EHS Class of 2026: friendships, lessons learned, memories made

 EPHRATA – A vast audience celebrated the graduation of 213 Ephrata High School seniors during a breezy commencement ceremony Friday evening, June 5, at Kiwanis Field.

The Class of 2026 grads thanked school teachers and staff for their commitment to education, and their parents and families “who have guided, encouraged, and believed in us as they helped us prepare for the future.”

Making the introductions were class representatives Hannah Allen, Brady Hendrick, Michael Park, Jacob Reyes, Ginger Santos and Bella Wood.

In her opening remarks, ASB president Cecilia Roth focused on kindness, a character trait she said had been “thoroughly shown” by her classmates. “Always remember that it costs nothing to be kind … Keep this kindness through your whole life,” she said. 

 After their years together, said student speaker Alexandra Estrada Rangel, the graduates now begin the next chapter of their lives, which means saying goodbye for many of them. In doing so, she applied the expression, “I miss you already” to her fellow graduates, her family, even the school’s “joke of the day.”

“As much as I’ll miss a lot, I’m also excited about the future,” she said. “One should not dwell on the past, but rather reflect on the lessons learned.”

To EHS underclassmen, Estrada Rangel urged them to “get involved, show up, and include yourself in what this school has to offer … Be the loudest in the crowd. Do it scared, do it tired, do it curious, but do you.”

And to her classmates, she closed by saying, “Congratulations … and remember to stay young, wild, and free.”

In his address, fellow student speaker Alex Belino said the class had “grown up together … We celebrated each other’s successes, and during difficult times, we showed up for one another.”

“The friendships we built here, the lessons we learned, and the memories we made will stay with us for the rest of our lives,” he said.

Teachers Patrick Mitchell and Heidi Johnson provided the faculty farewell. 

Mitchell welcomed “Tiger Nation” and noted the now-departing seniors were freshmen when he first became head coach of the varsity football program. Collectively, they had “grown up a lot since then,” he said.

 “This is one of my favorite places in the world to be, right here, on this football field, in our small town of Ephrata,” said Mitchell. “This small spot on the map has changed my life forever. And seniors, I know it has changed yours, too.”

He told the graduates to “enjoy the season that is your youth right now, but also remember that it is only a season … the baton now passes to you to find your community, your purpose, and to some day help shape, mold, and inspire the future (for others).”

Heidi Johnson’s farewell was particularly poignant: her son Jett would have been among the graduates, but his life was cut short as a 16-year-old sophomore killed in a February 2024 car accident. 

“We all have people who cannot be here with us tonight, but I know without a doubt they would be just as proud of you as I am,” she said.

Johnson told the seniors that Friday evening’s commencement ceremony was “a celebration of everything you’ve accomplished and everything that still lies ahead.” 

Now, the grads “get to join the world of adulting” in which “there will be good days and bad days.”

“Enjoy every single one of them,” she said. “Make those days count.”

EHS principal Ashlie Miller announced the graduates, who were individually congratulated by district superintendent Ken Murray and presented with diploma covers by school board president Josh Sainsbury.

Several seniors will also be graduating this month with degrees from Big Bend Community College: Raegan Alvarado, Joseph Beaulieu, Cooper Black, Lacey Burton, Alexis Chornuk, Alyssa Dymarkowski, Evelyn Goldy, Izzlee Haney, Brady Hendrick, Tyler Kono, Calvin Lybbert, Cindy Oneel, Payton Roberts, Adylene Sanchez, Wyatt Schluckebier, Payton Stredwick, Mylee Sullivan, and Bella Wood.

Before taking their seats in the opening processional, the gowned Tiger seniors – walking in groups of two and three – continued a years-long EHS tradition of pausing a moment before the crowd, then deploying confetti blasters, snapping phone selfies, hoisting partners, engaging in dance steps and dap ups, blowing soap bubbles, and distributing a windblown wealth of paper money (of which a few were actual dollar bills backed by the U.S. Treasury).

The evening also featured musical performances by the EHS Chamber Choir under the direction of Tim O’Donnell and from Cecilia Roth, who sang the ballad, “Whenever You Remember,” popularized by country singer Carrie Underwood.

EHS counselor Rhonda Hagy served as advisor for the Senior Class, which selected an orange carnation as its class flower and adopted as its class motto the classic quote from “Star Wars” Jedi Master Yoda: “Do or do not: There is no try.”