The King's Academy community gathered in a celebration filled with pride, reflection, and quiet emotion as the graduating Class of 2026 marked a defining moment in their lives at this year’s commencement ceremony. It was a day of joy, and a culmination of years of shared effort, growth, challenge, and belonging.

The ceremony opened with remarks by Head of School Penny Townsend, who welcomed guests and spoke with deep gratitude for the faculty and parents who have accompanied and supported the Class of 2026 throughout their journey. She reflected on a class shaped by change and uncertainty, yet grounded in determination and care for one another. She encouraged graduates to hold on to three guiding values that have defined their time at King's Academy: grit, the belief that each person matters, and a commitment to goodness in a rapidly changing world. “Life will test you,” the Head of School reminded them. “Return anyway.”

Senior voices then brought the ceremony to life in deeply personal ways. In Arabic, Zeina Alkhawaldeh ’26 spoke of identity and belonging, of growing up rooted in culture while stepping confidently into a global world. In English, Jawad Alazzeh ’26 reflected on the quiet doubts that often sit beneath achievement, and on what carried the class forward through them: resilience, curiosity, and tolerance. Together, their words reflected a generation shaped not only by academic rigor, but by shared experience, friendship, and transformation.

One of the highlights of the ceremony was the presentation of the King Abdullah II Award to Nooreddeen Kawaf ’26, and the Academy Cup to Cedric Rwema Baraka ’26 and Jawad Alazzeh ’26, presented by His Royal Highness Prince Hashim bin Al Hussein, in recognition of excellence, leadership, and meaningful contribution to the life of King's Academy.

The commencement address was delivered by King's Academy alumnus Hamza Al Serhan ’13, founder and CEO of the artificial intelligence company OpsHeaven Technologies and professor of AI in the United States. Speaking with honesty and warmth, he traced his journey from the Jordanian city of Mafraq to his global work in technology, reflecting on uncertainty, opportunity, and the long process of becoming. “Success is measured by who else rises with you,” he told graduates, a reminder that achievement is most meaningful when it expands beyond the self.

The ceremony reached its most anticipated moment as each graduate crossed the stage to receive their diploma, greeted with applause from families, teachers, and friends who had walked the journey alongside them. The Class of 2026 was then presented to His Royal Highness Prince Hashim to receive their diplomas, marking not an ending, but a passage from one chapter into the next.

As the formal ceremony came to a close, the gathering moved to Refectory Square, where the atmosphere softened into something more personal. Conversations lingered, laughter and tears mingled, and farewells unfolded slowly, the kind that are difficult to name because they hold so much at once.

The Class of 2026 departed, on their last official day of school, surrounded by the community that helped shape them, carrying forward the lessons, friendships, and values formed at King's Academy. Commencement 2026 stood as both an ending and a beginning, not only a celebration of achievement, but of a journey shared, and many paths now opening ahead.