MIHS graduates sing, smile and celebrate at ceremony

Published 5:30 pm Wednesday, June 10, 2026

Mercer Island High School (MIHS) 2026 graduate Joy Rurangwa set the stage with a stunning vocal performance of the “National Anthem” and the rest of the evening flowed from there.

MIHS held its 69th commencement ceremony on June 9 at McCaw Hall in Seattle and sent some 360 graduates through the door and onto the next steps of their life journeys. Caps flew in the air, cheers filled the venue and plenty of pictures were taken in the packed lobby afterward.

ASB President Anusha Zaveri thanked the graduates’ teachers who she said have been supportive and influenced the students’ lives forever.

“Our class has handled extremely tough and difficult times, unlike any other class has before, and (that) has only made us all the more stronger and closer together and we’ve undoubtedly left a legacy like no other,” Zaveri added.

Throughout the 21-student valedictorian speech, there was joking, rapping, singing and invaluable insight into the graduates’ past, present and future.

According to some of the speakers, there were some unexpected twists during high school that forced the students to think on their feet, adapt to the situations and find new ways to push forward; every challenge has been an opportunity to prepare for the future; they’re leaving high school with the knowledge, confidence and resilience to face whatever comes next and more. One speaker encouraged the graduates to take pride in how far they’ve come in four years and to be excited and curious about what’s next on their trek. Holding onto what makes the graduates who they are was another crucial element to the robust speech.

“Our seniors have demonstrated time and time again that we can do hard things and we can remain hopeful,” said MIHS Principal Nick Wold in his welcome speech, during which he shared the parable of “Two Wolves” that a Cherokee elder once passed onto his grandson.

The story says that the two wolves live inside every person, with one representing fear, resentment, envy and more while the other wolf represents courage, perseverance, kindness and more. The wolves are engaged in a constant struggle, Wold said.

“It’s a simple story, but it contains one of the most important truths you’ll ever learn: the person you become is shaped not by what happens to you, but by what you repeatedly choose to feed,” Wold added.

Mercer Island School District Superintendent Dr. Fred Rundle fed off Wold’s speech while speaking of celebrating the MIHS graduates.

“Before you walk across this stage, before you toss your caps into the air, before you celebrate with your loved ones, just give yourself some presence — be present, be grateful, be proud, be wolf-less for a change. It’s not often you get this opportunity,” Rundle noted.

While rolling through her staff speech, MIHS English instructor Jane Stafford said the school got lucky with this year’s senior class. She describes the students as talented, disciplined, resilient, interesting and hilarious. Stafford added with a smile that they are also sort of weird, and they’ve accepted that quality while supporting each other and welcoming the class’s different personalities.

“From my vantage point, your class has a humanity and a vitality that I am very encouraged still exists in 2026,” she said.

Stafford said she thinks that high school graduation is an ideal time to take an inventory of oneself.

“To ask yourself, what do you like enough about yourself that you want to hold onto it? What are you proud of as a person? What parts do you want to intentionally develop over time so that you can live with them forever and ever that you’ll wake up with them, spend the day with them?” she added.

Senior speaker Miller Fosseen told the crowd that music has played a pivotal role in teaching her life lessons throughout the years. She’s learned about perspective, that hardships provide lessons and urged her classmates to be courageous enough to be themselves and to have fun while figuring everything out.

After mentioning the song “Just Say Yes” from her favorite movie “Surf’s Up,” Fosseen noted: “The truth is that none of us know where life is gonna take us, but one thing I do know is life is simply too short to spend it saying ‘no.’”

To view the ceremony, visit: https://www.youtube.com/live/aL7f8xAVq6Y