Perkins County High School Class of 2026 graduates 33 during commencement ceremony

Family, friends and community members gathered Saturday afternoon, May 9, to celebrate the 33 graduates of the Perkins County High School Class of 2026 during commencement exercises held in the high school gymnasium in Grant.

The ceremony began at 1 p.m. with the traditional processional, “Pomp & Circumstance.” Perkins County Principal Dalton Pettera welcomed those in attendance before senior class officers addressed their classmates and guests.

Class President Hannah Bishop delivered the opening remarks, speaking about the kind of people she and her classmates hoped to become while also honoring her late grandfather and thanking him for teaching her the value of hard work.

Following Bishop, Class Treasurer Myles Bishop gave a graduation address centered on determination and perspective. He reflected on completing a half marathon the weekend before graduation, comparing life to a race in which everyone moves at a different pace, while expressing gratitude for having “raced” through the past 12 years alongside his classmates.

Later in the ceremony, Class Vice President Preston Schwanebeck shared lessons drawn from fishing, telling graduates that sometimes changing a lure or adjusting an angle can make all the difference in the success a person finds in life.

Special music during the ceremony included “Let It Grow,” performed by the Perkins County High School Choir. Seniors Paige Franklin, Madison Swesey, Cecelia Putnam, Brenna Colglazier and Kaylynn Macke performed “Landslide.”

A senior slideshow was presented during the ceremony, followed by a parent appreciation segment featuring the song “You’re Gonna Go Far” by Noah Kahan. During the tribute, graduates presented flowers to special people they selected from the audience.

Pettera offered special recognition before Superintendent Mark Jolliffe formally presented the class. Diplomas were presented by Jolliffe and members of the Perkins County School Board, including Jayson Bishop and Cameron Sis.

Class Secretary Cooper Kroeker delivered the closing remarks, joking that the diplomas are blank and that he needed to be careful with what he said to make sure his remained completed, but also included his gratitude for the faculty and his classmates over the last 12 years.

The ceremony concluded with the recessional song “Good Riddance” by Green Day.

Members of the Perkins County High School Class of 2026 included Hannah Catherine Bishop, Myles Aaron Bishop, Kay-Leigh Booysen, Sydney Christine Bottom, Miguel Angel Castillo, Brenna Jane Colglazier, Ryan Ethan Dickinson, Haley Maria Dunn, Alexis Marie Fisher, Paige Lynell Franklin, Jacqueline Elle Gloy, Gatlin Alexander Elwood Hall, Jaelynn Kay Harris, Gavin Mckaine Kohmetscher, Colton Hank Kroeker, Cooper Anton Kroeker, Trevor Wayne Laber, Grace Kathleen LaGrange, Ryan Lee Long, Kaylynn Skye Macke, Benjamin Patrick McClain, Josiah Ricardo Mireles, Jet Ryan Peterson, Cecilia Lynn Putnam, Alec Jason Reese, Rylee Jay Schrotberger, Preston Jay Schwanebeck, Ava Hope Seger, Madison Rose Swesey, Trevyn Zane Tucker, Tessa Amber Uehling, Domanic Nelson Williams and Alexis Paige Worley.