FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — The Northland Preparatory Academy Class of 2025 marked the end of their academic journey with a heartfelt ceremony Thursday at NAU’s Ardrey Auditorium. Poignant speeches from administrators, valedictorians, and faculty celebrated student achievements while offering encouragement for what lies ahead.

A Journey Completed: Superintendent Lykins Welcomes Graduates

Superintendent David Lykins opened the ceremony with a trilingual welcome, inviting graduates Johanna Gleeman and Jihonaa'ei Lee to deliver portions in Spanish and Diné before his own address in English.

"Graduation day is a time to reflect on the past, appreciate the present, but ponder the future," Lykins told the audience. "So I want everyone here to join me this afternoon, just to take a moment to look around to your neighbor, if you're a graduate, to the graduates on the stage, to either your left or your right. And take a moment to reflect on your journey that's brought you here today."

Lykins emphasized the 13-year educational journey these students had completed—plus the five formative years before kindergarten where they learned fundamental skills. He described NPA's educational framework built on three pillars: arts, academics, and athletics.

He took time to acknowledge the foundation that supported the students' success: parents, faculty, and the students themselves. Speaking directly to parents, Lykins detailed their countless contributions:

"From packed lunches and back-to-school shopping, to rides to practices, dances, and constant reminders to finish homework—parents, this was your journey too."

Looking to the graduates' future, Lykins offered a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson: "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."

A Shared Transition: Principal Litwicki’s Farewell Address

In a memorable entrance that had the audience laughing, retiring Principal Jay Litwicki took the stage wearing a hip t-shirt and backwards ballcap, embodying what he called "senioritis."

"Senioritis, am I right? I get it. All right. You're graduating. I'm retiring. So all of us up here on this stage are just wrapping up our final semester at NPA," Litwicki said, drawing parallels between his retirement and the students' graduation.

He shared his own experience of finality, noting, "Like you, I've spent the last few weeks walking around. This is going to be the last time I ever walk this hall. This is the last time I ever park in this parking space. This is the last time I ever hide out in Wiggins' room for an underground ILS."

Litwicki described the ceremony as a rite of passage marking the transition from childhood to adulthood, while comparing his own life transition to the graduates'.

"While you've been stressing out job applications, trying to navigate FAFSA site, or applying for scholarships, I've been trying to figure out social security applications. State retirement, Medicare. Do you know there are four parts to Medicare—A, B, C, and D? It's like a multiple-choice test."

He acknowledged the difficulty of change while encouraging excitement for the future: "Tomorrow, you wake up in a new world. It might seem unfair. I mean, we just got the hang of this world. But it's time to go off to an entirely new one."

Litwicki concluded with advice for both himself and the graduates:

"Follow the part of you that is great and you will be great. Follow the part of you that is small and you will be small. Godspeed, intrepid travelers. Every journey begins with a first step, and this is your first step."

Connected Class: Co-Valedictorians Share the Stage

In a unique arrangement reflecting their extraordinarily close academic achievements, Osman Werner and John Vonesh delivered the valedictorian address together, explaining their unusual situation with humor.

"How do we get in this situation? Saying we're competitive would be an understatement," Werner said. "Before the year started, we knew our GPAs would be close. Now, what we didn't expect after calculating our class ranks ourselves, was that there was a 0.003 difference in our weighted GPAs. That’s not one, not two—but three zeros. Now, I'm no expert in math, but that's a pretty small number."

The pair took turns highlighting each other's accomplishments. Vonesh described Werner as having "taken more math classes than is recommended for an average 12-year-old," while mentioning his friend "finally made it to Allstate Percussionist this year and became a National Merit Scholar."

Werner, in turn, noted that Vonesh "has taken more AP classes than I can count. He's made it to Arizona's Allstate Guitar Ensemble, and he's our retired student body president."

Rather than focusing on individual achievements, the valedictorians emphasized the special nature of their graduating class, which they described with a single word: connected.

"The Class of 2025 has quite a lot of space to spare on stage. And while we may be physically spread out, we share an emotional connection that no other class can mimic," Werner said. "This group of 58 graduates is the smallest class NPA's had in a very long time. We have people who'd never be friends if they went to larger schools, and every one of us has talked to nearly every person on this stage."

Vonesh added, "Looking at this class's next steps, our ability to connect will be a gift that keeps on giving as we continue making new connections in every stage of our lives."

The co-valedictorians concluded with a call to their classmates:

"John and I implore you all to continue growing, connecting with others, and being those silly geese you are. Because those characteristics are what make this class so special to us."

First-Year Teacher Reflects:

Briar Welling's Address

English teacher Briar Welling delivered an emotional address, reflecting on her first year teaching and the special bond formed with this graduating class.

"As I sat writing this speech, I was unsure where to begin," Welling admitted. "Do I start with the periodic requests to play Baby by Justin Bieber in class? How light equals knowledge? Or maybe the many times we had to go outside, because we got so off task, we needed to touch grass."

She shared a humorous anecdote about students writing a letter to her boyfriend encouraging him to propose:

"We notice that on her gloomy days, she looks at her left ring finger—and it’s still empty. That’s why her gloomy days get gloomier," she read aloud, drawing laughter from the audience.

"Thank goodness you all approved, since he's now my fiancé."

Welling described how her favorite moments weren’t structured classroom activities, but the meaningful connections formed with students.

"Looking back, I remember you when you all started to infiltrate my prep hour to sit with me at lunch, or even if I had lunch duty outside, or when you got accepted into your dream college during my class, or took a phone call with a potential future coach."

She credited the students for their kindness and patience:

"You were kind even when I was uncertain, or when I changed things last-minute trying to help—though, let’s be honest, I probably didn’t."

Her parting advice was simple but powerful:

"Say yes. Say yes to the trips with your friends. Say yes to trying out that one class that might change your life, and say yes to living."

Welling shared how saying yes had transformed her own life:

"I say this because if I’d been afraid to say yes, I wouldn't have moved to Arizona. I wouldn't be planning my wedding. I wouldn't be your senior English teacher, and I wouldn't be standing on the stage today."

She concluded with gratitude:

"Thank you for being patient. Thank you for being welcoming. Thank you for being willing to do all the things that I thought of throughout the year as I was learning how to do this for the first time."

Symbolic Transition: The Tassel Ceremony

The ceremony concluded with a traditional tassel-moving ritual led by graduate Annabelle Jackson.

"As is academic tradition, a student who has not yet earned a diploma wears the tassel of his or her mortarboard on the right side. However, once the diploma is conferred, the scholar moves the tassel to the left side, joining a select company of educated men and women," Jackson explained.

With that, the Class of 2025 collectively moved their tassels from right to left, symbolizing their transition from students to graduates, ready to embark on their next chapter.

A Photographer’s Reflection

By Sean Openshaw

After more than 30 years as a professional photographer, I’ve learned there’s so much more to a moment than what it looks like. There’s more to a moment than meets the eye.

As I photographed today’s graduation—listening to the speeches while clicking the shutter—I kept hearing things my camera could never capture. That’s why I felt compelled to summarize the event in words, not just images.

But even with all these words and thousands of photos, I still won’t have captured what this moment truly means to each graduate and their family. That meaning isn’t embedded in the images—but buried in our hearts and minds.

So as you read these words and look through the photos, I invite you to pause—and write. What does this moment mean to you? What do you hope you never forget? What can’t be seen, but deserves to be saved?

It’s those words—not my images—that will preserve the emotion and meaning of this day.