For years, seniors have walked across the same stage at the Daughter of the American Revolution (DAR) Constitution Hall to receive their diplomas, making the venue a tradition for students, families and staff. However, this year, the class of 2026 will be holding its graduation ceremony in a completely new location, and school staff have been working together to navigate the financial costs, graduation speakers and other event details that will shape this year’s unique graduation experience.

Instead of Constitution Hall, graduation will be held at the Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). This change in location was a centralized decision by Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) rather than a decision by the school, and this means that graduation this year will be held at UMBC for almost every single high school in the county according to business administrator Arlin De La Rosa and MCPS.

Despite the different venue, the items and services that are needed for this year’s ceremony are mostly similar to what was needed in previous years when graduation was held at Constitution Hall. “We have always had to purchase decorations for the stage, snacks for special guests and buses to transport the Patriot Ambassadors, [choir], instrumental [ensembles] and staff to the venue. MCPS is providing some funding to help cover the cost of the buses and the snacks for guest speakers, which we used to cover years prior,” De La Rosa said.

When booking the venue, buying other necessary services and planning other event details, administration reported not facing any significant challenges due to MCPS managing most of the booking process, which allowed them to organize those aspects of the ceremony smoothly. Administration did report facing difficulties due to the brand-new venue that was unfamiliar to everyone. “Most of the challenges have come from the fact that we have not held a graduation in UMBC before, but it has been very helpful to speak to other graduation coordinators that have,” De La Rosa said.

This year’s graduation speakers will include senior class officers, selected student speakers, Assistant Principal David O’Shell, Principal Joseph Bostic and keynote speaker Kevin Martell. However, there was a recent, sudden change in the planned commencement speaker; until April 30, it was published by MCPS that the keynote speaker would be Jay Bhattacharya, the director of the National Institutes of Health. When asked for clarification, school staff did not specify what the cause of the sudden change was, but confirmed that the change in speakers did occur.

Martell is the recently retired lead security assistant who worked at Robert Frost Middle School. Martell’s connection to students in the graduating class was a large factor in deciding his role as the ceremony’s commencement speaker. “Dr. Bostic and our administration decided to make the change to Mr. Martell to focus on a speaker that represents our community. With his retirement in April, it felt like a great time to honor someone who gave a lot to our community,” graduation coordinator and senior class sponsor Keith Schwartz said.

In addition to the finances and list of speakers, another crucial aspect of graduation is the work that goes on behind the scenes by other students. Patriot Ambassadors has helped out at graduation for years, organizing students and assisting guests in order to help the event run smoothly. Despite the unfamiliar venue, Patriot Ambassadors leadership only reported minor differences compared to Constitution Hall, so the new location will not be a challenge for them. “The Patriot Ambassadors and the seniors also get to practice everything necessary for graduation at a rehearsal the day before graduation. We get the seniors in the correct order, which is leadership and then alphabetical order, with a small subset of senior chorus members. We set up the gym with the correct chair order and we practice processing in and processing out,” Patriot Ambassadors co-sponsor Barbra Silcox said.

Although the location of graduation may be changing, the significance of the ceremony remains the same: celebrating the graduates’ accomplishments and looking ahead to their futures. As seniors prepare to walk across a new stage that none of the seniors from this school have ever walked across before, students, families and staff are looking forward to a memorable ceremony that will mark the end of one journey and the beginning of another.