Cook Inlet Academy graduated seven students in a commencement ceremony Saturday.

Graduates Zach Armstrong, Amelie Bignell, Rebekah Dillingham, Aimee Goans, Grace Henry, Paxton McKnight and William Smith were recognized.

As the students begin the next season of their lives, instructor Tonya Scott said in an address, Cook Inlet Academy moves forward without their unique contributions.

Bignell brought a sharp dedication to her academics, Scott said — making her teachers work “to convince her that 99 is just as amazing as 100.”

Dillingham will be remembered for a kind heart, creativity and encouraging presence in chapel or in sports.

Goans is known for “the best, most detailed and often very long essay responses,” as well as for her tenacity to overcome the things she once was certain she couldn’t.

Henry is a leader in worship who also distinguishes herself through “spontaneous dancing” and a “contagious laugh.”

Armstrong inspires in his athletics and is known always to be eager to help another — either with a kind word or just by retrieving something from a high shelf.

McKnight is a tinkerer, a problem-solver and “a blessing wherever he goes.” Scott said he once returned to her an office chair that she’d taken to the dump.

Smith brought a quick, sarcastic wit and a knack for storytelling to his school.

“This next season is one where you will learn to be an adult Christian,” she told the students. “I promise you, if you will daily give God your yes, the joy and peace that passes all understanding will make the hard days and hard choices completely worth it.”

The graduates also wore scarves owned by teacher Scott Tomaso, who died earlier this year.

Bignell was among a few of the graduating students to either speak or perform during the ceremony. She told her classmates that graduation is a celebration not just of surviving high school and the growth they’ve made in their time at CIA, but also a celebration of the growth that still lies ahead — “the men and women we are still becoming.”

Regardless of what form their future studies, careers or lives take, Bignell encouraged her classmates to continue to “strive to be a better worshipper of God.”

A full recording of the ceremony is available at “Cook Inlet Academy” on Facebook.

Cook Inlet Academy 2025 graduates

Zach Armstrong, magna cum laude

Amelie Bignell, summa cum laude

Rebekah Dillingham

Aimee Goans, summa cum laude

Grace Henry, magna cum laude

Paxton McKnight

William Smith, cum laude

Graduate Paxton McKnight speaks during the graduation ceremony at Cook Inlet Academy near Soldotna, Alaska, on Saturday, May 17, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)