Path of growth, discovery leads to graduation for Brunswick

Brunswick High School graduate Zoe Razunguzwa stood before her peers at their graduation ceremony Tuesday, recounting the successes and challenges of their education together, from kindergarten through senior year.

“From the early days of finger painting and alphabet songs to our final days of exams and college applications, we’ve traveled a path marked by growth, discovery and transformation,” she said. “Here we are, together again, our one last shared moment in time: graduation.”

The graduating class was 192 students, Brunswick High School Principal Christopher Berry said at the ceremony held at Knott Arena at Mount St. Mary’s University. The arena was decked out in the school’s garnet and gold colors, and graduates wore garnet caps and gowns.

During the ceremony, graduates Keira McDonald and Alexandra Swam, who is also the class of 2024's president, performed “My Way,” a song from the late 1960s made famous by Frank Sinatra. The duo played acoustic guitars at the front of the stage in their caps, gowns and heels.

In her brief remarks, Swam invited her fellow graduates to relax and take in the celebration.

"Enjoy every moment of today because we are here to celebrate our achievements and accomplishments. We did it," she said.

Frederick County Public Schools Superintendent Cheryl Dyson addressed the students, as did Board of Education Vice President Rae Gallagher.

“Keep on learning and leading as you complete this portion of your educational journey and step into your next one,” Gallagher said during the ceremony. “Always remember your roots and the pride of being a Railroader. We hope you carry this pride with you wherever you go.”

Graduate Eliana Thompson told The Frederick News-Post she's heading to Fort Valley State University in Georgia, a historically Black university, to start her four-year degree. She joined a creative writing class during her senior year and published her pieces in The Creative Conductor, according to an article in Brunswick High School's Garnet & Gold Gazette.

Thompson and Isleina Mena, another graduate, said they each had a family member flying in from Florida to attend the ceremony.

As they waited to line up to enter the arena, they considered what they enjoyed the most about their high school.

“I’m going to miss this community a lot,” Mena said. “Every single person knows each other here.”

Susan Rudy, a longtime part of that community as a member of the cafeteria staff at Brunswick High, was also leaving the school this academic year, Berry said during the ceremony.

"Susan Rudy has been serving lunch at Brunswick High School longer than many of you present here have been alive. Yes, 37 years to be exact," he said as many of the ceremony's attendees applauded. "Ms. Rudy is a friendly face that so many of you who have attended Brunswick know and love, making sure that no child goes hungry."

In his own remarks before students received their diplomas, Berry said 48% of the graduating class had academic honors.

"Your class began your high school career as virtual students, progressed to hybrid students; sometimes live, sometimes on a screen, it didn't matter," he said. "You have found numerous ways to contribute to the Brunswick school community and you kept us on our toes. You've been a smart, creative, talented bunch, 192 strong. I'm very proud to know so many of you as individuals and serve as your principal."

Lucien LaCasse, another graduate, told the News-Post that he only had the future on his mind.

“It’s the end of high school, but the start of everything else,” he said.