Hampton City Council Ceremonial Session.

Madam Clerk, you call the roll, please.

Councilman Bowman.

Present.

Vice Mayor Brown.

Here.

Councilwoman Campbell, present.

Councilwoman Fairby.

Present.

Councilwoman Harper, present.

Councilwoman Muggler, present.

Mayor Gray.

Present.

And this evening we have some very special presentations for those in the audience as well as those watching at home.

And so with that, I'm going to turn it over to Mr.

Brian Marcese of uh Marketing Department Outreach Coordinator.

Brian.

Thank you, Mayor Gray, Vice Mayor Brown, members of Council, City Manager Bunting, and City Attorney Sidner.

And welcome to all of our honored guests here joining us tonight.

From our school board here, we have Dr.

Richard Mason, the chair of the school board is here.

And Joe Kilbord is here as well from the school board.

And from Hampton City School's uh leadership, we have Dr.

Raymond Haynes, Superintendent.

And Ms.

Shimika Pollard is here, the chief of secondary school leadership.

So we also have a lot of uh principals and um uh academy uh chairs and stuff like that as well, and I'll talk about them a little bit later as we get through the schools.

Um, but they're all in attendance as well tonight.

Um the main spotlights are some of my personal favorites of the year, and I know you guys as well.

Two weeks ago, we celebrated 69 students who earn their associate's degree before earning their high school diplomas.

Tonight, we turn the spotlight on another group of extraordinary young people, Hampton City Schools, class of 2026, valedictorians and salutatorians.

Every one of these students has a story, and what strikes me each year is how different those stories are from year to year.

Different paths, different passions, different people who lifted them up along the way, but they all share one thing.

They showed up, they did the work, and they distinguished themselves at the very top of their class.

Before we get started, a word to the families in the room.

These students will be the first to tell you, and we have some videos where they do say it, tell you, that they didn't get here alone.

You were in the stands, you're in the carpool line, around the kitchen table at midnight.

The pride that you feel tonight is well earned, so you deserve the credit as well.

So, a little bit of order um for how this is going to work.

So the students um did some interviews with the TV station a few weeks ago, and their longer interviews, and tonight we're gonna play some short clips from those interviews.

Um we're gonna move through the schools in alphabetical order, um, and I'll pause between each school so Mayor Gray and the council members can come forward and give you guys um some plaques and some photos.

Uh parents, um, you're welcome to come up and take pictures as well.

Um, and before I roll the first clip, um, I want to let you know that uh and give a quick shout out to Hampton City School's TV team who interviewed each of these students and produced the videos you're about to see.

Wu Bay Gabray, Matt Buckwalder, Stephen Fryer, Anaya Neal, Alyssa Alpert, their work made this uh all come to life, and so we appreciate them as well.

So, with that, I'd like to um start with Bethel High School.

So, uh leading Bethel High School, you have Dr.

Tanya Howard, the executive principal, and the academy principals for Bethel High School are Charmaine Pace Poole, Travis Oliver, uh Mr.

Patrick McCray, and Miss Uh Catrice Pace Pearce.

Um, Bethel is represented by two students who each bring a genuine sense of purpose and to everything they do.

Uh first is their Bethel's Vallectorian, uh Drury Patel, and their salutatorian Ava Tanner.

And so with that, I'm gonna play the video clip of the two of them.

Let me click it over here.

Hey, I'm Judy Patel.

I'm validatorian of Bethel High School of Classic 2026.

I thought that to be an HDS graduate because it gives me so many opportunities, such as the government school, science and technology, which I've made so many firms that know who I am.

I made professors that have big PhDs, people I would have never met without them.

I've met teachers that have actually confided in me and helped me learn how to believe in myself.

They're they're always telling me you have to be yourself, you can't be someone else.

They were there, they are already taken.

Some people you like to think or acknowledge along this journey of yours so far.

Um person, the main person I would like to thank is my mom.

I want her to know that she's the reason why I'm here today.

She always thinks that she gives her effort and I never acknowledge it.

I see her putting the effort.

She has come to every single game, every single practice, she'll be there, every single like outside of school.

She has supported me.

She has enrolled me into softball.

I never knew what softball was before she bought it out.

Oh wow.

Even though she might not know everything, she might not be as fluent in English.

She'll find a way to make my life better.

I told someone this earlier, I said if my mom wasn't here with me, I wouldn't be the person I am today.

I wouldn't be the person that is sitting here telling everybody about my story.

My dad also, he's a wise man.

Yeah.

He's the type of person that he won't show emotion, but he'll tell you everything in one word.

He'll tell you everything with his eyes, he'll tell you everything by his face.

Me and my dad have the longest talks, the longest chats when we're alone.

And he's always telling me things, and now he's become less, I guess, stricter.

But that's because he's like, you'll learn along the way.

You have to make mistakes to learn, or to better yourself to have growth.

And I've never ever seen my dad cry, but I know once he watches this he will.

Other people I would think, I would thank my siblings.

Without them, without my sisters, random bickering and random, you know, please give me my stuff back, or barging into my room.

I wouldn't have that type of person to like confide in.

She's like my I guess emotional support.

Yeah.

And I cry to her, I tell her everything.

My brother, on the other hand, he's he likes sports.

I'm a big sports person.

And I love playing around with him.

I love, you know, telling him things.

We watch TV till sometimes.

We both love Legos.

So I would say that my family overall is the best thing that's happened to me.

Hello, my name is David Hater.

I'm the 2026 Saludatorian at Bethel High School.

Youth advocacy is a really um strong part of what I do and why I do it.

Um I feel that a lot of youth aren't seen or represented in a lot of communities, not just not saying it's specifically Hampton, however, I just do um think that a lot of youth need to have their voice heard, and it's really important to not shine um a light on just the high achievers.

It's really important to get um all perspectives and all voices in the room because that's how we're able to make our community better.

And I grew up in a household where if you're not good at athletics, you have to be good at academics, and me with my poor hand-eye coordination, it was very blatantly queer which one I had to choose.

So, um, yeah, academics has always been a really, really, really, really big part.

And I've always found learning fun.

Um, my father says, um, you never lose, you either win or you learn.

So every aspect of my life has been a learning experience that I can build off of, and you know, some people you would like to acknowledge or thank along this journey of yours.

Oh my gosh, there's so many.

I did not get here alone, and I cannot stress that enough.

So some special shout-outs would be um my law teacher, Miss Pate.

Um, my counselor, Miss Dumas, obviously my family, everybody in my family.

So my dad, Mimi, Bumpa, Auntie, Uncle D, Kayla, Perry, Gavin, all of you all, um, Miss Jones, my freshman teacher.

I just have so many people to think.

There's so many.

There's it takes a village, and I did not get here alone at all.

Please welcome me in having uh Drew and Aver Drury and Ava come forward, please.

Next, we're gonna move on to Hampton High School, the executive principal uh Hanif Madarin.

Uh, and Academy principals, uh, Alexander Snyder, uh Drell Griffin, Travis Riddick, and Ronnie Radcliff Radliff.

Um, Hampton High School has two students whose drive is only matched by the gratitude they have for the people that helped them get here.

Hampton's Valedictorian is Angela Chen, and Hampton's Salutatorian is Angelina Christie.

I am the validatorian of Hampton High School for the class of 2026.

The formal announcement for Valley Torian was essentially Mr.

Mitchid Auto Academy principals.

They had us like in the room with my parents, but like we see the rank on power school, so it wasn't really a surprise.

But it kind of showed me that you know, graduation is really coming close, and you know, I'm kind of this is what I kind of work towards and what I've achieved, you know, this past four years.

Some people you would like to thank and acknowledge on along this journey of yours so far.

Um, well, there's a lot of people.

But um definitely my you know, my family members, my sisters, my friends, um, my parents are also immigrants.

So understanding, you know, how hard they've worked for me and how much they sacrificed for me is definitely something I really you know hold a lot to, and then my sister, because she, you know, we're first gen, so she had to navigate all this alone, and she's someone who I really look up to and kind of look for advice from.

Hi, I'm Angelina Christie.

I am the salutatorian at Hampton High School class of 2026.

I am proud to be a Hampton City School's graduate because well, the opportunities that Hampton as a whole gave me, especially in the IB Academy here.

Um, I feel like the IB Academy that Hampton provides, it really prepares me for the demands of college.

Um being just so like stressed and overwhelmed.

I feel like I'm kind of like used to it now.

I've gotten used to it, so I'm not gonna really be stressing a lot in college.

Um, that's something I'm really thankful for because like I said, when I first got into IB, it was a lot.

Um it was hard trying to even manage like my schedule.

I had to like really like write down everything I'm gonna be doing.

Cause like it's just hard, everything's overlapping.

I have to fit time for school work and then stuff outside of it, and that's stressing, you know.

So I'm really thankful for that because it really helped me like build who I am today and like it's gonna prepare me for my secondary education in college.

My band director is definitely somebody I would bank because I feel like him, like when I got here freshman year, um, I was really shy and timid.

I didn't really know how to stand up for myself.

So basically, like I feel like he kind of like toughened me up a little bit and made me like get up my comfort zones just a little bit, even if it's not a lot, it was just a little bit.

Um, and we still crack jokes to this day.

Like, he's like, Oh, you're so mean, and I'm like, Well, that's this is what you did to me.

Like, you you know, you've you produced this, and it and I feel like it really helped me be a little bit more confident.

Um, especially through music.

I feel like music opens a lot of doors for like at least personal growth for me to like get out my shell.

So I think it was really good for him to do that for me, and I really thank Mr.

Bell so much.

He's a great guy, and he's also retiring this year, so I'm gonna miss him, but we're gonna be going out together because we're both leaving.

Yes, I think.

So it's somebody I really would thank.

Please welcome me having Angela and Angelina come forward.

And next we have Kikatan High School with the executive.

Executive principal Dwayne Lucas, um, an academy principal Sharon Graham, Kimberly Riggs, Poole, Vincent Bryant, and Lou Radford.

Kikatan School, uh Kikatan High School has a special distinction tonight of not one, but two valedictorians who finished with the exact same GPA.

And their salutatorian has one of the best underdogs you'll hear this evening.

And with that, here's Kikatan.

Oh, sorry, I should probably tell you they are.

Um Kikatan's co-valedictorians are Lam Lee and uh Way Yun Quash.

And their salutatorian is Tony Din.

Hello, my name is Lam Lee.

Um, the Valedictorian of Kikatin High School for the class of 2026.

From the beginning, I've always like kept like really good grades.

And then my uncle, he was the valedictorian for Hampton High School in the class of 2020, okay.

And so he has always been my biggest inspiration and has always motivated me, been like really influential in my life.

And so I wanted to be like him.

And then that's why I worked really hard, and then eventually during my sophomore year of high school, I was ranked one for the first time.

And so after that, I just tried my best to maintain it, and then I got it.

Of course, I want to thank my track coaches, um, Coach Dion, Coach Maya, Coach Will, Coach Nai, Coach Ro, like, all my coaches, and like, because they they've like really pushed me to become valedictorian, and they gave me a home on a track team.

And I also want to thank my mom, my dad, my uncle, my grandparents and my friends, my teachers, and so many more.

Hi, I'm Wayne Quatch, co-valedictorian of Kikatan High School for the class of 2026.

So when you were officially told you were the valedictorian at Kikatane, I know you've been known for a while, but what were your initial thoughts?

I think it was kind of funny because I I knew I was salutatorian, and then my mom was like, Oh, we're passing by like a crispy cream.

Let's go get donuts for your grades.

And I was like, Oh, I don't have a transcript.

Let me pull up my power school.

And I was like, something looks different here.

And I was like, oh, that's it is kind of a funny experience, I guess.

I think I would thank my parents and my brother for sure for the support that they've been giving me, as well as my counselor, Dr.

Sutton and my uh sports coaches for really teaching me how to grow as a person.

I love the day, and I'm the class of 2026 Salutatorian.

I think it's in high school.

You were 33, ranked 33rd in your class, your freshman year.

Yeah.

Um so when it was official that you can went from 33 to the Salutatorian, uh, what were your initial thoughts?

Um I was really shocked to be honest.

Like I remember he just took me out of class, like Dr.

Lucas took me out of class, and I thought I was in trouble to be honest.

And I walked in and he was like, Congratulations, you're the salutatorian.

Because I I haven't been keeping up with the class ranks at all.

So it's it was completely a surprise to me.

Obviously, I have to acknowledge my parents.

Um, you know, they've really just been there for me the whole time.

And you know, I I can always feel like they're in my corner.

Even if they don't know like maybe they might not know how to do like a calculus problem, but they'll find a way for me to like find help some way, and I'm I'm really glad for that.

And then I'd also really like to thank some of like the people at the school.

Um the librarian, Miss Booze.

She's been like a big help for me.

Like, she's all she's always been there for us.

And then, and then like my counselor, you know, Miss Thompson.

She's just she's a sill, she's so sweet.

We please have Lam, Wei Young, and Tony come forward, please.

I don't want to talk about that.

Okay, so we're going to go to the public, uh, and then you can't get it.

And finally, tonight we have Phoebus High School with uh executive principal David Coakley, uh, and academy principals uh Lindsay Jackson, Reginald Crawford, and Dr.

Lisa Boyd uh Incrimos.

Um, Phoebus High School's valedictorian actually holds the highest GPA um of all the students uh in Hampton State Schools this year.

Um, valedictorian Caleb Lucas.

And Phoebe's Salutatorian is Caitlin Chapman.

And with that, here's their videos.

Hello, my name is Caleb Lucas of Phoebus High School Valedictorian class of 2026.

I'm proud to be an ACS graduate because it showcases um the hard work that I have done on my side, but also um the large alumni base that the Hemp City Schools has.

You know, Hemp City Schools has produced some of the greatest um athletes, actors, filmmakers, legal professionals all over the board.

So I'm proud to be ACS graduate because I get to put my stamp on HC SSA.

I did it too.

I would like to thank my parents.

Um, you know, they've always supported me.

Um, they've let me chart my own way.

Um, and I do appreciate them for that.

They have never um said I couldn't do X, Y, and Z, they just um supported me as I've done it.

I'd like to thank my sister for being a support as well.

Um, all my aunts, uncles, cousins, everybody.

Uh I'd like to thank my teachers um and administrators at Phoebus High School um for always allowing me to just um anytime I had an idea for something, any time that I wanted to um fix something that I that may needed uh a slight tweak.

You know, they're always open and willing to accept that.

And I'm just very thankful to be here today.

Hi, my name is Caitlin Chapman, and I'm the salutatorian at Phoebus High School in the class of 2026.

I'm proud to be an HCS graduate because of the difference in resources that we have between the other districts nearby.

I know that Newport News and Yorktown and Williamsburg and Virginia Beach, they all receive a lot more funding than we do and resources, and we've done a lot with what we have.

The academies are really an incredible thing, and I'm proud that we've worked within that and we represent well.

Some people you would like to acknowledge and think along this journey of yours so far.

Um, definitely my parents.

They are not the kind to absolutely pressure on you, and I think that really helped because it it gave me um the authority over how I'm gonna do school, and this is how I chose to do it.

Salutatorian.

Absolutely.

Um, also some of my teachers, Miss Singleton was my freshman English teacher.

Um Dr.

Schneider is she teaches me um geology and oceanography this year, and she taught me research first semester, and then um Miss Savage was my freshman and junior year biology teacher.

And I think those three teachers um in school have all definitely helped to get me on this environmental science pathway.

They're the ones that I asked about or I asked um questions about, you know, if they think I would do well, and so they were all very encouraging.

So can we have Caleb and Caitlin come forward?

Okay.

Well, to every student that was recognized tonight from Bethel, Hampton, King Tanna Phoebe's congratulations again.

You guys have all really worked hard for this.

And Hampton is very, very proud of you.

As you head off to your next chapter, know that the city that helped shape you is rooting for you.

And when your time is right, we hope that you come back to Hampton and build your lives here.

Lead here, and inspire the um students that are sitting not far from where you're sitting now.

Mayor Gray, back to you.

Thank you, Brian, and uh again, congratulations to uh all of us valedictorians and salutatorians, and um thank you to their parents and teachers and all of the village around them to help make them successful.

We have a great school system here, and uh our young people are doing some amazing things, we're very proud of them.

So, again, congratulations to all of you.

And with that, we will conclude our ceremonial session.

I'm sorry, Brian.

We got one more.

Sorry, I forgot to say one thing.

The um clerk reminded me.

So ordinarily uh we give out um a little bit bigger um uh trophies uh, if you will, uh to our thousand sales.

Unfortunately, they um didn't come in time, and so they have been ordering, we're gonna be uh giving them um to you guys and getting them to you guys soon.

So, just we'll let you guys know that.

All right, thank you, thank you, Brian.

All right, and we are adjourned.