Every chair and bleacher was filled in Trojan Arena at Kent County High School on Friday, May 30 to celebrate the graduation of the Class of 2025.

The rainy days leading up to this year’s graduation — Kent County High School’s 54th annual Commencement Exercises — did not dampen anyone’s spirits.

There were 123 seniors who, by morning’s end on May 30, officially became Kent County High School’s newest alums with great fanfare from faculty, staff, family members and friends.

Dr. Mary Boswell-McComas, superintendent of Kent County Public Schools, offers her congratulations to the Kent County High School Class of 2025.

“I believe that you will change this world in ways that we have not yet imagined,” said Dr. Mary Boswell-McComas, superintendent of Kent County Public Schools, told the class. “I see you standing ready, willing and able to take up the yoke of advancing our society and our world.”

For Principal Kris Hemstetter, the Class of 2025 holds extra significance. The students are the first graduating class that she welcomed to the building when they were freshmen and she was a first-year high school principal.

Hemstetter, who peppered her speech with highlights from Rascal Flats’ uplifting hit song “Life is a Highway, said the seniors’ journey was not a straight path.

“There were detours, construction zones, the occasional flat tire,”‘ she told the seniors.  “But there were also road trip playlists, scenic overlooks and pit stops that turned into lifelong memories.”

The students comprising the Class of 2025 racked up quite a list of accomplishments, which Hemstetter shared with the crowd.

Keynote speaker Tynette Christy addresses the Kent County High School Class of 2025 in Trojan Arena, where she sat 30 years ago waiting to receive her diploma as a member of the Class of 1995.

The Class of 2025 took 135 Advanced Placement courses and logged 11,708 service learning hours.

Thirty-one seniors participated in internships with local businesses and organizations.

Seventy percent of the students completed one or more Career and Technical Education pathways, such as pre-engineering, health occupations, hospitality management and automotive technology.

Of those heading to colleges and universities, three standouts received the prestigious Banneker/Key Scholarship granting full rides to the University Maryland – College Park: Kate Cannon, Paige Miller and Henry Martinez.

Additionally, Cannon and Miller are the Class of 2025 valedictorian and salutatorian, respectively, and Martinez brought home a state championship in swimming this year.

In total, the members of the Class of 2025 were awarded more than $3,020,836 and counting in scholarship funds.

“I could never begin to capture all the success and accomplishments of this incredible class,” Hemstetter said. “They continue to grow, achieve and inspire every single day.”

The ceremony opened, as has been the tradition at Kent County High School, with students walking to their seats in pairs.

Class of 2025 Secretary Ny’Auna Lively served as hostess of ceremonies and Ethan Clark, the class vice president, introduced special guests including the Kent County Commissioners and Board of Education.

Sherissa Jeffers, a member of the Class of 2000, performed the National Anthem. Additional music, including “Pomp and Circumstance,” was performed by the Kent County High School band, led by teacher Jodi Bortz.

Kent County High School Valedictorian Kate Cannon, left, and Class President Isabelle Anderson show off their diplomas as they exit the stage during graduation Friday, May 30.

Addressing her peers, Class of 2025 President Isabelle Anderson spoke about how much they have accomplished and how they have changed their school and their community for the better.

Anderson recalled kind words someone once told her — “peace, love and don’t change” — and urged her classmates to carry them into the next chapter of their lives.

“Remember to be peaceful with every challenge you face, spread love everywhere you go and never change your determination or hard-working spirit,” Anderson said. “You will always have a home in the Trojan Arena, but I know that each of you will do amazing things wherever your road leads.”

Miller said in her remarks as salutatorian that the seniors are in the “in-between.”

“We’ve done enough to think we know it all, but we’re smart enough to know we don’t. We’re young enough to think we’ll live forever, but old enough to know we won’t,” Miller said.

She said she and her classmates are “undefined,” that they are just beginning.

“The pen is in our hands — and the ending? Unplanned,” she said. “This is where one chapter ends and the next begins. Don’t be afraid of the blank page in front of you.”

In her speech as class valedictorian, Cannon spoke about how her passion — the game of softball — is a lot like life.

“Life will throw you curveballs,” she said. “But in softball, just like in life, it’s not about what happens to you — it’s about how you respond to the adversities that show the kind of person you are.”

She said there are commitments in life — just as in softball, you make a commitment to your team. She said softball is also meant to be fun.

“Life is the same way,” Cannon said. “Say yes. Be adventurous. Take risks. See new places. Laugh loud. Live boldly. And when it stops being fun — pause, reset and find your joy again.”

She said the Class of 2025 is moving on to a whole new ballgame. She encouraged her classmates to step up to the plate and swing for the fences.

“No dream is too small, and no goal is too big. If you want it, chase it. Work for it. Believe in it,” Cannon said.

Makenna Schultz, the Class of 2025 historian, introduced keynote speaker Tynette Christy.

A member of the Class of 1995, Christy is a grief counselor with Compass Regional Hopsice, as well as an entrepreneur, author and podcost host.

“She is committed to making a lasting impact on the lives of those she encounters,” Schultz said of Christy.

Christy called it a joy and an honor to be on stage addressing seniors 30 years after her own graduation from Kent County High School.

“I sat where you sit today. I sat with the big dreams running through my mind, not sure exactly where life was going to take me,” Christy said. “But I knew one thing. I knew that Kent County High School had impacted my journey.”

She spoke about looking over the students and seeing them as many pieces “to the puzzle called ‘life.'”

“Each of you is a uniquely shaped piece, designed with purpose,” she said. “Each of you has the ability to go out and change the world.”

While encouraging students to continue their education and to chase their dream jobs, Christy said they also need to continue developing a strong mindset and resiliency.

“It helps you to be able to see, even when life is blurry,” Christy said. “It gives you the ability to rise, even when life doesn’t go as planned.”

She asked the Class of 2025 to promise themselves that they will never give up on finding their place in the world.

“Don’t you dare give up when life detours,” she said. “You don’t have to have it all figured out, but you do have to keep going.”

Christy congratulated the Class of 2025 on their graduation, closing with a refrain so often in heard in the halls of Kent County High School.

“It’s a good day to be a Trojan,” she said.

With the speeches concluded, Board of Education President Trish McGee stepped up to the podium to offer the ceremonial certification and confirmation of the diplomas.

With the official business out of the way, the students stood up one row at a time as their names were called, their diplomas were presented, photos were taken and fans in the audience cheered.

Jack Fry, treasurer of the Class of 2025, was then called to the podium to lead the students through the next turning point in their lives.

Under Fry’s direction, the members of the Class of 2025 turned their class rings and the tassels on their mortarboard caps, marking their graduation from high school.

As is tradition at so many graduation ceremonies, the caps did not stay on for long after the students were announced as official graduates.

Those mortarboards went flying and confetti was launched in the air in the celebration of the Class of 2025’s grand achievement.

“Class of 2025, this moment is not a finish line. It’s on an open road, stretching wide with possibilities,” Hemstetter said. “This road doesn’t end here. The highway continues, and where it leads is entirely up to you.”

At The Chestertown Spy, we believe in the power of the written word to bear witness, to provoke thought, and to strengthen the bridge between generations. In this spirit, we are proud to introduce a new series of contributions from student journalists at Washington College—voices that carry the urgency and clarity of youth in uncertain times. Their experiences, reflections, and reportage are vital to understanding how national policies ripple through small communities, classrooms, and lives. 

Ginnie Walls is recognized by the Kent County Commissioners for her 51 years with Kent County Public Schools. Pictured are, from left, back row, Kent County Commissioners Albert Nickerson, Ron Fithian and John Price; front row, from left, Superintendent Dr. Mary Boswell-McComas, Walls and KCPS Director of Finance Alleesa Stewart.

Having started her career with Kent County Public Schools during the Nixon administration, Virginia “Ginnie” Walls retired this month after 51 years of service.

Walls was an administrative assistant in the school system’s Office of Finance. Among her responsibilities assisting with bookkeeping and payroll for KCPS’ nearly 500 employees.

“I started when I was 17,” Walls said.

For her decades of service Walls received accolades and proclamations from her coworkers and county and state leaders.

“Ms. Ginnie has been a pleasure to work with,” said Director of Finance Alleesa Stewart. “Her knowledge and expertise will surely be missed. We are proud to have met and worked with an outstanding person who stood proud to work for Kent County Public Schools for 51 years.”

Stewart said Walls’ tenure is “an amazing accomplishment that is deserving of honor and appreciation.”

Walls’ co-workers surprised her with a retirement dinner at the Chestertown firehall just before Thanksgiving.

“I’m very, very touched,” Walls said at the dinner. “I’m going to miss every one of you, but you all know my number.”

The finance team organized the dinner celebration that included current and former KCPS staff members and Walls’ family, some of whom flew in from Wisconsin.

“This is going down as one of the best days of my life,” Walls said. “Thank you all for coming. I just love everybody and I’m really touched by this.”

Ed Silver, a KCPS retiree, said it had been an honor to know Walls for so many years.

He spoke about the changes Walls experienced in her work since she started in 1973, when “probably everything was paper and pen” with carbon copies.

He described the incredible breadth of Walls’ knowledge about KCPS and those who worked for the system stretching back decades.

“You think about how things have progressed over 50 years and the thing is, Ginnie has been on the cutting edge of that in terms of technology and keeping things up to date,” Silver said, adding that her coworkers could always turn to her for assistance in using new systems.

Silver presented Walls with a citation from Gov. Wes Moore in honor of her dedicated and outstanding service and the professionalism, expertise and commitment she demonstrated throughout her distinguished career.

Dr. Mary Boswell-McComas, superintendent of KCPS was perhaps one of Walls’ newest coworkers at the dinner, having taken the helm of the school system in July.

Dr. McComas thanked Walls for welcoming her to KCPS.

“Please know that I will be forever grateful for the warm welcome,” she told Walls.

Dr. McComas presented Walls with a proclamation from Dr. Carey Wright, the state superintendent.

“Your tenure is an extraordinary achievement, and it is with great admiration that we recognize your contributions to Kent County and the field of public education,” the proclamation from Dr. Wright states.

On Tuesday, Dec. 17, Walls was recognized by the Kent County Commissioners for her 51 years with the school system.

“Fifty-one years, that’s a long time to work at a place isn’t it,” said Ron Fithian, president of the Kent County Commissioners.

Commissioner Albert Nickerson read the county proclamation and presented it to Walls.

“Such commitment and loyalty are admired and well respected by all those who have had the honor of working with her,” the proclamation reads. “We, the County Commissioners of Kent County, Maryland, thank you for your continued devotion, dedication and public service to Kent County and the community.”

Learn more about Kent County Public Schools and its dedicated staff at www.kent.k12.md.us.