Student Spotlight: Ray Kenley
Writer / Matt Keating
Photography Provided
Ray Kenley, a senior at Noblesville High School, says he enjoys his work with the Noblesville Schools Student Safety Commission.
“The Student Safety Commission is a group of students picked to represent their school in terms of the student body,” Ray says. “The responsibility of this group is to interview and/or give input into the different jobs involved in the Noblesville education system and jobs outside education, usually revolving around safety. I’ve been in this group since the seventh grade and I’m the oldest member in the group, so I usually help the younger kids in stepping out of their comfort zone and asking the hard questions. The students picked for this group are picked because of their academic performance and, more importantly, their character, morals, and bravery to question.”
Ray notes that it’s all about helping students.
“The Student Safety Commission’s main goal is to help students stay educated on their safety and how they can help each other be ready for anything that their school comes under,” Ray says. “We also help the safety workers in our schools by giving them a student perspective. For example, the people who work with the security cameras 
in the schools came and visited us last week. They showed us how the cameras worked, different types of cameras and how cameras help us with tracking individuals. We then did an activity where we figured out what cameras were missing from the schools and what cameras were needed. This gave the workers more info on how they could improve the safety of our schools.”
Ray is also involved in other Noblesville High School activities.
“Some clubs I’ve been in include film club, Lend a Paw, ping-pong, quince club and the senior dance team,” he says. “I’ve also been in musicals including ‘High School Musical’ and ‘Chicago.’ I’ve also run track and cross-country. My main activity that I do is show choir. The Noblesville Singers are considered one of the best show choirs in the country and we have won many awards, including Best Show Choir in Indiana, which was an award that was broadcast on FOX59 News. I have one of the lead solos in our competition set this year, which I am super grateful for. I’m also in MadJazz, which is our varsity jazz choir.”
Ray is also popular on TikTok. “I have a TikTok page with half a million followers,” he says. “It’s mostly content that focuses on relatable situations such as relationships, friends or just drama.”
Ray’s dad, Bill Kenley, an English teacher and cross-country coach at Noblesville High School.
“Ray also works at Grindstone Public House,” Bill says. “He’s considering Hanover and the University of Cincinnati for college. Ray’s also big on TikTok. He’s got 486,000 followers and his videos have more than 100 million likes. The thing I find most impressive about Ray is that he’s done this, and much of what he’s accomplished, on his own.”
