Union Pines confirms Class of 2025 met state graduation standards; students awarded diplomas

Union Pines High School held its commencement ceremony on June 6, 2025, where the school’s principal confirmed that members of the Class of 2025 met the standards established by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and instructed graduates to turn their tassels.

The ceremony featured student speakers and school officials. Grayson Bryant introduced himself as “the top CTE student of the year.” Student speaker Harper Seneff told classmates, “You never know everything even when you think you might,” and student speaker Kaylee Clendenin quoted Mister Rogers: “It’s you I like, the way you are right now.” The principal closed the ceremony by quoting Winston Churchill: “Success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts.”

Why this matters: school officials and speakers used the ceremony to summarize academic and extracurricular outcomes for the class. The principal said the class earned more than $8.1 million in scholarships, that about 81 percent of graduates received college, university or trade-school acceptance, and that 71 percent participated in the Sandhills College dual-enrollment program, producing 1,217 college credits. The principal also said eight students had already earned associate degrees and that 16 graduates enlisted in the U.S. armed forces.

Details provided by the principal during the ceremony included counts of high honors and team achievements. The principal reported four summa cum laude recipients, 23 magna cum laude recipients, and additional honor distinctions; the class included 100-plus students with a 4.0 GPA or higher, two-time state championships for the wrestling team and back-to-back state championships for the women’s lacrosse program. The principal said 16 student athletes signed letters of intent to compete at the collegiate level.

Ceremony elements included the presentation of colors by the Union Pines NJROTC and the national anthem performed by the Union Pines band. School officials introduced honored guests including Dr. Tim Locklear, superintendent of Moore County Schools; Tina Edmonds, assistant superintendent for budget and finance; Dr. Pam Patterson, assistant superintendent for human resources; and Dr. Robin Calcutt, chair of the Moore County Board of Education.

The principal gave a formal confirmation that, “having met all standards established by the Department of Public Instruction of the state of North Carolina and by the authority vested in me by Moore County Schools,” the graduates had completed the requirements for graduation on 06/06/2025. Graduates were then invited to turn their tassels and proceed with diploma presentation and recessing.

Additional context given at the ceremony included recognition of military appointments and enlistments (including at least one appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point), individual academic honors, and program participation figures cited above. The principal also asked attendees to respect the ceremony so each graduate’s name could be heard as they crossed the stage.

The event closed with instructions for marshals and families about the exit sequence and a final congratulation to the Union Pines High School Class of 2025.