MISSION — Nixyáawii Community School (NCS) celebrated the Class of 2026, as 10 students walked across the stage to receive their diplomas, marking the school’s 22nd graduating class.
As the young graduates approached the stage at the start of the ceremony on June 5 at Wildhorse Resort & Casino, they presented roses to friends and family members significant to their achievements.
Speakers at the event included NCS Principal Ryan Heinrich; teachers Christina Thomas, Alison Zubiria and Zack Brandsen; and valedictorian Liana Stewart. Stewart graduated with honors, earning a cumulative grade point average between 3.50 and 3.74.
“This class was very easy when it came to school behavior, I didn’t have to worry about them hardly at all,” Heinrich said during the ceremony. “This class will leave lasting memories with all of the staff, coaches and the community that supported them.”
Three teachers spoke at the ceremony, offering encouragement and advice to their former students as they move into the next stage of their lives, whether pursuing further education, attending trade school or entering the workforce.
“I encourage you all to look back and reflect on how you persevered during challenging times, the lifelong friends you’ve made, the skills you’ve gained and the lessons you’ve learned along the way,” Thomas said. “As teachers, we can lecture you all day long about the importance of showing up and just doing the work, but most of you have learned it firsthand.”
Thomas’s final message to her students encouraged them to treat others with kindness and respect and to carry out small thoughtful gestures.
“Spread kindness daily and reflect often on all you have to be grateful for,” she said. “I will start that practice right now by saying how incredibly grateful I am to have been a part of your lives.”
Brandsen, social science teacher of NCS, assured the graduates that they should be proud of their achievements that culminated in their diplomas.
“Those of us that are here today aren’t here to celebrate a piece of paper, we are celebrating you and all that you have become and the person you’ve grown into,” he said.
Stewart addressed her classmates prior to the presentation of diplomas, congratulating her peers on their accomplishments.
“Some of us grew up together, riding around on our bikes, playing in the parks and going home when the streetlights turned on,” she said. “It’s pretty crazy that we’re up here now, some of us didn’t think we would be here.”
After Stewart delivered her speech, staff presented the Pepsi Bottling and Old Oregon League scholarships. Stewart and Neveah Moore received the Pepsi Bottling Scholarship, while Moore also received the Old Oregon League Scholarship for “her remarkable athletic achievement and character throughout the 2025–26 school year.”
The NCS Class of 2026 graduates were Breezy Appenay-Dominguez, Noah Burdeau, Harley Gone, Jacob Jones, Ryan Titus McCoy, Moore, Meadow Nez, Shaundein Salt, Stewart and Sophie Wilson.
