Darius Johnson
ROCK HALL — Darius Johnson will be this year's speaker at Kent County High School's graduation ceremony.
Johnson is a KCHS alum, having graduated in 2011. He received the coveted Vincent Hynson Scholarship to attend Washington College and graduated in 2015 with a bachelor's in Business Management.
Looking forward to being this year's graduation speaker, Johnson described himself as relatively shy growing up.
He said he has been blessed with opportunities to speak and present in parts of the U.S. he never expected to go. He said he also been blessed with opportunities to do work he never imagined.
"Through all my experiences, I most enjoy any chance to share perspective and work with the youth of our society — and this opportunity to address the next generation of Kent County High School's alumni will be one of my greatest honors," Johnson said.
Johnson is currently the Digital Justice Fellow at Washington College's Starr Center for the Study if the American Experience.
The fellowship is funded by an American Council of Learned Societies grant program supporting projects that diversify the digital domain, advancing social justice and equity.
Johnson is also part of the college's Chesapeake Heartland: An African American Humanities Project. The project preserves and makes publicly accessible digitized photos, documents and more to highlight the history and culture of African American life here in Kent County and beyond.
His most recent role prior to joining Washington College was northeast regional director of the ACE Mentor Program of America, whose mission is to engage, excite and inspire high school students to pursue careers in architecture, construction and engineering.
Earlier this month, Johnson was appointed president of the Chesapeake College Foundation, which seeks to build resources to support scholarships, teaching and learning, innovative projects and community partnerships at the college.
His work also included a previous tenure as the executive director of Kent Attainable Housing, a nonprofit organization that creates affordable housing for families in need.
Johnson is currently pursuing a master's degree in historic preservation from Goucher College, where he was named a Built Environment Scholar and a Community Engagement Scholar.
"When we called him up, he was very honored and very excited for the opportunity to be able to speak at the graduation ceremony," KCHS Principal Kris Hemstetter said of Johnson.