The Elcho High School Class of 2026 Commencement Ceremony was held on May 23, 2026, at 1:00 p.m.. The ceremony was conducted alongside District Administrator Mrs. Rachel Lemanczyk and 4K-12 Principal Mrs. Paige Zutavern.
The graduating class selected the White Tulip as their class flower and presented a Memorial Bench in Honor of Mrs. Laura Doucette as their class gift. Their designated class song was "Broken Window Serenade" by Whiskey Myers, while their class quote was stated as, "No one is perfect, that's why pencils have erasers." They chose the class motto: "Together, we've proven that bad ideas make the best memories."
The program commenced with the processional as the Elcho Senior High Band performed "Pomp and Circumstance". Following the National Anthem and the playing of the Elcho School Song , Class President Kayla Siemers delivered the opening address.
Mrs. Deb Hatfield-Franske, representing the Elcho Scholarship Committee, led the announcement of scholarship recipients. Afterward, Cooper Wissbroecker introduced the commencement speaker, Luke Wissbroecker, an alumnus from the Elcho Class of 2006.
Following the commencement address, the Elcho Senior High Band members performed a final piece, "Dedicatory Overture" by Clifton Williams. Graduate Joshua Eighmy and the Class of 2026 then presented a "Remember When?" slide show presentation.
Principal Mrs. Paige Zutavern delivered the Principal's Address and Presentation of the Class. The reading of graduate names and the presentation of diplomas were performed by Mrs. Paige Zutavern, Mrs. Monica Bernhagen, and members of the Elcho Board of Education, which included Mr. David Visser, Mr. Paul Eighmy, Mrs. Shannon Ruhland-Crum, Mrs. Christine Giles, and Ms. Nikki Sturzl. The ceremony concluded with the turning of tassels led by Mr. Thomas Prahl, the presentation of flowers directed by Mrs. Jamie Robrecht and Mr. Michael Fossen, closing remarks, and the recessional music, "Renaissance Festival".
Alumni speaker Luke Wissbroecker expressed his honor at returning to speak in a gymnasium named after a coach he used to play for, noting that his nephew Cooper was among the graduates. Adhering to his father-in-law's advice to "be bright, be brief, and be gone", Luke focused his speech on choices and facing the unexpected.
"Because while you get to choose a lot — your attitude, your effort, your direction — you don't get to choose everything," he noted. "Life is going to throw curveballs. Plans will fall apart. Things won't go the way you expected. And in those moments, it's not about what happened to you. It's about how you respond."
He encouraged the class to embrace discomfort to achieve growth, quoting Ted Lasso: "A challenge is a lot like riding a horse — if you're comfortable while you're doing it, you're probably doing it wrong.". He concluded by urging the graduates to look at the positive things in front of them, sharing an ongoing reminder his wife tells their kids to "stop looking at the hole in the donut.". He left the graduates with the reminder that "this isn't the finish line — it's the starting line."
The closing remarks were delivered by the class Valedictorian, Russell Multhauf. He began his speech with a humorous inside joke shared by the class: "MY NAME IS RUSSELL, AND I'M A WILDERNESS EXPLORER.".
Russell reflected on how quickly time had passed since they were "little kids walking through the halls of Elcho school for the first time". He shared fond memories of younger days "when all we had to worry about was when snack time was, or when we tried to behave because nobody wanted Mrs. Kincaid to move them to the bad side of the hive".
He also shared how he discovered his future path in law enforcement after assistant wrestling coach Tyler Soltau invited him on a ride-along. He told his peers, "It is okay to not have everything figured out," pointing out that most people's original plans change over time anyway.
Before finishing, Russell looked back on his favorite senior experiences, remarking that they would have "no more class skip days or going sucker fishing every night that they are running, no more class cookouts in the parking lot on the last day of school.". He closed by asking his classmates to take one last look around before concluding, "Let's blow this popsicle stand."
The Class of 2026 recognized Russell Multhauf as Valedictorian and Kayla Siemers as Salutatorian. Members of the National Honor Society were designated with an asterisk. Below are the graduates and their announced post-graduation plans:
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