Last Wednesday, May 21, King’s Academy held its annual commencement to celebrate the Class of 2025. This culmination of students’ work was held on Commencement Lawn beneath the shadow of the clocktower and attended by friends, siblings, parents, and grandparents of our graduates. The ceremony began with a procession, with robed faculty and seniors marching excitedly after His Majesty King Abdullah II, who had graced us with his presence.

Speeches then began, with our Head of School Mrs. Penny Townsend introducing and extolling the class of 2025. She spoke briefly of the ever-present friendship she had witnessed from this class at their many bonding events, including Senior Sunrise and their Wadi Rum trip. The event then turned to its student speakers. King’s Academy’s commencements feature two speeches by its students—one in Arabic and another in English. The Arabic speaker was Lyth Shwayat, who gave a touching speech which honored both the age of his fellow seniors and the school—18 years of age. After Lyth’s speech came the English oration, which was written and read by Jana Zalatimo. She spoke about the nerves with which she had approached writing her speech and the tentative eagerness with which she (and her peers) considered their next steps in life.

The King Abdullah II Award and the Academy Cup were then presented. The King Abdullah II Award is given each year to a graduating student who “most fully embodies the ethos, spirit and guiding principles of the Academy.” This year, that was Suleiman Al-Khayyat. The Academy Cup, bestowed on the “leading scholar of the graduating class whose academic work has been characterized by deep scholarship, curiosity, and a love of learning” was presented to Ziyue Jiang. Both young men ascended the stage to be presented with their achievements.

King’s Academy’s guest speaker was Kareem Ayyad, whose company Teammates.ai landed him on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2023. Mr. Ayyad graduated from King’s in 2012. He spoke of the importance of the lessons he learned at King’s, including self-belief and curiosity. Mr. Ayyad enumerated the problem he had initially faced with his research and encouraged students to remember that while each career path comes with its own hurdles, it is still worth the effort it takes to leap them.

Students were then called to the stage alphabetically to collect their diplomas and greet His Majesty. The ceremony then dispersed into the Refectory Square for refreshments and emotional farewells. It was a beautiful final day on campus for the Class of 2025, the weather working in harmony with the day’s events to set a temperate and sunny scene as our new graduates celebrated. As our former seniors step into the world, we wish them well and, using the words of Mr. Ayyad, encourage them to “Be the future!”