Washingtonville High School Class of 2026 celebrates graduation

Hundreds of blue caps were tossed into the crisp summer sky as the Washingtonville High School Class of 2026 closed one chapter and opened the next. The celebration unfolded on the district's athletic field on Thursday, June 25, surrounded by the family, friends and faculty who helped them in their journeys.

Throughout the evening, speakers sent the graduates off with words of courage and community and a charge to embrace what lies ahead, including keynote speaker Stephanie Johnson, a proud member of the Washingtonville High School Class of 2001.

Ms. Boardman welcomed graduates and guests during her first commencement ceremony as principal of Washingtonville High School, reflecting on the part the Class of 2026 played in making her feel at home during her first year in the district.

"The Class of 2026 is special to me because they've shown me the true school spirit and what it means to be a Wizard," she said.

For Ms. Boardman, the Wizard spirit was reflected not only in the class' accomplishments, but in the way students embraced leadership throughout the school and community. What stayed with her most, however, was the way they welcomed her during her first year in the district.

"Not only will we remember you for your accomplishments, but I will hold even closer to my heart how you welcomed and supported me in my first year," she said, recalling how many students went out of their way to make her feel like part of the family from her very first day.

Ms. Boardman reminded graduates that milestones like acceptance letters and the diplomas earned that evening are exciting, but that each is built through countless everyday decisions.

"When we think about success, we often focus on the big moments," she said. "The truth is, our future is built one choice at a time."

She closed by urging graduates to choose courage, perseverance, kindness and grace.

"Choose courage. Choose perseverance. Choose kindness, and choose grace," she said. "And if you do, there's no limit to what you can achieve. The future is not built in a day. It's built day by day."

Class President Lila Sinacori took the stage next with a message about how we become who we surround ourselves with. Noting that her voice on the morning announcements had grown louder and more confident over four years, she credited that growth not to herself alone but to the people around her.

"You are who you surround yourself with, from personality to work ethic," she said. "Choosing those people is one of the only things that is fully in your control."

She credited her parents, teammates, coaches, teachers, class advisors, younger sister and best friend, Caroline Korba, with helping shape who she is today.

She urged the Class of 2026 to choose their circles wisely in the years ahead – to seek out people who celebrate them and motivate them, and to have the courage to walk away from anyone who would dim their light.

Fittingly, Lila closed with the daily tradition she's known for, leaving the class with one final morning-announcement joke: "When do grads become comedians? After they CAP-ture the attention of an audience!"

Salutatorian Caroline Korba followed with a message about how our time is exactly what we make of it. She took her classmates back to August 31, 2022, when a group of nervous freshmen filed into the auditorium for orientation and Assistant Principal Robert Shust informed them they had exactly 1,394 days until graduation.

One thousand three hundred ninety-four days later, Mr. Shust's words never left Caroline.

"When I first heard the number, the duration of time felt like forever," she said. "Now, on the other side of it all, I can say that those 1,394 days themselves, the days I spent with you all, were not enough."

Caroline acknowledged that high school often felt like a constant balancing act, with more opportunities than anyone could possibly pursue. However, rather than dwelling on the paths left unexplored, she encouraged her classmates to continue to embrace the experiences and relationships that made the past 1,394 days meaningful.

"We can do anything, but not everything," she said. "You can let the time zoom by, or you can fill your days with what makes you, you."

As she looked toward the future, Caroline challenged her classmates to leave behind the "What if?" questions that often accompany difficult choices and instead embrace the possibilities ahead by asking, "What's next?"

She closed by reminding her classmates that while their 1,394 days at Washingtonville had come to an end, what comes next is theirs to write.

"So go write it," she said. "Go take the moment and taste it, and go chase after your dreams — but for today, we'll start with a short walk across the stage."

The Senior Choir performed “Landslide” before Valedictorian Joseph Mullan took the stage, starting off by sharing a powerful tale about an eagle raised among chickens. Believing it was no different from the flock around it, the eagle spent its life grounded by its own assumptions, never realizing it was capable of soaring.

The message took on new meaning during a recent visit seniors made to their former elementary schools, where Joseph reflected on the dreams they once held as children.

"Walking through those familiar hallways reminded me of the colorful 'All About Me' posters we used to fill out during the first weeks of school," he said, recalling the all too familiar question: "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

"Some of us dreamed of becoming professional athletes, YouTubers, veterinarians, and even marine biologists, though I'm not sure most of us knew what the last one meant," he joked.

Somewhere along the way, Joseph said, many of those dreams were quietly traded for being realistic, for fitting in. But graduation, he reminded the Class of 2026, is not an ending.

"The very word commencement means a beginning, and that is precisely what tonight is," he said. "It is the beginning of your story, written entirely on your own terms."

He closed by returning to the message at the heart of his story, encouraging his classmates not to let their circumstances or the expectations of others define what they are capable of.

"Do not allow your background, your circumstances, or anyone else's expectations to keep you on the ground," he said. "You are not chickens. You have never been chickens. You are eagles — every single one of you — and the sky has always belonged to you."

Keynote speaker Stephanie Johnson, a Washingtonville High School Class of 2001 graduate and divisional director of LEGOLAND New York Resort, told graduates that after a career spanning North America and Europe, she now considers growing up in Washingtonville one of the greatest gifts she ever received.

She recalled being 18 years old and convinced that life began somewhere beyond Washingtonville. Asking graduates how many couldn't wait to see what lay beyond their hometown, she admitted she would have had both hands in the air.

But distance changed her perspective. The farther her career carried her from home, the more she came to appreciate what growing up in Washingtonville had given her.

"At that time, I would have never imagined that I could build part of my career six miles from my childhood home, and frankly, I probably wouldn't have wanted to," she said. "What I eventually discovered, and what some of you may already know, is that it is an absolute privilege to have grown up here."

Looking back, she realized it wasn't any single moment that shaped her, but the values woven into everyday life, especially the work ethic she saw in a community of people willing to do whatever it took for their families.

"Early in my career, I wasn't the smartest person in the room, but I made sure I was the hardest working," Ms. Johnson said. "Consistency built trust. Trust built opportunity."

She encouraged graduates to invest in themselves the way their community had invested in them, embrace opportunities before they feel completely ready, and see uncertainty not as a reason to hesitate, but as part of the journey.

"Life isn't about perfectly mapping the path," she said. "It's about moving forward until the path reveals itself. So don't let uncertainty stop you from saying yes to a good opportunity."

In an increasingly connected world, she reminded graduates, the relationships that matter most are still built face to face.

"Success will fill your calendar," she said. "But connection will fill your life."

Ms. Johnson closed where she had begun, with the town she'd once been so eager to leave.

"The small town I couldn't wait to leave was actually one of the greatest gifts I ever received," she said.

Following the presentation of diplomas, members of the Class of 2026 officially became Washingtonville High School alumni as family members and friends celebrated from the stands.

Congratulations to the Washingtonville High School Class of 2026.

Click here to view the Class of 2026 Graduation Gallery.