Real, meaningful and ‘ours’

Graduating from Connections Homeschool, Valedictorian Xinlan Tanner said, means completing an unconventional educational path. The students of Connections, she said, balanced independence and discipline on their own journeys through high school.

Looking at her graduating class during the school’s Thursday commencement in Soldotna, Tanner acknowledged that none of them had ever shared a classroom or even a daily routine. Homeschool students, she said, learn in different ways — like “math in the kitchen” or “Shakespeare on the couch.”

“We didn’t move through the halls of a single building together, but we did move through challenges, growth and discovery together — in spirit,” she said. “Our learning wasn’t always neat or predictable, but it was real, and it was meaningful, and it was ours.”

Tanner also pointed to the unique contributions of many of their parents in educating the students of Connections Homeschool. They served as teachers, tech support and pep talkers.

Many of those parents could be seen during Thursdays ceremony, waiting onstage to give diplomas to their children, taking the place of Kenai Peninsula Borough School District dignitaries and Connections staff.

The students of Connections Homeschool, Principal Doug Hayman said during an address, are varied and talented. Some already have college degrees, many have earned accolades and scholarships.

As the students move forward beyond Connections Homeschool, looking toward jobs, further education or “something else new and extraordinary,” Tanner encouraged them to keep learning without the pressure of grades.

“Life will always surprise you,” she said. “Sometimes it’ll test you, but it will also invite you to become more than you ever imagined.”

Connections Homeschool 2025 graduates

Sydney Abrams

Alinna Baker

Piper Baringer

Blaec Beale

Evan Beasley

Alexandra Bennett

Ronan Bickling

Noah Bird

Tucker Blough

Kaiden Bogie

Abigail Brady

Finley Braund

Marilyn Brewer-Cote

Austin Briscoe

Dale Bryant

Easton Bullock

Jordan Bullock

Eve Burke

Kenneth Bush

Aasen Campanella

Cruz Cannon

McKenna Carlin

George Carpenter

Nicholas Choate

Anastasia Chuprov

Sarah Clarke

Lydia Coe

Cameron Cook

Evan Cooper

Isabelle Cruz

Sinclair Dahl

Katie Dambacher

Agnese DeVita

Gavin Donahue

Daniel Dyer

Jacob Edmunds

Telan Fallon

Kelly Gilliam

Josiah Gordon

John Haerle

Aspen Haley

Katie Hallam

Ashlyn Harris

Seamus Hatton

Addison Havrilla

De’ahni Hemmings

Hyrum Henderson

Tanner Henderson

Aria Hill

Laura Horn

Michael Houser

Blaine Hunt

Megan Hutchins

Ashana Ivanoff

Rebecca Jardine

Leif Jaworski

Blake Johnson

Katie Johnson

Carson Kandas

Ethan Koch

Elijah Lee

Caiden Llewellyn

Jonathan Loop

Scottlyn Lyons

Alexander MacMaster

Laurel Matson

Darien McCracken

Jody McKinney

Chenia McNearney

Logan Mese

Abigail Miller

James Moody

Judah Mumey

Josiah Napier

Marley Nightingale

Jason Oleson

Kyler Pearson

Layla Pearson

Taylor Pyfer

Mark Rader

Harland Richards

Hannah Riedel

Natalia Sherwood

Caeli Shoop

Jade Stewart

Addison Stiers

Justyce Stockman

Nikolas Sulczynski

Aiden Sullivan

Jolee Swanson

Xinlan Tanner

Brenden Theel

Boone Theiler

Matthias Travers

David Trefren

Benjamin Tupper

Garrett Updike

Nicholas Veh

Aidan Volk-Wall

Molly Waarvik

Christi Weisser

Talia Weisser

Jocelyn White

Mailea Willden

Kaden Williams

Peyton Williams

Joseph Winrod

Izabella Wolpert Houston

Juanita Wood

Brayden Woods

Scout Wyant

Terry Yerly

Zackary Zurfluh