With all the pomp and circumstance benefitting graduates, the Class of 2024 of Maurice J. McDonough High School marched to the field of Regency Furniture Stadium Thursday, May 30, one last time together as classmates.
The class of 252 graduates was led by valedictorian Noah Cusack and salutatorian Aiden Gibney. Gibney, who will attend the University of Maryland, College Park, said when he received the call that he would be the salutatorian, he found himself annoyed.
“I really just didn’t want to write another essay,” he said. After some thought, he realized it would be a great opportunity. “Meeting this moment with apathy wouldn’t do me any good. This is a lesson I have learned over the past four years especially and I think will apply forever. Don’t meet life with apathy. Every single day that you wake up is an opportunity to learn something, to make a new friend, to make someone else smile or to work toward your goals.”
Cusack will attend the University of Tennessee in the fall. He reminded his peers how far they have come since their freshmen year when they started high school over Zoom. “Even in our sophomore year, when school returned to ‘normal,’ this was a new normal,” he said. “We were able to adapt and overcome obstacles, paving our way in unprecedented times. This ability to adapt and overcome has been a valuable theme I have noticed in both myself and the entirety of our class.”
Cusack urged his classmates to remember that they can make it through challenges, because they already have. “We have all made it here today,” he said. “Regardless of the challenges we’ve experienced, you found a way through to a brighter place. Class of 2024, when you leave this stadium today as graduates, I challenge you all to keep it up. Continue to adapt, continue to overcome, pave your own path on this wild ride of life we have ahead of us. It won’t always be easy but if there’s anything to take away from high school, it’s that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. We can accomplish anything we put our minds to.”
McDonough’s Class of 2024 earned more than $19 million in scholarship offers. North Point High School will close out the CCPS graduation week on Friday, May 31, with a 9 a.m. ceremony held at Regency Furniture Stadium. CCPS is livestreaming all graduations at www.ccboe.com and on its Vimeo and YouTube channels. Go to https://www.ccboe.com/quick-links/graduation-2024.
