118 Lander Valley High graduates walk the stage

(Lander, WY) – Around 2,000 people packed Bob Carey Memorial Fieldhouse on Saturday as Lander Valley High School’s Class of 2026 walked across the stage, 118 graduates in all.

The ceremony began with the national anthem performed by the Valley Singers, followed by an Honor Song by Darwin St. Clair, Jr. and Family.

Senior Parker Burton delivered the first student address, sharing his experience as an outsider who found a sense of belonging at Lander Valley. Burton moved around as a kid, never quite fitting in, and described his freshman year, before moving to Lander, as the worst of his life. It was his sophomore year, when he began volunteering and was absorbed into the senior class, that things changed. He talked about the football program and how a team that went winless, drawing some laughs as he took a small jab at his father and head coach Jim Burton, ended up making it to the state semi-final three years later. He credited that same culture of family and brotherhood with producing the program’s first-ever boys state soccer championship. He closed by urging his classmates not to obsess over the future or dwell on the past. “Yesterday’s history, tomorrow’s mystery, today’s a gift,” he said, reciting a quote. “That’s why it’s called the present.”

SpEd teacher Carissa Johnson spoke next, reflecting on her early years at the school and the relationships she built with students who came to her classroom just to sit and decompress, or who feared they would never make it to graduation. “Sometimes showing up is more important than having the right answer,” she said. Johnson told graduates she was terrified when she sat where they were sitting 18 years ago, but she survived that free fall, and so would they. “You’re not done today. You’re ready. Being ready is a much better vibe than being done.”

Student Body President Daegan Reinhardt gave the final student address. Reinhardt moved to Lander from Colorado Springs before eighth grade, dreading every moment of it. What she found instead was a special kind of immediate kindness. She described her five years in Lander as a lesson in community and she talked about her classmates showing her that the most unexpected experiences can change your life. In keeping with her tradition of closing morning announcements with a joke, she finished up by asking the crowd how to make a tissue dance. “You put a little boogie in it.”

Principal Brad Neuendorf presented the class and spent much of his remarks painting portraits of individual students and recognizing them for the qualities they’d shown during their time at LVHS. One of the students he highlighted was senior Sawyer Nachazel, who made his own statement when he pulled out a wad of fake $100 bills and flung them into the air as he crossed the stage. He ended his speech by addressing the room, “Pay attention,” he said. “These young men and women are for real.”

The ceremony also recognized three graduates enlisting in the military: Evin Kummer, Micah Morgan, and Colby Phillips. Assistant Principal Kellen Freedman introduced the graduates, and Reinhardt led the turning of the tassel.

Neuendorf inducted seven students into the LVHS Academic Hall of Fame, all female, the first all-female inductee class in the hall’s history. They were Adelyn Anderson, Kathryn Anderson, Liesl Edelman, Ava Gerlach, Erica Lane, Daegan Reinhardt, and Zoe Szymanski.