LA PLATA, Md. — Maurice J. McDonough High School’s Class of 2026 kicked off the graduation season Tuesday for Charles County Public Schools (CCPS).
The June 2 ceremony included 304 graduating seniors led by valedictorian Cynclair Wilson and salutatorian Joseph Ojukwu. Wilson, who will study engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park, urged her fellow graduates to remember they are lucky to be where they are.
She spoke of children and teens around the world who are not promised an education due to circumstances out of their control, such as war, violence, cultural barriers and other issues.
“When we think about high school, we should remind ourselves that our experience attending school and learning is an ability not everyone is afforded,” Wilson said. “Although school can be frustrating and even flawed, it is someplace that many children wish to attend,” she said. “As we celebrate today, please let us also honor those who are actively denied the opportunity to learn like us.”
She encouraged her fellow graduates to use their education and the skills they learned to vote conscientiously, to research where tax dollars go and to “think critically and to think kindly,” Wilson said.
Ojukwu, who will study electrical engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park, also spoke of living a life led by kindness. He recalled the lessons taught outside of classrooms that will remain with him, and he hoped his peers look back on their time at McDonough fondly.
“… As a time in our lives where we have been able to grow into people who are more confident, more understanding, more mature and more loving,” he said.
McDonough’s Class of 2026 earned $22,979,851 in scholarship offers, with more expected to come in. CCPS will continue to celebrate graduations this week at Regency Furniture Stadium. Thomas Stone High School is set to graduate at 1 p.m. June 2, with North Point High School’s commencement ceremony starting at 5 p.m. Tuesday. For more information about graduation, visit Graduation 2026 – Charles County Public Schools.