Denzel Washington Lauds The First Graduates Of Namesake School

MOUNT VERNON, NY — The first class of the Denzel Washington School of the Arts graduated on Thursday in a ceremony celebrating the 100 percent graduation rate of the class of 2021 which included video messages from actress Phylicia Rashad as well as the school’s namesake and Mount Vernon native Denzel Washington.

“I’m proud of you, as I know your parents are,” Washington told the graduates. “If you’re an actor or a director, I guess I’ll see you at work.”

The school auditorium that hosted the newly renamed school's first graduation is named for Rashad, who wished the graduates “the very best that life has to offer as you continue your journey in life.”

The graduation ceremony had another special guest as well, student Tommy Guest who made headlines after being shot in the leg in what is described as an unprovoked attack, just 12 days earlier. Guest performed for his classmates, playing a piano version of “House of the Rising Sun.”

The entire senior class of 43 students graduated in the ceremony. The school is expected to grow from its current 425 students to a maximum of 500 students in the upcoming academic years.

The performing and visual arts school began just six years ago as the Mount Vernon Performing and Visual Arts Magnet Program, led by Principal Evelyn Collins. It was renamed last summer after actor, director and producer Denzel Washington, a former alum of the school when it was still named Washington Junior High.

While Denzel Washington H.S. uses performing and visual arts as a foundation, Collins noted at the ceremony that the students are graduating, fully prepared to take on a host of other challenges.

“The school assists students with discovering and nurturing their unique talents, while utilizing an arts framework to support success in academic classes,” Collins said. “By experiencing success in the arts, students transfer their creative skills to the classroom to build and support the cognitive framework and affective mindset necessary to nurture strong readers, mathematicians, thinkers, and learners.”

Collins said the focus on rigorous college prep has paid off with top universities competing to enroll the recent graduates for programs including and beyond performing and visuals arts. This is a sentiment the class of 2021’s top student endorsed on Thursday.

“The determination you hold will carry you far,” valedictorian Alexandra Courtney told her classmates. “You have what it takes to prosper, to thrive. We all do. We just need to take those first few steps, find a steady pace and when you have it, don’t stop. Don’t stop running after your goal until you reach that finish line. Let no one stop you. Not even yourself.”