Referring to her classmates as the “best of the best” and congratulating them on their accomplishments, Oakdale High School Class of 2026 Salutatorian Zoe Byron was one of several graduates stepping up to the podium during the Friday evening, May 22 graduation ceremony in The Corral.

She told the crowd that she had hoped to offer remarks that were “inspirational and profound” when getting the chance to make a commencement address.

“But, given my utter lack of wisdom of almost everything, except maybe calculus, I am coming up short,” Byron admitted. “All I can say is that we did it … this day is a testament to our fortitude, our intelligence and our positivity.”

Byron also noted that she and her classmates are “not the same people” they were that first day of freshman year … they have grown and changed and will leave the OHS campus wiser and more self-assured.

“Congratulations to each and every one of you … I am eternally honored to get to call myself a Mustang and I hope that we will all carry these incredible four years with us into all the different lives we go on to lead, all of which starts today.”

The evening got underway with 13 minutes of Pomp and Circumstance performed by the band as the students entered the football stadium, followed by a welcome from Madison McTague and Samantha Oliveira leading the Pledge of Allegiance.

Student musicians Cristian Cornejo Plascencia, Emry Nykoluk, Miranda Lopes, Sean Muturi and Jeanette Pinon then performed the Star-Spangled Banner, and Taylor Krum offered the four-year review.

Byron was next on the program, turning the podium over to co-Valedictorians Tristan McCarthy and Miki Rasco when she completed her speech. McCarthy and Rasco shared the microphone, giving their address together.

Mike Moore, Principal of Oakdale High, then presented the Class of 2026 and it was formally accepted by Oakdale Joint Unified School District Superintendent Larry Mendonca. From there, the class members were announced, one by one, and received their diplomas.

After just about 20 minutes, the final diploma of the evening was awarded to Nicholas Frakes, and the graduates were asked to move their tassels in recognition of their graduation. Many of the caps then went skyward, as the Class of 2026 enjoyed the moment. Family and friends spilled on to the field for hugs, photos, smiles, well wishes, and making lots of memories.

For graduate Charles Benninger, the evening was bittersweet.

“I’m sad that it’s over but I’m happy that it happened” he said. “I made a lot of memories and I’m definitely going to be thinking about this for the rest of my life.”

His plans are to attend Arizona State University to study finance.

Best friends Morgan Long and Aubrey Thompson agreed that some of their best memories are the lunchtimes they spent together through the years.

“It feels really great,” Long said of graduating. “I’m headed to Fresno State and I’m really happy to be done but I’m also really sad to be done.”

Long will study speech pathology at Fresno State while Thompson will also attend Fresno State and study nursing.

The two will be roommates there, continuing a friendship they have shared since the first grade.

As far as what Thompson will take away from her time at OHS?

“Definitely take all the opportunities you can,” Thompson said. “Every opportunity that comes your way, definitely seize it, for sure.”

All smiles following the ceremony, Bas Stice plans to play baseball and start his college education at Modesto Junior College, with the goal of playing and studying there for a year and then transferring to a four-year school.

“Preferably somewhere SoCal, that’s my goal,” Stice said of his college transfer plans. “I want to get my degree in business and marketing and hopefully be a firefighter by the end of my time.”

He also appreciated the ceremony, surrounded by classmates and family.

“Just really thinking about all the memories and everything that has happened, it just puts it in perspective; you can’t take anything for granted,” Stice said.

He also offered a little advice to those underclassmen who will be returning to OHS next year: “Don’t want to grow up yet … just let it go by, let it go day by day, don’t rush it.”