On June 1, 2011, three hundred and forty one students graduated from Great Mills High School, representing the school’s 82nd commencement ceremony and the first graduation night of the inaugural class of the STEM Academy.

 

As the first graduating class of the STEM Academy, Shefali Shah, STEM Salutatorian, said “We could start out this speech by saying that this is the most important day of your life…. but it is not.” Claire Weber, STEM Valedictorian chimed in, “Being born and getting married hopefully overrides this by a couple of yards.”

 

After thanking teachers and reminiscing about their four years at Great Mills, Shah and Weber told the students, “We all have fears, dreams, and ideas. It is important to help each other and not take yourself too seriously,” then proceeded in playing a Taio Cruz song on a laptop in an attempt to encourage their fellow graduates to forget about what other people think and not take themselves so seriously. Mrs. Tracey Hiebel, the Principal of Great Mills and a few other students participated in dancing to the couple moments of the song that was played.

 

Katelyn Jones, Valedictorian, and Tyler Disarufino, Salutatorian, encouraged the students that even though their high school careers were over, their lives were not. “We may be unsure of what the future may hold for us, but we will succeed,” said Jones, “All these things from our past may seem great, but our lives our just beginning.”

 

As an idea of the possible future that may lay ahead of the graduates, Lt. Michael W. Thompson, the Great Mills Hall of Fame inductee for 2011 said in his speech addressing the graduates, “The road to achieving your dreams is not always the road easily traveled.”

 

As a Great Mills High School graduate of the class of 1988, Thompson had two dreams: to be a United States Marine and a Maryland State Trooper. Since then, he has served as a Sergeant in the Marine Corps Reserve from 1988 to 1994, received a Bachelor and Master of Science degree in management from Johns Hopkins University with a 4.0, and after becoming a Maryland State Trooper, he became the barrack commander of the Maryland State Police in Leonardtown in August 2007.

 

“There’s no doubt that Great Mills graduates can make the world a better place,” said Thompson, a perfect example of how one person’s leadership skills can make a difference. Under his direction, St. Mary’s County has seen a 13% reduction in total crime.