Memories and hopes anchored Marmaton Valley High School’s commencement exercises for the Class of 2026 Saturday evening.
Student speakers reflected on friendships, family support, classroom experiences and the lessons they will carry into the future. Throughout the evening, graduates repeatedly returned to the close relationships within the class, and the challenges of balancing academics, athletics, work and extracurricular activities.
Senior class president and valedictorian Sophia Heim welcomed family, friends, teachers, staff and classmates to the ceremony.
“Today marks the end of our high school journey,” Heim said. “Tonight isn’t just about receiving a diploma. It is about recognizing the years of effort, growth, learning, and achievement that each and every graduate has endured.”
Heim thanked families, teachers and staff members for their support and encouragement throughout the graduates’ school careers.
THE CEREMONY featured speeches from four valedictorians, each reflecting on memories made at Marmaton Valley and lessons learned during high school.
Valedictorian Brevyn Campbell described the class as “both ornery and well-behaved” while sharing stories from the group’s years together.
“To quote Mr. Smith, ‘Freshmen act like sophomores. Sophomores act like juniors. Juniors act like seniors and seniors act like freshmen,’” Campbell said. “This quote fits our class perfectly.”
Campbell said one of the biggest lessons he learned during high school was “to just have fun.”
“There are so many great memories that came because of this class,” he said. “Over my four years of high school, I never thought that I would have this much fun and actually be sad to graduate from school.”
Campbell also spoke about the futures of his classmates and the success he believes each of them will achieve.
“I know all of us are going to succeed because that’s just how this class is,” he said.
Chris Ferguson focused on gratitude.
“The reason for this speech being so difficult is due to finding the right words to express my gratitude towards our parents, the faculty and staff, and classmates,” Ferguson said.
He thanked parents “for raising us and being our first teachers in life” and thanked faculty and staff members “for pouring your knowledge and wisdom into us.”
Ferguson also reflected on the friendships built over the years.
