Talk show host and former OJ Simpson prosecutor Star Jones spoke to the students of the 2012 Westlake High School graduating class about the importance of making good choices. Jones delivered the commencement address at the graduation ceremony in Upper Marlboro on Monday morning.
“It’s an honor to be here with the graduating class of 2012,” Jones said. “You are celebrating the first of many major accomplishments in your lives. The few years after your graduation will the most important years of your lives. When I thought about what to say today, I thought about what I would want to hear if I was sitting out there. If I could go back to my 17 year-old self, I would explain that a person needs just three things you need to be successful in this world. Someone to love, something to do and something to live for… It’s your attitude, not your aptitude, which determines your altitude.”
Star Jones’ nephew, Terrell Jones, is a Westlake High School Class of 2012 graduate.
“It gives me great pride and joy to stand before you and give my remarks on behalf of faculty and staff of WHS,” Westlake High School Principal Chrystal Benson said. “When this class entered the Westlake family, the entire faculty thought this would be a class to remember.”
“Today marks a day in our lives where we celebrate our accomplishments and enter adulthood,” Westlake High School Class of 2012 Valedictorian Felicia Renee Dillard said. “Our friends and family at Westlake have shaped our character. Many of us have made lifelong friends here.”
Daeja Jackson was the class president. Misha Stone gave the salutatory address. The class song for Westlake High School was “End of the Road” by Boys II Men. There were 359 graduates from the Westlake High School Class of 2012 and $8,651,552 in grants and scholarships was given to graduates who will attend college, a record number for any graduating class at Westlake. Most of the students will attend the College of Southern Maryland.
