Graduating from Connections Homeschool, Valedictorian Xinlan Tanner said, means completing an unconventional educational path. The students of Connections, she said, balanced independence and discipline on their own journeys through high school.<\/p>\n
Looking at her graduating class during the school’s Thursday commencement in Soldotna, Tanner acknowledged that none of them had ever shared a classroom or even a daily routine. Homeschool students, she said, learn in different ways — like “math in the kitchen” or “Shakespeare on the couch.”<\/p>\n
“We didn’t move through the halls of a single building together, but we did move through challenges, growth and discovery together — in spirit,” she said. “Our learning wasn’t always neat or predictable, but it was real, and it was meaningful, and it was ours.”<\/p>\n
Tanner also pointed to the unique contributions of many of their parents in educating the students of Connections Homeschool. They served as teachers, tech support and pep talkers.<\/p>\n
Many of those parents could be seen during Thursdays ceremony, waiting onstage to give diplomas to their children, taking the place of Kenai Peninsula Borough School District dignitaries and Connections staff.<\/p>\n
The students of Connections Homeschool, Principal Doug Hayman said during an address, are varied and talented. Some already have college degrees, many have earned accolades and scholarships.<\/p>\n
As the students move forward beyond Connections Homeschool, looking toward jobs, further education or “something else new and extraordinary,” Tanner encouraged them to keep learning without the pressure of grades.<\/p>\n
“Life will always surprise you,” she said. “Sometimes it’ll test you, but it will also invite you to become more than you ever imagined.”<\/p>\n
Connections Homeschool 2025 graduates<\/strong><\/p>\n Sydney Abrams<\/p>\n Alinna Baker<\/p>\n Piper Baringer<\/p>\n Blaec Beale<\/p>\n Evan Beasley<\/p>\n Alexandra Bennett<\/p>\n Ronan Bickling<\/p>\n Noah Bird<\/p>\n Tucker Blough<\/p>\n Kaiden Bogie<\/p>\n Abigail Brady<\/p>\n Finley Braund<\/p>\n Marilyn Brewer-Cote<\/p>\n Austin Briscoe<\/p>\n Dale Bryant<\/p>\n Easton Bullock<\/p>\n Jordan Bullock<\/p>\n Eve Burke<\/p>\n Kenneth Bush<\/p>\n Aasen Campanella<\/p>\n Cruz Cannon<\/p>\n McKenna Carlin<\/p>\n George Carpenter<\/p>\n Nicholas Choate<\/p>\n Anastasia Chuprov<\/p>\n Sarah Clarke<\/p>\n Lydia Coe<\/p>\n Cameron Cook<\/p>\n Evan Cooper<\/p>\n Isabelle Cruz<\/p>\n Sinclair Dahl<\/p>\n Katie Dambacher<\/p>\n Agnese DeVita<\/p>\n Gavin Donahue<\/p>\n Daniel Dyer<\/p>\n Jacob Edmunds<\/p>\n Telan Fallon<\/p>\n Kelly Gilliam<\/p>\n Josiah Gordon<\/p>\n John Haerle<\/p>\n Aspen Haley<\/p>\n Katie Hallam<\/p>\n Ashlyn Harris<\/p>\n Seamus Hatton<\/p>\n Addison Havrilla<\/p>\n De’ahni Hemmings<\/p>\n Hyrum Henderson<\/p>\n Tanner Henderson<\/p>\n Aria Hill<\/p>\n Laura Horn<\/p>\n Michael Houser<\/p>\n Blaine Hunt<\/p>\n Megan Hutchins<\/p>\n Ashana Ivanoff<\/p>\n Rebecca Jardine<\/p>\n Leif Jaworski<\/p>\n Blake Johnson<\/p>\n Katie Johnson<\/p>\n Carson Kandas<\/p>\n Ethan Koch<\/p>\n Elijah Lee<\/p>\n Caiden Llewellyn<\/p>\n Jonathan Loop<\/p>\n Scottlyn Lyons<\/p>\n Alexander MacMaster<\/p>\n Laurel Matson<\/p>\n Darien McCracken<\/p>\n Jody McKinney<\/p>\n Chenia McNearney<\/p>\n Logan Mese<\/p>\n Abigail Miller<\/p>\n James Moody<\/p>\n Judah Mumey<\/p>\n Josiah Napier<\/p>\n Marley Nightingale<\/p>\n Jason Oleson<\/p>\n Kyler Pearson<\/p>\n Layla Pearson<\/p>\n Taylor Pyfer<\/p>\n Mark Rader<\/p>\n Harland Richards<\/p>\n Hannah Riedel<\/p>\n Natalia Sherwood<\/p>\n Caeli Shoop<\/p>\n Jade Stewart<\/p>\n Addison Stiers<\/p>\n Justyce Stockman<\/p>\n Nikolas Sulczynski<\/p>\n Aiden Sullivan<\/p>\n Jolee Swanson<\/p>\n Xinlan Tanner<\/p>\n Brenden Theel<\/p>\n Boone Theiler<\/p>\n Matthias Travers<\/p>\n David Trefren<\/p>\n Benjamin Tupper<\/p>\n Garrett Updike<\/p>\n Nicholas Veh<\/p>\n Aidan Volk-Wall<\/p>\n Molly Waarvik<\/p>\n Christi Weisser<\/p>\n Talia Weisser<\/p>\n Jocelyn White<\/p>\n Mailea Willden<\/p>\n Kaden Williams<\/p>\n Peyton Williams<\/p>\n Joseph Winrod<\/p>\n Izabella Wolpert Houston<\/p>\n Juanita Wood<\/p>\n Brayden Woods<\/p>\n Scout Wyant<\/p>\n Terry Yerly<\/p>\n Zackary Zurfluh<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Connections Homeschool students graduate after unconventional, unique school careers. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":493,"featured_media":88836,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,811],"tags":[56,183,85],"class_list":["post-88835","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-top-news","tag-local-news","tag-schools","tag-soldotna"],"yoast_head":"\n