INDIAN HEAD, Md. – The skies were overcast, but there are sunny skies ahead for the Henry E. Lackey High School Class of 2025 as the Chargers celebrated graduation on the afternoon of Tuesday, May 27. During the commencement exercise held at 1 p.m. at Regency Furniture Stadium, 257 diplomas and certificates were conferred.
Samantha Kindall, Lackey’s valedictorian and captain of the girls soccer and lacrosse teams, recalled how advice from her father continues to resonate with her. When Kindall was an 8-year-old running sprints in the backyard, ready to quit, her father, who she called her first coach, told her to “dig deep.”
“That phrase ‘dig deep’ stuck with me,” she said. “Digging deep wasn’t just about sports or schoolwork. It was how I got through setbacks, self-doubt and the pressure we all feel. Because let’s be honest – we all have those moments where we question ourselves, yet we push through.”
As Kindall heads to North Carolina this fall to attend High Point University where she will major in criminal justice, salutatorian Jordyn Oliver will stay closer to home. She’ll study diagnostic medical sonography at the College of Southern Maryland.
It is there Oliver hopes to keep her streak alive – whatever that might be. She encouraged her classmates to find something they are passion about and keep it up – continue the streak. At Lackey, Oliver kept her streak alive of achieving the highest scores possible in Advanced Placement (AP) chemistry and calculus.
“Everyone of us has a streak,” Oliver said. “Whether it is in academics or sports or just in general life, there is something that every one of us treasures enough to not give it up. Even when you seem like you cannot keep going, please remember your streak.”
The Lackey Class of 2025, which netted more than $22 million in scholarship offers, shared memories in a end-of-year video. To view the advice and remarks from students, click here.
There are five more CCPS graduations slated for this week. Inclement weather may cause changes to dates and times of ceremonies. For the most up-to-date information, visit www.ccboe.com.
About CCPS
Charles County Public Schools provides 28,162 students in grades prekindergarten through 12 with an academically challenging education. Located in Southern Maryland, Charles County Public Schools has 38 schools that offer a technologically advanced, progressive and high quality education that builds character, equips for leadership and prepares students for life, careers and higher education.
The Charles County public school system does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age or disability in its programs, activities or employment practices. For inquiries, please contact Dr. Mike Blanchard, Title IX/ADA/Section 504 Coordinator (students) or Nikial M. Majors, Title IX/ADA/Section 504 Coordinator (employees/ adults), at Charles County Public Schools, Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building, P.O. Box 2770, La Plata, MD 20646; 301-932-6610/301-870-3814. For special accommodations call 301-934-7230 or TDD 1-800-735-2258 two weeks prior to the event. CCPS provides nondiscriminatory equal access to school facilities in accordance with its Use of Facilities rules to designated youth groups (including, but not limited to, the Boy Scouts).