Upper Marlboro, MD – They give hurricanes names and categorize them according to strength. On June 4, an amazing potent group of Huntingtown High School (HHS) Hurricanes—with names like Chloe, Darius, Skylar, Janae, Juliet, Luke, Krishna, Karina, Tyler and Autumn—stormed the floor of the Show Place Arena, anticipating that the best years of their lives lay in the future.
According to HHS Principal Rick Weber, 75 percent of the nearly 350 members of the Class of 2015 have toiled in advanced placement (AP) courses. The school scores the highest among Southern Maryland schools and has earned national recognition from Newsweek and the U.S. News and World Report. Nearly 100 of HHS’ graduating seniors have garnered scholarships for a total of over $5 million in financial aid.
Every year, it seems, the HHS grads give Weber plenty to crow about and the Class of 2015 was no exception. The school’s longest-serving principal called this year’s graduating class “talented and involved.” The talents have manifested themselves in academics, athletics, music and theatre.
Class president Kaliyah Gorman, who is headed to Colorado Springs and the U.S. Air Force Academy, called the HHS diploma “the only free thing anyone will ever give you.”
“We’ve become a class,” said graduate of distinction representative Anna Seminara. “We’ve spent the last four years defining ourselves.”
The University of Maryland-bound Seminara reminded her classmates “there will be obstacles” going forward.
The Class of 2015 had a total of 18 graduates with distinction, Calvert County Public Schools’ new system for saluting students with a 95 percent grade point average or higher.
Some of the high notes of the ceremony were achieved, literally, by graduates performing musical selections. Alesha Barreca’s voice filled every corner of the arena with her rendition of The Star Spangled Banner. Erin McPhillips and Kaitlin Harbin teamed up to perform Natasha Bedingfield’s “Unwritten.”
Huntingtown’s underclassmen also performed well. The HHS Band, Orchestra and Chorus provided an excellent interlude with Levland and Graham’s “You Raise Me Up.”
Contact Marty Madden at marty.madden@thebaynet.com
