North Point High School kicked off the Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) 2023 graduation season on a breezy and overcast Tuesday, May 30. The cloud cover did nothing to dampen the celebration that saw 425 North Point students receive their diplomas.  

Julianne Tinana and Amira Abujuma led the Eagles as valedictorian and salutatorian, respectively.  

Abujuma, who served as the Student Member of the Board of Education for the 2022-2023 school year, may see Tinana on campus as she too heads to University of Maryland, College Park. Tinana plans to study economics and finance, while Abujuma will major in aerospace engineering. She plans to minor in science, technology, ethics and policy. Both Tinana and Abujuma earned full ride scholarships to school.  

Abujuma said she often calls on her favorite quote. “Be the change you want to see,” Abujuma said. “Each of us has the power to initiate change through understanding and the use of our voice,” she said. 

Tinana spoke of her experience as a student. “If you know me, you know I have the tendency to stress out, to hold myself to a standard of perfection,” she said. While that tendency put her on the path to becoming valedictorian, Tinana reminded her peers to look back on the smaller moments, the mundane. “High school matters,” she said. “Winning a football championship matters, prom matters, graduation matters. But it’s those day into between those big deal days that matter most.”  

North Point students earned a record $61,764,398 in scholarship offers this year – the scholarship totals are expected to rise as more offers come in. This is the highest scholarship total to date for North Point graduates. CCPS will hold graduation ceremonies through June 2 at Regency Furniture Stadium in Waldorf. Visit www.ccboe.com for the most up-to-date Class of 2023 details.  

About CCPS

Charles County Public Schools provides 27,598 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).