NCSSM’s Chancellor, Dr. Todd Roberts, addresses the NCSSM Online Class of 2026. (photo: Brian Faircloth)
The NCSSM Online Class of 2026 kicked off the end-of-year ceremonies at NCSSM this past weekend when a significant portion of the 241 seniors who completed the program traveled to the school’s Durham campus to receive their certificate of completion.
As a class, the students came from more than half of the state’s counties. Each student dressed in the academic regalia and colors of their home high school, providing a striking visual of NCSSM’s impact throughout the state.
Max Werner, who took six courses through NCSSM Online, was dressed in the red of Olympic High School in Charlotte. He reflected on his experience in the program as he waited to proceed with the Class of 2026 from the staging area in the school’s auditorium to the school gymnasium where friends and family waited in the bleachers for their arrival.
Completing the program, he said, “definitely feels like something that you never truly expected to come so fast, even though it’s only two years in the program. But I think it culminates in something that I can be very proud of.”
Max said NCSSM Online helped him settle on an intended major in chemical engineering at NC State. “If I had to pinpoint one specific thing that led me to choose the major that I want to go into, it would definitely be some of the courses that I took here.”
Sophia Aguila, from Ardrey Kell High School, also in Charlotte, was the student speaker. She will also be attending NC State in the fall, with an intended major in aerospace engineering. Her speech was chosen through a blind submission and review process from among many submitted for consideration.
“If you had told me a couple years ago. . . that my best high school experience was going to come out of an online program of all things, I wouldn’t have believed you, at all,” Sophia remarked.
Given the isolation students her age felt as middle schoolers as they navigated remote learning during the pandemic, Sophia was surprised to find NCSSM Online such an engaging experience. “When you hear the words ‘online class,’ you think disconnection,” she said. “Luckily for us, NCSSM Online has proved to be different. From Zoom calls to Online Weekends to summer programs, there was that same feeling that people were open, curious, and genuinely excited to connect, which is kind of amazing considering that most of the time in this program, we spent it behind a screen.”
With certificates of completion in hand, students received a final note of inspiration from NCSSM’s Chancellor, Dr. Todd Roberts.
“As you turn the page to the next chapter in your education, know that while it may not be as linear as the path you’ve traveled thus far, you are so well prepared and ready for what you will make of it,” he said. “You all have a little taste of this already. You veered a little off the traditional path when you chose to take risk, and accepted a new challenge in deciding to attend the NCSSM Online program two years ago. I want to encourage you to continue to choose your own path. The journey ahead of you is yours to fulfill, through your own potential and purpose, so take your steps ahead with confidence and with wonder.”
