RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Members of the Montoursville Area High School, Class of 2026, turn their tassels during the 60th Annual Commencement ceremonies at Memorial Stadium on Thursday, June 4, 2026. 132 high school seniors walked in front of the bleachers packed with friends and family to receive their diplomas.

Pride, excellence and tradition.

Those were the words as the Montoursville Area Senior High School class of 2026 took a look back at the journey that brought them to the commencement stage before glancing at the path ahead.

“I vividly remember my first day of kindergarten, standing in the car drop off line, clinging to my mom’s side, sobbing, because I didn’t want to go to school. Little did I know that these would become some of the best years of my life, surrounded by some of the best people I have had the blessing of knowing,” said Class of 2026 President Kayleigh Sheleman.

During her freshman year, Sheleman, a starter on the school’s varsity softball team, suffered a season-ending ACL tear in her left knee.

But rather than let the injury end her career, Sheleman embraced the challenge and came back stronger than before, breaking countless records her Junior year, including hitting 13 home runs in a single season, and earning first team All-State honors, making her the first Montoursville softball player ever to have her picture on the wall outside the gymnasium.

“This hardship taught me how to be resilient, expanded my work ethic in more ways than I could have ever imagined, and taught me to never take anything for granted, because you never know when things will be taken away from you,” she said.

“The significance of this is that I feel I exemplify that we are all capable of doing hard things and chasing our dreams,” she said, quoting Christopher Robin, “‘you’re braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.’ You are all capable of doing incredible things, even if you don’t know it yet.”

“Whether you’re choosing to further your education by attending a college or university, or attending a cosmetology or trade school, entering the workforce right out of high school, or are planning on nobly serving our country, each and every one of you have done something that you should be proud of. We have all made it to this day through trials and tribulations, proving we are more than capable of doing hard things, which is exactly what I hope to leave you with tonight,” Sheleman said.

While stressing the accomplishments of the class are something to be proud of, rank three student Alice Ravert warned her fellow graduates to not lose their ambition as they exit high school.

“Don’t be so proud that the phrase ‘they peeked in high school starts to linger around your name and reputation,” she said.

“You still have a long way to go, and many life milestones to reach. This is why I ask you to take pride in your future, prioritize it. It’s your future, and as Dr. J. would tell us, ‘make it your fault,'” Ravert said.

“If you’re going to college, make sure you remember the purpose of going to college, to get a degree. If you’re going into the workforce, don’t be that employee whose favorite day is payday. Money is important, I get it, I’m going to be a music teacher, but actually take pride in the work you are doing, the people you’re helping or the services you’re providing through your job, never let yourself become stagnant in your career,” she said.

“The same goes for students who are military bound, taking a gap year or otherwise. Take pride in your future, make the effort, take advantage of opportunities for growth. Don’t be scared of a challenge, and build the future you want,” Ravert said, encouraging her classmates to not let their mistakes define them.

“It’s through our failures, in our toughest moments that we learn, that we grow as individuals, as friends, as family members, as students,” she said.

“Don’t pretend the not so proud memories don’t exist. Don’t count them out, and most importantly, don’t let them keep you up at night. If you look back and can identify that you made a mistake, you’re heading in the right direction. You’ve grown, you experienced a mistake, you felt the feelings and now you can apply what you’ve learned to similar situations in the future. That’s improvement. Be proud of that,” Ravert said.

“Although you don’t have to be proud of the person you once were, the mistakes that you made, be proud of where those mistakes took you and how they helped you grow into the person who’s now walking across this stage tonight,” she encouraged.

Valedictorian Evelyn Weng spoke on what she considers the true meaning of excellence.

“Excellence is not just about outstanding accomplishments and exceeding expectations, rather it is about the journey leading up to the destination. It is about passion, commitment, and self-accountability. It’s about staying consistent, overcoming obstacles, and being true to yourself,” she said, adding that all of her classmates are capable of excellence in their own individual ways.

“An achievement or recognition may be remembered by others for a moment, but your character is remembered by others forever,” Weng said.

“Character is the choices you make, even when you don’t receive recognition for it. Character is how you act, no matter what you’re going through in your personal life. The best demonstration of character is how you act, not during times of ease, but during times of struggle,” Weng said.

“There will be times where you feel that you are not capable of something, you want to take a shortcut or give up, and when you put into work, you still fail. Resilience is the decisions you make when you encounter hardships. An excellent individual tries again and again until they succeed, they learn from their mistakes, and they grow as a person,” she said.

“As you go on to the next great journey of your life, whether that is college, military or the workforce, pursue excellence simultaneously. Continue to think about what makes an individual excellent, and apply those traits to your daily life,” Weng said, while reminding her fellow graduates to hold their support system close.

“A quote about tradition that really sticks out to me is ‘tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire,’ said Salutatorian Gabriel Vanderwall.

“To me, this means that we should not quit our traditions and leave them to be forgotten. Instead, we must branch out from these traditions and add on to them for future generations,” he said.

“Our school provides many opportunities for us as students to create new traditions and practice old ones,” Vanderwall said, highlighting the school’s lauded theatre and band performances.

“Apart from our music and theater program, we have traditions that we have made on our own, whether it is us, as students, getting together to organize a senior prank, or celebrating our senior year through our class day celebration. These may seem like small or ordinary activities, but we saw the value,” he said.

“Tradition connects us as students. Without tradition, we would be a group of people working without purpose or hope,” the Salutatorian said.

“As we see our high school careers come to an end, look back at the memories that we have made. When doing so, you will most likely see that these memories are connected to a certain tradition that either we created or we decided to act upon,” Vanderwall said, urging his classmates to create their own traditions.

“Over four years, we’ve watched this class grow from uncertain freshmen into young men and women sitting here tonight. And after hearing your classmates speak this evening, one thing is very clear, you know what it means to belong to something bigger than yourselves,” said Principal Dr. Matthew Johnson.

“From our speakers, we’ve heard about pride, excellence and tradition – not just words on a wall or printed program, but something lived out every day at Montoursville High School,” he said.

“Pride is not arrogance. Pride is deeply caring about where you come from. Excellence is not perfection, but it is persistence, getting back up after disappointment and continuing when things become difficult. Tradition is not simply just repeating the past, it’s carrying forth what matters while leading in our own work,” Johnson said.

“Carry your pride with humility, pursue excellence of character and honor tradition by building something worth passing on,” Johnson told the graduates.

“We believe in you, and no matter where life takes you next, you will always have a home here,” the principal said.