Thirty-four members of the Weatherly Area High School Class of 2026 walked across the middle school stage and accepted diplomas Friday night, as friends, family and faculty applauded their achievement.

“You are the best and brightest, and we are gathered here tonight to celebrate the promise that you hold to our community, your families and yourselves,” Principal Anthony DeSpirito told the graduates.

“Congratulations on your outstanding accomplishments,” he said.

Salutatorian Kelly Reiner told fellow grads that their next steps in life are almost a mystery, even as they try to control that path as they move forward.

“To have complete control of our future is so hard at this exact moment because there is so much uncertainty,” she said.

But she recalled the words of one of her teachers, Brian Kaminski, who said, “Control what you can control and the rest is noise. Don’t let the noise distract you.”

The noise was loud while playing girls basketball, she said, but turned to her biggest supporter, her father, who rarely missed games and yelled from the bleachers, she said.

“He is one of the reasons that I know that I can let the noise go and control what I can control,” Reiner said.

She offered that same advice to her classmates as they look forward to what’s next.

“You are in control of your future, do no let the noise distract,” Reiner said.

Valedictorian McKenna Gerhard told her classmates that graduation marked the end of their journey together.

“For many of us, we have spent the last 13 years in the same classrooms, walking the same halls and building countless memories,” she said. “We have grown up side by side, shaping each other through our shared experiences.

“While this milestone is exciting and full of possibility, it is also bittersweet,” Gerhard said.

Graduation is the end of high school and the end of the familiar, she said.

“From this moment on, our lives will change in ways we can’t begin to predict or imagine,” Gerhard said. “And while this may be the end of our journey together, it is also the beginning of everything that lies ahead.

“It’s time to start our new journey,” she said.

Class President Grace Portell reflected on their time together and thanked those who influenced and guided them.

“I want to thank everyone here — the unforgettable teachers, the amazing administrators, the dedicated families and the best class I could ask for,” he said.

“I cannot wait to see what you all accomplish in your futures because whatever it is, you will exceed all expectations you hold for yourself,” Portell said.

Superintendent Dr. Robert Croop congratulated the graduates, and recognized honored guests, those from the Class of 1976, which graduated 50 years ago.

Salutatorian for the Class of 1976, Donna Titus, a retired teacher and associate dean at MMI Preparatory School, was a guest speaker, who remembers stealing a line, “The times they are a-changin’,” from Bob Dylan for her speech.

The line is just as relevant today, she told graduates. But she also assured them that no matter their future not one of them would be “a complete unknown.”