible debt. I expected it; the school has always been pretty open about who is in what placement and I have been at the top of my class since the beginning.”

Poplawski intends to attend Tarleton State University and study history.

“I hope to be a museum curator or a college professor,” Poplawski said. “I just enjoy learning about history and I would like to share that passion with others”

Asked about plans 10 years down the road, Poplawski said, “I am not entirely sure. I bet I will be working in a small museum somewhere.”

During high school Polawski took part in, “many UIL activities such as band, one act play, and a variety of other UIL academic events. Apart from this, I was involved in the drama club.”

In the classroom, Poplawski’s favorite subjects were science and history.

“I have always been a “Why?” kid and those classes scratched that itch,” Poplawski said. “It’s hard to pick favorite teachers! I love and respect all of them. If I had to choose, though, my favorite teacher would be Mrs. Dempsey.”

Taylor said of receiving the salutatorian accolade, “It means to me that I have achieved the goals I set for myself from freshman year. I told myself I wanted to focus on academic and try to stay within the top 10% of my class. I expected to hold the Cisco High School class of 2021 Salutatorian position.”

Taylor, the daughter of James and Kelly Taylor, is also bound for Texas A&M University to major in Kinesiology.

“Growing up, I had many knee problems,” Taylor said. “I basically lived in physical therapy. I was able to shadow a few physical therapists and one introduced me to occupational therapy. I want to be able to help people like these therapists helped me.”

Regarding long-term goals, Taylor said, “I see myself opening my own occupational therapy clinic.”

Taylor took part in cheer, varsity golf, FFA, debate, NHS, LEAP program, and the student council.

Reflecting on favorite teachers and subjects, Taylor said, “My favorite subject throughout high school has always been any math class. My freshman year my dad was my Algebra 1 teacher. If it wasn’t for him, I would not be where I am today. He pushed me my hardest to help me fulfill my goals.”