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Oakcrest Celebrates 39th Graduating Class at Commencement

On Saturday, June 8, Oakcrest said farewell to its 39th graduating class, a talented and exceptional group of 40 young women who will now go on to study at colleges and universities throughout the country, from Notre Dame and the U.S. Military Academy to The College of William & Mary and Cornell University. 
 

This year’s commencement exercises marked the second graduation to take place at Oakcrest’s permanent campus. During the ceremony, two graduating seniors were commissioned into United States Service Academies: Alexandra Murphy to the United States Coast Guard Academy and Cora Haefner to the United States Military Academy. Senior Julie Kilmer—who will be attending the University of Scranton—also received special recognition of her acceptance into the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC). Josephina Ouyang delivered the Valedictory address, while Alexandra Murphy gave the Salutatorian remarks.

Angela Baker Howard, mother of Oakie Annie Howard (‘25), delivered the commencement address. Angela received her BFA in Theatre from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. She performed in numerous shows within the NY area and made her Broadway debut in Tony Randall’s National Actor’s Theatre production of A Little Hotel on the Side at the Belasco Theatre. A career change led her to the field of nursing where she received both a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a Master of Science in Nursing from Columbia University. She currently works as a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner at Capital Caring in Northern Virginia specializing in palliative and hospice care. Angela shared her life’s journey with the graduating class and spoke to them about the importance of trusting God to lead them through their lives, even if their paths are winding or unexpected.
 
The Class of 2019 has left its mark on the Oakcrest community and accomplished much even in its last year of high school. Whether it was being the first group of high school students accepted to present original research at the annual Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP) Conference, leading the first all-girls team in history to the Virginia State Science Olympiad tournament, or performing in The Wizard of Oz for a completely sold-out audience, seniors finished strong.
 
Learn more about a portrait of an Oakcrest graduate here.
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