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Congratulations to the Thurgood Marshall Academy Public High School Graduating Class of 2007

June 14, 2007

On a beautiful Thursday afternoon, the 2007 graduates of Thurgood Marshall Academy made their way across the Quad of the Howard University campus, caps in hand, cheering in celebration, toward the celebration of everything they had accomplished. After posing for several pictures, the class broke out into group hugs. The reality had set in. They were moving on, many of them away, all of them off to college come fall.

For the 37 members of Thurgood Marshall Academy’s third graduating class, like the classes before them, the importance of graduation was not taken lightly. They know how hard they have worked over the past four years, and they know the importance of attending college come fall. Conquering difficult challenges has bonded this group together.

It was the strength of these bonds, and the depth of these accomplishments, that made the Commencement Exercises so exuberant. Families, friends, faculty, staff, supporters, and fellow students filled the lower section of Cramton Auditorium to celebrate these students.

Joshua Kern, Co-Founder and President, reflected back on the ninth grade year for the class of 2007, “The quarters were tight and at times it was nearly impossible to navigate passing periods, but it was what we had. The closeness became more than just physical. By the time we moved to our current building, the bond was set. The members of the Class of 2007 would be friends, and even family, for life.” Mr. Kern implored the students to take the education that they have earned over the past four years and craft a future that they, their families, and their school can be proud of.

Albert Herring, Assistant US Attorney for the US Department of Justice, provided a riveting graduation address. “Here in America,” he said, “graduation symbolizes something significant. On the one hand, it marks the conclusion of a process that you began in order to equip yourselves for life. On the other hand, it marks the beginning of your journey that will help shape the course of your life, and what you do with it.” He cited the merits of a Thurgood Marshall Academy and the accomplishments of the Class of 2007. He told the crowd, “Shout it out!”, and the crowd was only to happy to celebrate with him. He celebrated the families, friends, and supporters as much as the students, because, as Thurgood Marshall himself said, “None of us got where we are solely by pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps. We got here because somebody—a parent, a teacher, an Ivy Leave crony or a few nuns—bent down and helped us pick up our boots.”

Members of the Class of 2007 received an impressive number of scholarships and awards, including the following.