‘Move forward with the spirit of lifelong learning’

Published 2:30 am Friday, May 22, 2026

Nearly 100 seniors graduated from Kenai Central High School in a commencement ceremony held Wednesday evening in the Renee C. Henderson Auditorium.

Principal Dan Beck welcomed the graduates to their seats on the theater stage and offered words of encouragement for the next chapter of their lives.

“Embrace the challenges and strive for excellence in all that you do. Move forward with the spirit of determination, kindness and lifelong learning instilled within you at Kenai Central High School,” he said. “Class of 2026, may your future be as bright as the memories we share tonight.”

Growth, both as individuals and as a collective student body, was the theme of the evening as several members of the senior class reflected on the past four years of their lives that led to this shared moment on the stage.

Student body president Cara Graves said that the senior class had changed dramatically over the course of their high school careers.

“Today, the graduates sitting before you are not the same as when we first walked these halls in ninth grade,” she said. “We became a class that knows how to laugh, how to support each other, and how to show up when it matters.

“A class made of athletes, artists, thinkers, risk takers and everything in between, we are not one thing, and that’s exactly what makes us strong. What ties us together isn’t a single identity, but a shared experience. We grew.”

Graves encouraged her fellow classmates to move beyond their comfort zones and continue growing as people.

“Staying comfortable keeps you stuck. Growth does not happen when you never leave your comfort zone. Every time we stepped out of what was easy, we became a little stronger, a little braver, and a little more ourselves. As we leave here today, that lesson matters more than ever,” she said.

She challenged the other seniors to “fall forward,” to embrace risks and failures as necessary for success, to not settle for what’s comfortable and to instead move forward with ambition.

“Be willing to fail, because that’s where learning and progress begin,” Graves said. “We may have started with a reputation, but we’re leaving with something much more important — a legacy of growth, resilience and authenticity — because if this process has proven anything, it’s that we’re capable of becoming more than anyone expected, even ourselves.”

Graves and fellow seniors Madison Davenport, Mackenzie Harden and Madison Holcombe, were co-valedictorians for this year’s graduating class. In their respective speeches, all four reminisced on their high school journeys and contemplated the fast-approaching future.

“We will all move on to start our new lives filled with new people and new experiences, and it’s important to remember the people that got you to that point,” Harden said. “Even though our paths are about to separate, the years we spent growing up together will always stay with us. Every lesson, memory, friendship, mistake and achievement shaped not only who we are individually, but who we became as a class.”

Davenport asked her classmates, in the midst of realizing the milestone of commencement, to pause and look around.

“Together we have accomplished something magnificent,” she said. “Tomorrow, when you wake up and realize high school is truly over, I encourage you to look around once more. Look for the small moments that have brought you here … be proud of the person you’ve become, and be grateful that you have changed since freshman year.”

Senior Vail Coots, this year’s class speaker selected by his peers, told the other members of the graduating class that they were special because “we’re the only people in our lives who get the final say in our future.”

“In that sense, each of you is the most powerful person in the world, because you’re the only one who can decide what you, and only you, will do next,” he said.

Each day, he continued, presents a “golden opportunity” to learn and grow.

“If each day you decide to learn just a bit more, to grow just a little, who knows what you’ll be capable of in 10 years, or 20 years, or 50 years?” he said.

School counselor and commencement speaker Shawn Bultsma said that, as the graduates traded their caps and gowns for what comes next, “it’s no longer about the rules that govern your past — it’s about your future, where you’ll create life choices.”

“Collectively, we hope you make the kind of choices that will allow you to celebrate many more (moments) in your lives as you continue on the path of becoming you,” he said. “Congratulations, Class of 2026. Make us proud.”

In memoriam

Members of the graduating class also spoke in remembrance of their late classmate, Marissa Moffis, 14, who passed away in 2022 following an ATV accident.

Graves asked those gathered in the auditorium to “take a moment to honor those who are not with us, classmates and loved ones who we’ve lost along the way.”

“This class experienced a tragedy the summer before we started high school. We lost our friend and classmate, Marissa,” she said. “Marissa always stood for her beliefs and was super smart and humorous. She would be sitting here today with us if not for that unfortunate accident.”

Graves held a moment of silence for Moffis before concluding her speech to her fellow graduates.

An “in memoriam” slide was also included for Moffis in the graduates’ slideshow during the commencement ceremony.

A recording of the Kenai Central High School Class of 2026 graduation ceremony is available on the KCHS Facebook page, www.facebook.com/KenaiCentralHS.