For 92 years, the hallowed stairs that paves the way up to Kennett High School’s front doors have received the footsteps of thousands of students, faculty and visitors – both ascending and descending.

On Friday evening, June 7, the feet of 346 students in the class of 2024 trod those steps, celebrating their outdoor commencement in front of friends and family

The weather was kind to that 133rd class: it was warm and sunny with slight breezes, as it most often is on those early June days.

In the course of the ceremony, several honor speakers from the senior class took to the stage and address their thoughts on specific topics. This year the theme was close to the hearts of many: the familiar streets of Kennett Square—State, Union, South and Cypress streets.

Class President Claire Pruitt, who had led the seniors’ procession down the steps, introduced her four classmate speakers: Victoria Garcia, Laila Poe, Gerasimos Gerovasiliou and Bryan Calderon.

Pruitt also spoke of place and time, reminding her audience that they often put hurry and “I can’t wait” ahead of savoring events and meanings of the present more thoroughly.

Referring to the 2024 Kennett speech theme, she said, “Someday you will be in a town and say to yourself, ‘This reminds me of Kennett Square.’”

Garcia said her parents are Mexican, and she was born in Costa Rica. She added, “I consider Kennett my home.”

The theme of her speech was State [Street] – the business district.  She said her parents always told her, “America is the land of opportunity. Work hard.” 

Poe, whose theme was Union [Street] – the street that runs north and south -- said her family goes back at least three generations in the town and has a legacy on Union.

“My grandparents are buried in Union Hill Cemetery,” she said. 

Gerovasiliou’s theme was South [Street]. South Street runs past the school tennis courts and the former pond that was a destination for ice skating.

He likened his experience through the grades to an athletic event.

“The beginning at the high school was like the kickoff. …Covid was a delay of game. …Graduating to career or college was a new game plan.”

Calderon’s theme was Cypress [Street]. It runs eastward from the agricultural areas west of town through to the suburbs on the Chadds Ford side.

“All of us are in the driver’s seat. I have been very inspired by my Mexican-American classmates in this one square mile,” he said.

After a musical interlude composed by two members of the class, the students were called to receive their diplomas. They proceeded across the stage erected in the parking lot in view of the large audience seated in the front lawn.

The ceremony was hosted by Kennett Consolidated School District Board of Directors President David Kronenberg.

He greeted the audience and said he was grateful for all the volunteering he has seen. He also suggested that some who were there might someday consider running for public office.

The Kennett High School Symphonic Band was there to provide live music. This year they played the overture from “Les Miserables” as the faculty and administration preceded the graduating seniors down the steps.

In addition to the traditional “Pomp and Circumstance” by Edward Elgar, they accompanied the graduate recession by Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Forever” as well.

Principal Lorenzo DeAngelis announced the two honorary awards: The Advisor’s Cup went to Class President Pruitt, and the Earle Rupert Memorial Cup, the school’s highest honor, went to Gerovasiliou.

DeAngelis closed the commencement by expressing his affection for the members of the class. He called them the first class of graduates from the Mary D. Lang Kindergarten Center and a group that had endured several instances of change in their high school career, including the COVID-19 pandemic.

He also referred to his appointment as high school principal following his position as Kennett Middle School Principal in 2022. Inasmuch as he oversaw their education in the past, he already knew most of them, he said.

He asked the graduates to maintain the high standards of the Kennett Consolidated School District reputation, noting it is so fine that the grandchildren of two previous superintendents had just received their diplomas that evening.

He also said, “Work hard and be kind. If you do, everything else will fall into place.”