As a graduating senior this year, Julia Kinney is grateful for the experiences she has gained during her years at Westford Academy. According to Kinney, the students from the class of 2015 appreciate how much the staff of WA has helped them in truly enjoying their time in high school. These are just a few of the topics that Kinney hopes to cover in her speech, as she has been named the graduation speaker for the class of 2015.

“I’m hoping to express how grateful my classmates and I are to have been able to attend a school like Westford Academy, and how much we appreciate everyone who has contributed to that experience, especially our teachers, parents, and faculty,” said Kinney. “Hopefully I’ll be able to offer something a little bit inspirational for us to take with us as we move out into the world, too.”

After some consideration, Kinney ultimately decided to audition for graduation speaker because she felt it was the only way to truly thank all of the people involved in creating the amazing four years she had at WA.

Once she made the decision to audition, Kinney spent several hours working on her first draft. Even though she was already chosen as the speaker, Kinney focused on perfecting the speech until graduation.

The audition process consisted of two rounds of narrowing down the candidates. During the auditions, students stood individually in front of a panel of teachers and delivered their speech. Though there were only a few people watching her give the speech, Kinney felt slightly nervous during auditions.

“It can be a little nerve-wracking to stand in front of an auditorium, even when there are only a few people looking on,” said Kinney.

Throughout high school, Kinney has participated in Mock Trial, Orchestra, Human Rights Club, Literacy Outreach Tutoring Program, National Honors Society, and Spring/Winter Track & Cross Country teams.

In the fall, Kinney will be attending Tulane University located in New Orleans, Louisiana, majoring in history and political science.Though she has always loved history, Kinney’s favorite classes include English and music courses.

“I’m a history lover at heart,” said Kinney. “But, I really enjoyed the English and Music classes I took here, as well!”

English teacher Jason Humphrey is looking forward to hearing Kinney speak as he has seen her excel in intellectual discussions in the classroom.

“She never stops thinking. When she answers a question, she brings in all of her learning seamlessly,” said Humphrey. “She’s a passionate thinker who is willing to take intellectual risks. It’s a powerful combination worthy of our attention.”

Going into the speech, Kinney is nervous, but is looking forward to delivering her speech on June 5th.

“I’m a little nervous and a little excited, but mostly just extremely honored,” said Kinney.

Click to hear a clip of Kinney giving her speech at Graduation.