MOREHEAD — Four Martin County students were among the 88 graduates honored at Morehead State University’s Craft Academy for Excellence in Science & Mathematics commencement ceremony on May 10.
Jeffrey Childers, Addyson Crum, Kennedy Mills and Kirk Mills represented Martin County in the prestigious Class of 2025, which includes students from 47 counties across Kentucky.
Crum plans to study pre-med at the University of Louisville, Kennedy Mills will attend Morehead State University, and Kirk Mills will pursue aerospace engineering at the University of Kentucky. Childers is currently undecided.
The Craft Academy recognized students who will go on to attend 16 different colleges and universities across the country, including 13 who will remain at MSU.
Dr. Joseph W. Craft III of Lexington, president and CEO of Alliance Resource Partners LP and co-founder of the Academy, delivered the keynote address. He and his wife, Ambassador Kelly Craft, gave the single largest cash gift in MSU history—a $4 million pledge to establish the Academy in 2015.
“We want you to excel, we want you to work hard, we want you to have fun, but we also want you to care and serve others,” Craft said. “I look back over these last 10 years, and every class has done that and succeeded, and every year seems to get better.”
Graduating senior Katherine Black of Pendleton County, daughter of Kathleen and Daniel Black, served as student speaker. She will attend Marshall University this fall as part of the Honors College, double-majoring in criminal justice and cyber forensics & security.
“Craft Academy isn’t just a program. It was a challenge, a community and, for many of us, a second home,” Black told her classmates. “We’re leaving here not just smarter but stronger, more compassionate, and ready to do good and be kind in a world that needs both.”
The Craft Academy for Excellence in Science & Mathematics is a dual-credit academy for academically exceptional Kentucky students. It provides students with postsecondary residential experience to complete their junior and senior high school years by enrolling in college courses. The academic rigor challenges students to excel at their highest level through project-based STEM+X courses and hands-on learning experiences emphasizing innovation, design and creativity, and civic and regional engagement.