Delaware honors 40 students at 2nd annual Future in the Arts celebration

Graduating Seniors Recognized for Commitment to Arts Education at Historic Smyrna Opera House

Forty Delaware high school seniors were honored on at the second annual Future in the Arts celebration at the Smyrna Opera House.

The May 12 event, presented by the Delaware Department of Education (DDOE), the Delaware Division of the Arts (DDOA), and the Delaware Arts Alliance (DAA), recognized graduating seniors who will pursue arts-related fields in college or professional careers. Honorees represented schools from across Delaware and are heading into programs in music, dance, theater, visual arts, film, design, and education.

The ceremony featured remarks from Secretary of Education Cindy Marten, Secretary of State Charuni Patibanda-Sanchez, Director of the Delaware Division of the Arts Jessica Ball, Representative Mara Gorman (D-23rd), and Executive Director of the Delaware Arts Alliance Neil Kirschling. Each honoree received a graduation cord, two certificates of recognition, presented jointly on behalf of DDOA, DDOE, and DAA and from the Delaware State Senate, along with a commemorative gift. The evening also featured a video reflection of artistic performances by students and a reception catered by the culinary program from Dover High School.

A recording of the night is available here.

Photos of the evening by Moonloop Photography are available here.

Secretary of Education Cindy Marten spoke directly to the assembled students, drawing on nearly four decades in education to reframe what an arts education means in the workforce.

"Ask any employer: They don't hire a test score," Marten said. "They hire a person. They hire someone who can think, create, reason, and communicate their thoughts with conviction, someone who can collaborate and solve problems they've never seen before. That is exactly what you do every single day."

Marten also shared that the Delaware Certificate of Arts Excellence, a formal credential to be noted on high school diplomas, recognizing sustained engagement and achievement in the arts, had passed both chambers of the Delaware legislature with overwhelming bipartisan support. It is set to take effect beginning with the 2027-2028 school year.

"This credential recognizes something Delaware's students deserve to hear clearly: Your creativity, your discipline, and your artistic excellence have real value. We see you. We believe in you. And we want you to keep going," Marten said.

Secretary of State Charuni Patibanda-Sanchez, who studied Indian classical dance in her youth, acknowledged the courage it takes to choose an arts path.

"What you are doing takes courage," Sanchez said, "because it takes courage to be who you are in this society. The arts are not separate from success. They help define it."

She also highlighted the breadth of DDOA's programming, from veterans to seniors to children, as evidence of the agency's commitment to the full spectrum of Delaware's creative community.

"Delaware's creative and innovative future depends on the students who are choosing to build their lives and careers in the arts," said Jessica Ball, Director of the Delaware Division of the Arts. "I followed my passion and my artistic path, and I'm so glad you are inspired to do the same. That's what tonight is about: showing these 40 students that a life built around the arts is not a risk. It's a calling worth answering."

Representative Mara Gorman (D-23rd), attending the event for the second consecutive year and calling it her "absolute favorite" of the legislative calendar, offered the students a challenge rooted in her own creative career. The author and state legislator, who began as a creative nonfiction writer before finding her way to public life, drew on Elizabeth Gilbert's Big Magic to frame the question every artist must keep answering: "Do you have the courage to bring forth the treasures that are hidden within you?"

She urged the honorees to "create unapologetically and refuse to let anyone ever devalue your creative work." Adding, "Without you, the world would be less fulfilling, less colorful, less harmonious, and less delicious."

Neil Kirschling of the Delaware Arts Alliance noted that state leaders are actively working to support and retain Delaware's young creatives.

"There are so many exciting things happening in Delaware's creative economy," Kirschling said, "and we are putting in place intentional policy and investment to support all of you finding jobs here in Delaware and continuing to contribute to our local communities."

He highlighted ongoing work ranging from public art investment, arts education policy, film incentive legislation, and a feasibility study for creative and cultural districts.

Lauren Conrad, education associate for the visual and performing arts and gifted education at the Delaware Department of Education, hosted the event.

"This celebration is about recognition, but it's also about momentum: encouraging students to keep going and showing them that Delaware is invested in their success," she said. "When we see this room full of educators, families, and state leaders gathered to say 'We see you and we believe in you,' that's not a small thing. That matters."

Media contact: Alison May, [email protected], 302-735-4006