Tomorrow evening, Friday, May 22, New Prague High School’s Class of 2026 and seniors from the community, regardless of where they attend high school will join the ranks of high school graduates this community has a right to be proud of and hold in high esteem. Young people are the future of this community, its future leaders, its someday civic leaders, its elected representatives of a community looking up to you.
This community has many more graduates than those who will graduate from Trojan Stadium tomorrow. Some may have attended public or private, parochial or home school elsewhere because that is what worked best for them. They should also be remembered and honored.
You have done great things. You have accomplished much in the years since you started your educational journey 12, maybe 13, years ago. You started school in 2013 or 2014. The ice bucket challenge was a thing back then. The selfie has been almost perfected since you began your journey. You have seen changes, many for the better, in music, in technology, in popular culture, your community and so much more. Many new fads have come and gone, but for most of you, your community will always be home. Many will go away to school or perhaps even move away for a time. Always remember where you came from, who helped you become the best young adults you are or will soon become.
Besides your family, perhaps it was a teacher, an advisor, a coach, an administrator or a close friend. You have celebrated success in the classroom, on the field, the stage, in the school’s music rooms and, we hope, learned from experiences when things didn’t initially turn out according to plan.
Maybe you’ll head off to college, attend a trade school, join the workforce or serve in our nation’s military. As the kids used to say – you do you. Be what you want to be. You’ve spent the last 12, 13 years in school. Always remember, the time to learn never ends. Remember the lessons your parents, grandparents and elders offered, even when they didn’t mean to. You’re parents will get smarter as you age. You can learn outside a school’s four walls.
Now is not the time to put some form of an education on hold. No matter what path you take, always be committed to learning, whether it’s for work or simply to be a better, more well-rounded person. Stand up for what you believe in, even when it’s not always popular.
Someday, after you finish your education or your experiences elsewhere, we hope you’ll consider coming back to New Prague. It’s a wonderful place to live and, when you’re ready, raise a family. This proud community has many amenities. Its schools are strong, its neighborhoods relatively safe and its parks are clean and well maintained. We hope the community will have started to grow in a controlled fashion by the time you return and decide this is the place you want to raise your family.
It’s all gone by so quickly. And as you look back, maybe you remember thinking graduating from the high school would take forever. You have shown resilience; your class successfully navigated a pandemic and developed its own sense of determination to stay the course you have set. You have learned you can make your own decisions, choices which sometimes go the way you hoped they would and sometimes remind you to accept responsibility and learn from your successes and mistakes. Use these lessons as you face new choices.
And when you walk across the stage during tomorrow evening’s commencement exercise, remember the people who have been there beside you, whether they are in the stands or lining the fence. They have been there during your journey supporting you, sharing your celebrations and successes and pushing you to reach for more. In whatever way works for you, take a moment to thank the people in your corner and let them know you haven’t taken for granted all they did to help you cross that stage.
Whether you attended New Prague High School or studies elsewhere, congratulations to the Class of 2026. We hope you have made your community proud.