Charles County Public Schools honored 2,071 seniors during high school graduation ceremonies that take place at the Charles County Convocation Center at North Point High School.
Students in the Class of 2018 have earned a record amount of scholarship offers for a graduating class, with offers totaling nearly $122 million. This is an increase of more than $43 million from last school year.
Valedictorians and salutatorians were announced earlier this week and represent the top academic achievers at each school. These positions are determined by student grade-point averages. The Class of 2018 earned a total number of $121,523,748 in scholarship offers.
Leading the Henry E. Lackey High School Class of 2018 as valedictorian is David “DJ” Nelson of Indian Head. Helping to lead the Lackey senior class is Eden Williams of Port Tobacco. Nelson will attend Penn State University in the fall and plans to study mechanical engineering. Williams was accepted to Towson University where she will study international relations.
La Plata High School’s valedictorian for the Class of 2018 is Elena Quartararo of La Plata, and salutatorian is Kyle Dunn, also of La Plata. Quartararo will attend the University of Maryland College Park in the fall and plans to major in engineering. Dunn also heads to the University of Maryland College Park in the fall and plans to study engineering.
Elizabeth Saoud of La Plata leads the Maurice J. McDonough High School senior class as valedictorian, followed by Charlie Shin, who is also from La Plata, as class salutatorian. Saoud heads to Harvard University in the fall to study Biology and pre-medicine. Shin will attend the University of Maryland College Park and plans to study computer science.
Noah Kidwell of Pomfret leads the North Point High School Class of 2018 as valedictorian. Michael Meade of Waldorf is class salutatorian. Kidwell will attend The Ohio State University in the fall to study biomedical engineering. Meade will study materials science and engineering at NC State University in the fall.
Valedictorian of the St. Charles High School Class of 2018 is Kade Pruitt of Waldorf. Hunter Donn of Hughesville is class salutatorian. Pruitt will attend Texas A&M University in the fall and plans to study mechanical engineering. Donn heads to the University of Maryland College Park in the fall and will major in mechanical engineering.
Thomas Stone High School’s valedictorian is Semaj Rascoe of Waldorf. Class salutatorian is Skyler Wells of Waldorf. Rascoe plans to study finance at Loyola University Maryland. Wells heads to York College of Pennsylvania in the fall and plans to study nursing.
Jazmine Valentine of White Plains is the valedictorian for Westlake High School’s Class of 2018. Salutatorian is Margarita Santos of Waldorf. Valentine will attend Hood College in the fall and plans to major in psychology. Santos heads to Mount St. Mary’s University in the fall and plans to study Biology.
2018 graduation numbers by school (scholarship numbers may increase as offers are received).
Photos from all high school graduations will be posted on the school system website at http://www.ccboe.com/index.php/graduation-2018 following each ceremony.
Henry E. Lackey High School
- Total graduates: 214
- Scholarship offers: $12,713,138
La Plata High School
- Total graduates: 285
- Scholarship offers: $13,905,765
Maurice J. McDonough High School
- Total graduates: 222
- Scholarship offers: $9,654,212
North Point High School
- Total graduates: 448
- Scholarship offers: $37,857,312
St. Charles High School
- Total graduates: 330
- Scholarship offers: $21,402,231
Thomas Stone High School
- Total graduates: 260
- Scholarship offers: $10,055,503
Westlake High School
- Total graduates: 312
- Scholarship offers: $15,935,587
Charles County Public Schools Totals
- Total graduates: 2,071
- Scholarship offers: $121,523,748
The Charles County Public Schools Class of 2018 earned a record amount of scholarships this year, with total offers equaling $121,523,748. Valedictorians and salutatorians for each high school were announced earlier this week and represent the top academic achievers in their class. Pictured, front row from left, are Margarita Santos, Westlake High School salutatorian; Jazmine Valentine, Westlake valedictorian; Kade Pruitt, St. Charles High School valedictorian; Hunter Donn, St. Charles salutatorian; and Skyler Wells, Thomas Stone High School salutatorian. Pictured, middle row from left, are David “DJ” Nelson, Henry E. Lackey High School valedictorian; Eden Williams, Lackey salutatorian; Elizabeth Saoud, Maurice J. McDonough High School valedictorian; Elena Quartararo, La Plata High School valedictorian; Charlie Shin, McDonough salutatorian; Noah Kidwell, North Point High School valedictorian; and Michael Meade, North Point salutatorian. Pictured, back row from left, are Kyle Dunn, La Plata salutatorian; and Semaj Rascoe, Stone valedictorian.
