The Warriors of La Plata High School celebrated the graduation of its Class of 2026 Thursday, June 4, at Regency Furniture Stadium.
The class was led by valedictorian Ella Luton with the salutatorian role shared by Joyce Kang and Gavin Wu. Luton urged her fellow graduates to live their life not dictated by fear, but to try, fail, learn from it and try again.
“Trying means failing, failing means learning,” Luton said. “And learning means growing.” Luton will study biology at Salsbury University in the fall.
Kang, who will attend Johns Hopkins University to major in molecular and cellular biology, and Wu, who is headed to the University of Maryland, College Park, to study chemical engineering, both touched on how fear can be a catalyst for growth.
“It is possible for our excitement to coexist with the fear of the unknown,” Kang said. She said the class members were able to build friendships and a sense of community ensuring them they were not alone. Kang said she wished for a time machine to rewind back to moments in life that she wanted to try again.
“The moments we desperately wished for a re-do were the moments that taught us the most. Failed tests, awkward presentations and difficult loses taught us resilience,” she said. “Maybe the goal is not to wish for more time and a chance to restart. Maybe the goal is to appreciate the fact that we were blessed enough to live these moments.”
Wu said if he had a time machine, he would use it to go back in time and not waste it. He would make new friends and take the chances. But he realized he doesn’t need a time machine, he needed to think differently. He said that it is natural to want to protect yourself from uncertainty, risk of failure and change. “But changing is a natural part of life,” Wu said. “High school was different from each of us, but a common factor was fear. The fear of leaving old friends and making new ones often tethers us to the past. Stagnating our growth and delaying our potential … I hope you’ll be free. Free from these fears. Don’t waste time.”
St. Charles High School will hold its commencement at 2 p.m. June 4 wrapping up the CCPS graduation season. To learn more about graduation, visit https://www.ccboe.com/parents/graduation-2026.
