CHESTERTOWN — Valedictorian of the Class of 2012, Brandon Cook returned on Friday night to alma mater Chestertown Christian Academy where he previously also had been a math teacher.
He’s now Pastor Brandon Cook, having earned a Master of Divinity last year.
The occasion of this reunion on May 22 was the school’s commencement, and Cook was the featured speaker.
“I quickly fell in love with this class. They were fun and hardworking,” Cook said of the 10 soon-to-be high school graduates facing him.
He said the Class of 2026 was “always a class I could count on, and would bring a smile to my face.”
Promising that these would be the last words of instruction that they would hear as students at CCA, Cook began his commencement address in earnest by reciting 2 Timothy 2:8 — “Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel.”
In this verse, the Apostle Paul, jailed and about to be executed, reminds Timothy of these foundational truths so Timothy will not give up when he faces his own trials.
Paul wrote two letters to his protege Timothy. We learn from these letters that Timothy was young; a gifted individual; both a preacher and an evangelist; a missionary who travels with Paul; and he was imprisoned for being a witness to God.
“Why would that kind of person need to be told to remember Jesus Christ?” Pastor Cook asked.
“It’s because of our forgetfulness,” he answered.
“We need to keep learning the lessons over and over again because we keep forgetting.”
Speaking directly to the graduating seniors, Cook acknowledged that as they begin to think about what the next 10 years will look like — college, career, marriage, family and the inevitability of difficulties — it will be easy to lose sight of Jesus.
Don’t.
“I want you to be active in remembering his glorious presence, his perfect life, his sacrificial death and his glorious resurrection,” Cook said.
This was the 47th commencement for Chestertown Christian Academy.
In her welcome, Principal Lynn Poore pointed out the Class of 2026’s “unwavering dedication to excellence, extraordinary potential and exceptional abilities and promise.”
Listed alphabetically, the graduates are Madelyn Serene Alton, Jace Kelley Barnes, Kyleigh Grace Batchelor, Katrina Danae Beachy, Thomas William Benson, Craig Eli Clark, Lily Grace Miller, Lily Anna Quick-Gagnon, Johnathan Ellis Stoltzfus Jr. and Megan Lin Stoltzfus.
In what has become tradition, CCA celebrated its commencement on the eve of the extended Memorial Day weekend with ceremonies in the adjoining Chestertown Baptist Church. The formal ceremony took place in the front of the church in the altar area, where Pastor Rudy Draper handed out diplomas and Principal Poore turned the tassel on the cap of each of the graduates.
Lily Miller was the class valedictorian and Maddie Alton the salutatorian.
In voting by the faculty, high school juniors and their senior classmates, Craig Clark was chosen as Mr. CCA and Megan Stoltzfus was selected Miss CCA as the best representatives of what it means to be a Chestertown Christian Academy student.
Megan Stoltzfus, who is headed to Liberty University in Virginia as part of a career path as a traveling nurse, received scholarships from the Chestertown Lions Club [$1,000] and the Galena Lions Club [$2,500] as well as a 4.0 GPA Scholarship of $6,500 per year from Liberty.
Alton, who also is pursuing a career in nursing, also received a 4.0 GPA Scholarship and an SAT Scholarship of $1,000 per year from Liberty.
Batchelor, who is preparing for a career in cosmetology, was awarded a $500 scholarship from the Galena Lions Club and $11,000 in grants and scholarships from the Aveda Institute.
Stoltzfus and Alton were co-recipients of Chestertown Christian Academy’s Rachel and Sara Baugher Scholarship, each receiving $1,000. The scholarship is named for Rachel Baugher, a 2006 CCA graduate and class valedictorian who was killed in a car crash in 2007, and her grandmother. Rachel Baugher was attending Pensacola Christian College where she had been accepted in the nursing program.
The four seniors who spoke worked 1 Peter 4:11 into their speeches: Megan Stoltzfus, “The Steward of Talents-The Power of Your Voice;” Clark, “The Vision of the Architect-Mirror vs. Spotlight;” Alton, “The Strength of the Servant-The Secret to Resilience;” and Miller, “The Final Doxology-The ‘Amen’ is Just the Beginning.”
[Their speeches can be found on The Evening Enterprise website.]
The presentation of diplomas, with each graduate being called to the dais, followed Pastor Brandon Cook’s commencement address.
Then, after being passed the “torch of excellence,” the rising seniors in the Class of 2027 led the recessional to a recording of “Pomp and Circumstance.”
