Madelyn Ball, principal of The John Carroll School, noted that, while there are many differences between her and the 176 members of the school's Class of 2016, there is a one big similarity.
"You and I are stepping out into the unknown," she said during the 49th annual commencement, held Saturday morning on the Bel Air private school's football field.
The graduates are moving on to the next phases of their lives, either college or work, and Ball is also moving on after five years as John Carroll's principal.
"It's scary when you don't have all the answers," she said.
Ball is moving to Baltimore to be closer to family. Her last day will be June 30, according to school spokesperson Joe Schuberth.
She recalled one of the graduates talking about "finding his style in his art" for his senior project, which made her think about "finding the style in my life."
Her style is prioritized as "God first, family second and job third."
"I ask you today, what is the style of your life?" she asked the graduates.
Ball praised the graduates for their commitment to community service – they completed 19,716 service hours, collectively – and they also reached out to a classmate, Michael Tertsea, and raised enough money for his mother to travel from Nigeria to see her son graduate.
"Class of 2016, you've got style," Ball said. "I love you and I'll miss you."
School President Richard O'Hara presented an honorary diploma to Ball.
"She has strived to do, first, what is in your best interest, and the interest of all of the students," O'Hara said.
"This is very special, thank you very much," Ball said as she accepted the diploma.
Ball listed some of the Class of 2016's accomplishments. The graduates will attend 94 colleges and universities in 21 states – three graduates will attend military service academies. Ball said 83 percent of the class will attend a four-year school and 15 percent a two-year school.
Graduates have reported earning more than $10.1 million, collectively, in scholarships.
"Congratulations and Godspeed to the Class of 2016," Ball said.
Madison Reed is the class salutatorian. She transferred to John Carroll from Patterson Mill High School for her junior year, and she will attend Johns Hopkins University in the fall.
"I am your peer, getting the same diploma with the same uncertainty about what lies ahead," she said.
Reed described her search for wise and inspiring thoughts for her speech, a search that took her online and looking through greeting cards at Target.
"What makes John Carroll special are things that cannot be written down [easily]," she said.
Reed encouraged her classmates to remember "the JC family that your have made here and all the Patriots behind you."
Claire Grunewald is the class valedictorian. She is a winner of the Judith Resnik Award, bestowed by the Harford County branch of the American Association of University Women for achievements in math and science, and she will attend Lafayette College in Pennsylvania.
Grunewald, a coffee lover, said her classmates can be their best selves if they use the right blend of ingredients, "just like making the perfect cup of coffee."
She said that blend should include determination, compassion and a sense of unity.
Each member of her class contributed his or her own skill or talent, she said, and that mixture "has flavored us and brewed us into the community we are today."
"I couldn't have asked for a better group of friends to share these last four years with," Grunewald said.
Edward Hopkins, Harford County's director of emergency services and a 1975 graduate of John Carroll, is this year's recipient of the Rev. Charles K. Riepe Alumni Award, named for the school's first president.
"It is the highest honor that can be conferred to our alumni," O'Hara said.
Hopkins, a Bel Air native, was honored for his decades of public service in the Harford County Sheriff's Office, the Bel Air Volunteer Fire Company and as a Bel Air town commissioner and mayor, as well as his commitment to volunteering in the community and his commitment to family – Hopkins has three sons.
Hopkins was also the commencement speaker.
"I am truly blessed to be in a community this has allowed me to foster my personal growth and professional growth," Hopkins said. "I do not take this honor lightly."
He stressed to the graduates that "life is a team sport," and they should remember the many members of the community who helped them along the way, and then turn around and give back to their communities.
He encouraged them to remember "each interaction, each deed, no matter how big or how small," can shape the person with whom they are interacting.
"Never underestimate the impact you have on others," Hopkins said.
Graduates celebrate
The graduates, who are the newest Patriot alumni, gathered in the school courtyard and in the halls after the commencement, posing for pictures with family as well as faculty members.
Social studies teacher Rodney Johnson greeted graduate Kurt Rawlings, 19, of Bel Air, who will play football at Yale University.
"Congratulations, have fun at Yale," Johnson said.
"I'll be back soon," Rawlings replied.
Rawlings, a John Carroll football player, is this year's male winner of a $5,000 scholarship from the Al Cesky Scholarship Fund, honoring Harford County's student athletes. Bel Air High School's Andrea Sipos was the female winner.
Rawlings could not attend the May 18 awards banquet because he was on a school mission trip in Honduras. He was among 24 candidates for the $5,000 scholarship, who he called a "great group of student athletes."
"It's amazing honor and a great blessing," he said.
Rawlings, who plans to study either economics or global affairs at Yale, also expressed fondness for his classmates and school.
"Knowing that I still have a strong community here to come back to is a good feeling," he said.
Kevin Kangu, an 18-year-old international student from Burlington, Ontario, Canada, who was recruited to play basketball for the Patriots, said graduating gave him "a great feeling."
"It's been a big community," he said of his class. "It's wonderful; they do a lot of things together, everybody's been one [family]."
Graduate Shuang Wu, 19, is an international student from Hangzhou, China.
"I feel like I will miss school a lot, and I think I will come back," she said.
Wu plans to study psychology at the University of Iowa. She expressed fondness for Ball, the outgoing principal.
"She's always been respectful, and she's always helping us, especially international students," Wu said. "She's not only like a teacher but also like a friend."