The 211 graduates of Henry E. Lackey High School celebrated their accomplishments — big and small — during their graduation ceremony June 1 at Regency Furniture Stadium.

“For about 720 days, we have been getting up early, preparing ourselves and keeping it together all for this moment,” Tyne Kidd, president of the Class of 2022, said.

Salutatorian Charlie Klinger agreed. “We have reached a great milestone today,” she said. Klinger quoted rapper Tupac Shakur — “Happy are those who dream dreams and are ready to pay the price to make them come true,” she said. Klinger, who accepted an appointment to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and plans to study marine and environmental science, urged her fellow graduates to find their passion and “just go for it,” she said. “Let us not take the years ahead for granted. Don’t let your story be about what could have been. Let your story be about the dream you lived.”

Morgan Martin, valedictorian, will study biochemistry at Lipscomb University in Nashville with plans to go into the field of neonatal-perinatal medicine. She earned a trustee full tuition scholarship to Lipscomb and a Banneker/Key full scholarship to the University of Maryland, College Park. Martin is a fourth-generation Lackey graduate. Her great-grandmother graduated from Lackey in 1946, her grandparents met at the school before graduating in 1969, and her mother graduated in the 1990s, Martin said. “Lackey has been very good for me the past four years,” Martin said. “Lackey offers relationships with teachers who see you for who we are and are sincerely rooting for our success.”

Principal Kathy Perriello thanked the teachers who have helped shape the character of the students. She also offered her appreciation for the partnerships parents and families built with school staff. Because of the strong relationships between school and home, most students accomplished big wins and — maybe more importantly — small, everyday victories.

“Life is not about collecting trophies. It’s about making the difference in the lives of others,” Perriello said. “Please continue to grow in all that you do. Be the person who you needed when you were hurting, not the person who hurt you.”  

Lackey’s Class of 2022 earned nearly $14 million in scholarship offers. As of June 1 St. Charles, Maurice J. McDonough and Lackey high schools have held ceremonies. For links to view past ceremonies, click here. Westlake students graduate later today. Thomas Stone and La Plata high schools are set to graduate June 2, and North Point High School’s ceremony is scheduled for June 3.

About CCPS

Charles County Public Schools provides 27,000 students in grades prekindergarten through 12 with an academically challenging education. Located in Southern Maryland, Charles County Public Schools has 37 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 Kathy Kiessling, 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).