RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Austin Hartzell addresses the Class of 2026 during the146th Annual Commencement ceremonies at Muncy High School on Friday, June 5, 2026.

UNCY – There was almost a garden party-like atmosphere as the Muncy community gathered to celebrate the completion of the Class of 2026’s educational journey at Muncy High School.

It was a very warm evening for early June, finding some in the crowd seeking the shade provided by the trees on the front lawn of the high school building as the seniors processed in for the commencement ceremony, which ended with the new graduated transferred the tassels on their mortarboards and then tossed them in the air.

Remarks for the evening were presented by the top five students in the class.

Referring to a line from the song the class had chosen as their song -“Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac, Anna Zalonis, asked her peers “Can I handle the seasons of my life?”

“We have all been there at our breaking point, asking ourselves, can I do it? Will I make it? The anxieties of graduation and life after high school can be frightening,” Zalonis said.

“This is a place most of us have known our entire lives. We are comfortable here. The lyrics, ‘while I’ve been afraid of changing because I built my life around you,’ resonate with all of us one way or another,” she said.

She compared her class’ educational journal to the beginning stages of stained glass art which is “full of potential and uniqueness and color, but scattered and disconnected.”

“We were terrified of failures, the changes, the unknown. We still are,” Zalonis said.

“Yet the most beautiful detail about stained glass is the process of its creation to become a masterpiece. We, much like those raw pieces of glass, start out a little rough around the edges. We must be broke, cut, sanded, refined and meticulously placed back together,” she continued.

“However stained glass only works if the light is allowed to shine through it. Our unique pieces and colors are soon to be scattered out into a world that desperately needs light. People are searching to be truly seen, heard and loved exactly where they are…So ‘as time makes us bolder,’ let us navigate the landslides of life with confidence, courage and a light that shines for all to see,” she added.

For his remarks on gratitude, Alex Puzio quoted from Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” – “Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has many, and not your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.”

Dickens, Puzio said, “suggest that gratitude is a deliberate mindset, a choice that must be deliberately pursued and embraced.”

He urged his classmates to “choose to show gratitude to those that helped us get to this moment.”

“Show gratitude to our teachers, who have taught, guided, tutored and mentored us. Show gratitude to your classmates and teammates who have worked hard, celebrated and struggled alongside you. Show gratitude to your parents and guardians who have loved, supported and delivered you to this moment,” he said.

Bryce Eckard cited attitude as being what “will affect our upcoming goals, passions and dreams.”

“It will be the deciding factor between really living and just surviving,” he said.

“Each day our attitude will influence the way we see the world…life after graduation, just as it was before, will not be perfect or spectacular…but on those days a positive attitude will matter more than anything else. It will propel us through our failures and hardships and give us the chance to learn from the mistakes and move forward,” he said.

Quoting from Albert Einstein-“the future is an unknown, but a somewhat predictable unknown”–Austin Hartzel, the class Salutatorian, said, “to look to the future, we must first look back upon the past. That is where the seeds of the future were planted.”

“We usually think memories belong behind us but the truth is the seeds we’ve planted here will shape every move ahead. The lessons we learned from failure will give us resilience. The friendships we build will remind us we’re never alone. The memories that made us laugh, cry or grow will become the foundation for who we are becoming as we leave this place,” Hartzel said.

Marley Ann Gair, class valedictorian, referred to the words of Eleanor Roosevelt-“The purpose of life is to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for new and richer experiences,” which the graduates had chosen as their class quote.

“I encourage you to say yes to the unexpected and accept opportunities you are given to choose curiosity over comfort and act despite your fears to open up a whole new world of possibilities,” Gair told her classmates.

“Our time here at Muncy has been incredible, but it is foundation, not a peak. The world out there is massive, complex, and beautiful. Richer experiences are ones with depth and meaning. They are understanding different cultures, learning to see life from a new perspective, failing miserably, and picking yourself back up, and finding joy in unexpected paths in your journey of life,” she said.

“Class of 2026 as we walk the stage today and start the newest chapter of our lives, don’t chase success by someone else’s definition. Chase a life that is full of passion, love, determination, and success by your definition. Taste every bit of it and reach out for the unknown with open arms and an eager heart,” he said.