News: Graduation Speakers Set for Loudoun Schools

Special to VivaLoudoun via Loudoun County Public Schools

(May 27, 2011) - So two doctors, two judges and a reverend all walk into ... wait, wait ... what we meant to say they all give a graduation speech! The VivaLoudoun Fox waited by the phone but, alas, better speakers were picked ... here is the 2011 graduation speaker list for Loudoun County Public Schools:


The speakers have been set for the 15 Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) graduation and completion ceremonies that will mark the end of the 2010-2011 school year.

Following is a rundown of these ceremonies in alphabetical order:

Academy of Science
Date: Friday, June 10th
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: School Board Meeting Room, Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) Administrative Offices
Number of Graduates: 60
Guest Speaker: Shawn Hardnett, leadership coach, New Leaders for New Schools. Of the 29 boys who grew up on Hardnett's street in Rochester, N.Y., 17 are in prison, three are dead and only five graduated high school. Hardnett, a graduate of a science magnet high school is the only one to obtain a college degree. He has extensive experience in science education, has founded and directed schools and is now training principals in Washington, D.C.


Adult Education and GED Graduation
Date: Friday, June 3rd
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Stone Bridge High School Auditorium
Number of Graduates: 170
Guest Speaker: Attorney Sherri L. Williams. Williams received her doctor of jurisprudence from the Delaware Law School of Widener University. She has been a program director at Sanford Brown College, for the Bachelor of Science and Associate Degree Criminal Justice programs. Williams also served as a job coordinator in Philadelphia, where she was responsible for planning, developing and implementing programs to help prepare single-parent and homeless clients for job placement. She also served as executive director, in the Office of the Mayor, in the City of Wilmington, Del., and as a project director for Occupational Services Inc., a non-profit organization created to train and place clients in positions in the banking industry.


Briar Woods High School
Date: Saturday, June 18th
Time: 2 p.m.
Location: George Mason University Patriot Center
Number of Graduates: 329
Guest Speaker: Rev. Charles L. Howard. Dr. Howard served in both hospice and hospital chaplaincies before being appointed chaplain of the University of Pennsylvania in 2008. He has worked for Project H.O.M.E., a homeless service and advocacy group in Philadelphia. He co-founded the Greater Love Movement, a non-profit centered on the needs of the homeless. Dr. Howard also teaches in the university's Programs for Awareness in Cultural Education (PACE) and at the Lutheran Theological Seminary of Philadelphia.

All-Night Graduation Party: 9 p.m. June 18th until 5:30 a.m. June 19th at Adventure Park USA.


Broad Run High School
Date: Saturday, June 18th
Time: 10 a.m.
Location: George Mason University Patriot Center
Number of Graduates: 357
Guest Speaker: Mark Calabria, director of financial regulation studies at the Cato Institute. Dr. Calabria spent seven years on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs before joining the Cato Institute in 2009. During his service on Capitol Hill, he drafted significant portions of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, which established a new regulatory regime for government-sponsored enterprises.

Dr. Calabria also served as deputy assistant secretary for regulatory affairs for the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development and held a variety of positions at Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies, the National Association of Home Builders and the National Association of Realtors.

All-Night Graduation Party: 11 p.m. June 18th until 6 a.m. June 19th at the Ashburn Sports Pavilion. The theme will be “Las Vegas.”
Community-Organized Baccalaureate: 2 p.m., Sunday, June 12th, at Ashburn Presbyterian Church.

Campus Celebration
Date: Tuesday, May 31st
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: School Board Meeting Room, Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) Administrative Offices
Number of Honorees: 123
Guest Speaker: Chonya Davis-Johnson, founder of the Davis -Johnson Education Resource Foundation. The foundation hosts an annual Executive Youth Leadership Summit at the United States Capitol. Approximately 200 students ages 10–18 from the Washington, D.C., area attend this youth summit yearly. CAMPUS program students have participated in the youth leadership summit the past two years.

Davis-Johnson is widely known for her work in politics as a government affairs consultant, legislative aide and as a district director to members of Congress. She recently authored her first book, “The L Factor: 8 Factors for Cultivating the Leader Within


Dominion High School
Date: Saturday, June 18th
Time: 9 a.m.
Location: Dominion High School Football Stadium
Number of Graduates: 290

Guest Speaker: English teacher Karrie Rinder. Rinder has taught English at Dominion for seven years and has taught members of the Class of 2011 for four consecutive years.

All-Night Graduation Party: 11 p.m. June 18th until 5 a.m. June 19th at Dominion High School. The theme will be “Beach Blast.”


Freedom High School
Date: Friday, June 17th
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: George Mason University Patriot Center
Number of Graduates: 407
Guest Speaker: J. Hamilton Lambert, executive director of the Claude Moore Charitable Foundation. Lambert served as county executive for Fairfax County between 1980 and 1990. A graduate of Loudoun County High School, he also is the founder of J. Hamilton Lambert and Associates, a management and consulting firm that provides management services to governments, businesses and individuals.

All-Night Graduation Party: 11 p.m. June 17th until 5 a.m. June 18th at the Hard Rock Café in Washington, D.C.


Heritage High School
Date: Monday, June 20th
Time: 9 a.m.
Location: Heritage High School Football Stadium
Number of Graduates: 438
Guest Speaker: Judge J. Frank Buttery. Judge Buttery, who sits in the Loudoun County General District Court, graduated from Loudoun County High School, James Madison University and the T.C. Williams School of Law of the University of Richmond.

All-Night Graduation Party: 10:30 p.m. June 20th until 5 a.m. June 21st at the Ida Lee Recreation Complex in Leesburg. The theme will be “Road Trip.”


Loudoun County High School
Date: Friday, June 17th
Time: 8 a.m.
Location: Lawn in front of Loudoun County High School
Number of Graduates: 363
Guest Speaker: Siegfried Behrens, general manager for U.S. Education for Microsoft. In his position, Behrens is in charge of supporting kindergarten through 12th grade and higher education across America. He has been with Microsoft since 1995 and holds a bachelor's degree in international politics from Pennsylvania State University.

All-Night Graduation Party: 11 p.m. June 17th until 5 a.m. June 18th at the Ida Lee Recreation Complex in Leesburg. The theme will be “Mardi Gras.”


Loudoun Valley High School
Date: Saturday, June 18th
Time: 9 a.m.
Location: Leonard Stadium at Loudoun Valley High School
Number of Graduates: 570
Guest Speaker: Judge Thomas D. Horne. Judge Horne sits in the Loudoun County Circuit Court. He has been active in Loudoun County's youth lacrosse and soccer leagues and was founder of the Loudoun Bar Association's Leadership in Law Camp. Judge Horne is the recipient of the Harry L. Carrico Outstanding Career Service Award and was named the Loudoun Times-Mirror's 2010 Citizen of the Year.

All-Night Graduation Party: 3 p.m. June 18th until 12:45 a.m. June 19th on Odyssey Cruise.
Community-Organized Baccalaureate: 2 p.m., Sunday, June 12th, in the Loudoun Valley High School auditorium.

C.S. Monroe Technology Center
Date: Monday, June 13th
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Heritage High School Auditorium
Number of Graduates: 218
Guest Speaker: 33rd District Delegate Joe May. May founded EIT in 1977. He is a graduate of Virginia Tech and a professional engineer with an extensive background in circuit design. He holds 22 patents. May is author of numerous technical papers. In 1996, he was presented Virginia's Lifetime Achievement Award for Industry.


Park View High School
Date: Monday, June 20th
Time: 2 p.m.
Location: George Mason University Patriot Center
Number of Graduates: 276
Guest Speaker: Dr. Robert Templin Jr., president of Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) since 2002. Dr. Templin has increased NOVA's enrollment to 18,000 students and opened three new centers during his tenure. He has been named one of “Washington's 150 Most Powerful People.”

All-Night Graduation Party: 11 p.m. June 20th until 5:30 a.m. June 21st at Park View High School. The theme will be “Cartoon.”


Potomac Falls High School
Date: Thursday, June 16th
Time: 8 p.m.
Location: Potomac Falls High School Football Stadium
Number of Graduates: 421
Guest Speaker: Dr. R.F. “Rick” Shangraw, senior vice president for the Office of Knowledge Enterprise Development (OKED) at Arizona State University. OKED brings together those involved in research and discovery, innovation, entrepreneurship and commercialization in a way that advances the generation of knowledge, integration and utilization. Before coming to Arizona State, Dr. Shangraw was the founder and CEO of Project Performance Corporation, a research and technology firm specializing in environmental, energy and information-management issues.

All-Night Graduation Party: 11 p.m. June 16th to 4 a.m. June 17th at Claude Moore Regional Park Recreation Center.


Stone Bridge High School
Date: Thursday, June 16th
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: George Mason University Patriot Center
Number of Graduates: 467
Guest Speaker: Judge Thomas D. Horne. Judge Horne sits in the Loudoun County Circuit Court. He has been active in Loudoun County's youth lacrosse and soccer leagues and was founder of the Loudoun Bar Association's Leadership in Law Camp. Judge Horne is the recipient of the Harry L. Carrico Outstanding Career Service Award and was named the Loudoun Times-Mirror's 2010 Citizen of the Year.

All-Night Graduation Party: 11:30 p.m. June 16th until 5 a.m. June 17th at Stone Bridge High School. The theme is “Bulldogs in Paradise.”

Young Adults Program
Date: Wednesday, June 15th
Time: 1:30 p.m.
Location: School Board Meeting Room, Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) Administrative Offices
Number of Graduates: 5
Guest Speaker: LCPS Superintendent Dr. Edgar B. Hatrick III. Dr. Hatrick has been Loudoun's superintendent since May 1991 and was recently honored for his 45 years of service to the school district.