The Connection

Cara Yates has never missed a day of school. Ever. From kindergarten on, the South County High School 2015 graduate kept a perfect attendance record the whole way.

The Fairfax Station resident was recognized with awards after finishing sixth grade at Silverbrook Elementary School, eighth grade at then-South County Secondary School and now 12th grade at the high school.

“It was a lot of luck, to be honest,” said Cara’s father Randy. All the typical reasons a student might skip -- illness, sports practice or competition, travel -- never had an impact.

Illness: “She hardly ever got sick,” Randy said. “If she did, it seemed like Friday night, over the weekend or summer time.”

Sports: Cara played field hockey, basketball and softball for South County, but practices, games and tournaments always took place outside of school hours.

What about getting home late from games, with a pile of homework left to do?

“Some days I wanted to stay home,” Cara said, “but I knew it would probably make things harder in the long run, I’d have to make up work.”

Once Cara made it long enough to start receiving awards, her parents used the streak as a teaching tool.

“As the days went on,” Randy said, “we talked about the importance of being loyal and doing your best.”

Cara also saw a big academic payoff from her attendance consistency: good grades. Cara graduated with just over a 4.0 grade point average.

“What’s helped me is I am on a strict schedule most of the time,” Cara said. “When I was in season, it was lot easier to get homework done and study. I had to set times to get things done after games and practices.

“And paying attention in class is important,” Cara continued. “It helps with my time management -- getting the info I need in school.”

South County assistant principal Michael Pflugrath has known Cara for several years. “She not only has the work ethic to come to school every day without exception, but she also consistently performs at the top level,” Pflugrath said in an email.

Cara was a member of the 2014 Virginia High School League state champion softball team and in 2015 received the All-South County Team Award, given to just ten student-athletes.

“Cara embodies the meaning of our school motto, ‘Excellence in all Endeavors,’” he added. “Cara is the kind of person you want your kid to be friends with. She leads by example and sets the standard for work ethic and commitment.”

The work ethic was Cara’s driving force, not motivation for an attendance medal. “It never really was a goal,” said Cara, “just a thing I was doing. It wasn’t hard to not go to school. I never thought about missing a day -- I knew I had to go.”

And the ethic is rubbing off as well. Cara’s younger sister Emma hasn’t missed a day of school through eighth grade.

“We’re really proud of them, all the way around,” said Randy. “They have to do all the work, we push them a little.”

Cara plans to attend Virginia Tech in the fall and major in marketing management.