‘One of many new beginnings’

Published 1:30 am Thursday, May 21, 2026

Teachers, friends and family members all celebrated the milestone of graduation with the 2026 Homer Flex High School graduating class Monday evening at the Porcupine Theater.

Seated on the theater stage, Homer Flex seniors listened to their teachers provide encouragement and advice for the future.

Flex counselor Sue Rennolds highlighted the graduates’ resilience and perseverance that brought them to this moment.

“The paths that you have taken to get to this stage have had smooth stretches, they’ve had bumpy roadblocks, hard curves, most of which you probably didn’t see coming…. You could have taken that exit ramp that was calling your name, but you didn’t, and your perseverance and resilience has paid off,” she said.

“As you leave the theater and face the unknown and uncertainty, I encourage you to remind yourself of how you have grown over the past four years. Build off of the skills that you have developed and lean on the relationships that you have cultivated.”

Rennolds challenged each of the students to show up each day with curiosity and an open mind, “because this next chapter is entirely yours.”

“Life is the journey … it’s each step that you take to learning who you are and who you are becoming. You just need enough curiosity to take the next step,” she said.

Language arts teacher Casey Yordy said that graduation wasn’t an ending, but rather “a crossing, a signal fire, a door opening, a moment where one version of you gives way to another, whether you feel ready for that or not.”

Readiness, he said, was mostly a myth.

“Most of us enter adulthood the way sailors enter rough water — improvising, adjusting, learning the shape of storms only after we’re already inside them. Some of you already know this better than many adults do,” he said.

While learning information, skills and discipline mattered, education was “really about becoming more fully human.”

“That’s what really matters, and that is why it never ends,” Yordy said. “Some of the most important things about you cannot be quantified neatly, and to me that’s beautiful. Your loyalty, your resilience, your humor during difficult moments, your ability to keep showing up after disappointment, the quiet ways you carry one another through hard years — that matters deeply.”

He encouraged the graduates to keep hold of their curiosity and integrity, to have patience with themselves as they navigated uncertainty in the future, and to be willing to begin again after setbacks.

“Failure will come. It comes for everyone,” he said. “Know that uncertainty is not failure — it’s simply a river you have not crossed yet. A seed underground looks uncertain, too. Growth is often quiet before it becomes visible.

“Class of 2026 — you are not finished. And honestly, I hope you never are.”

Lindsay Martin, a substitute teacher at Homer Flex, thanked the graduating seniors for sharing their high school experience with Flex staff.

“We got to laugh with you, we got to cry with you … we got to celebrate with you when you pushed through and found success,” she said. “This is just one of many new beginnings in your life. I encourage you to think about who you are becoming, what lessons you will carry with you, what mistakes you can let go of and what new things you want to try.”

The graduates in turn had the opportunity to thank their teachers and classmates and speak on their experience at Homer Flex.

Breyan Cathey called Flex “an incredible school with an awesome, supportive community” and said that she was glad to be graduating but will always cherish her time at Homer’s alternative school.

“I think it’s really too bad that there are stereotypes about alternative schools, because Flex is really unique. I’ve met all sorts of people there, and I’ve had a really special time there,” she said. “I hope that current students will remember and respect the values taught at Flex and live up to those standards.”

In what principal Christopher Brown called “undoubtedly one of the best Flex traditions,” members of the gathered audience were handed the microphone to acknowledge the seniors’ achievements and speak words of encouragement.

Awards and scholarships were also presented to the students.

Cathey received the UA Scholars Award, which is awarded to the student with the top grade point average in their graduating class.

The Masonic Outstanding Student Award, which is voted on by Flex staff and presented annually to the graduating student who, according to Brown, “most exemplifies excellence, grit and determination,” was awarded to Cutter Shelby.

“Congratulations to all of our graduates for their remarkable accomplishments, both in and outside of the classroom,” Brown said. “Each of our graduates has had to navigate a path full of roadblocks and detours, but they have persevered and persisted.”

Homer Flex High School Class of 2026

Thomas Allowan

Breyan Cathey

Iris O’Laire

Ollie Seaton

Steel Seaton

Cutter Shelby

Sinon Smith

Levi Wolfe