684 grads, 13 valedictorians walk the stage at Bulldog stadium. Watch the full ceremony here.
For one final evening Thursday, the members of Folsom High School’s Class of 2026 occupied the same field where generations of Bulldogs before them celebrated championships, friendships, milestones and memories. By night’s end, they had become part of that history themselves.
The 684 graduates who crossed the stage at Bulldog Stadium officially became Folsom High School’s 101st graduating class, concluding four years defined by academic excellence, athletic achievement, artistic accomplishment and the relationships that speakers repeatedly described as the true legacy of their time together.
The graduating class included 666 Folsom High School seniors and 18 graduates from Folsom Lake High School. Under pleasantly cool temperatures and comfortable conditions throughout the evening, thousands of family members, friends, teachers and supporters gathered to celebrate a class that has left an undeniable mark on the school and community.
As speakers took to the podium throughout the ceremony, a common message emerged. While diplomas would mark the end of high school, the experiences, friendships and lessons forged over the past four years would continue shaping the graduates long after they left the familiar halls of Folsom High School behind.
Following the Pledge of Allegiance led by student body president Eliza Webster and a performance of the National Anthem by the Folsom High School Jazz Choir, Principal Howard Cadenhead welcomed the crowd and reflected on the extraordinary accomplishments of the Class of 2026.
Cadenhead shared a series of statistics that illustrated both the academic strength and diverse talents of the graduating class. At the conclusion of the fall semester, 121 seniors had earned grade-point averages above 4.0 while another 229 students maintained GPAs between 3.5 and 3.9. Together, nearly half of the graduating class achieved a GPA of 3.5 or higher. The class also produced 21 AP Capstone recipients, 20 California Scholarship Federation Life Members, 62 Career Technical Education pathway completers, nine National Honor Society graduates, 11 four-year student government leaders, 92 visual and performing arts pathway completers and 26 World Language Scholars. Meanwhile, Folsom High’s Academic Decathlon competitors brought home a state championship, adding another chapter to the school’s long tradition of academic excellence.
Among the evening’s most celebrated recognitions were the class’s 13 valedictorians. Anthony Benavides, Faith Best, Solon Chan, Aekari Chien, Lulu Frieders, Nikhita Joshi, Aashish Karmacharya, Sid Kumar, Jade Lim, Avi Mahajan, Anirudh Nalluri, Hunter Tsai and Olivia Yoon each earned straight A’s throughout high school while completing at least 12 semesters of Advanced Placement or honors coursework. As they rose before their classmates, they represented not only academic excellence but the broader culture of achievement that has become synonymous with Folsom High School.
Yet some of the evening’s most moving moments focused not on accomplishments, but on remembrance.
Before introducing the student speakers, Cadenhead paused to honor Kevin Ross, a classmate whose life was tragically cut short two years ago.
“Kevin remains deeply in our hearts. His spirit, his kindness, and his memory are part of who we are,” Cadenhead said, telling the audience that Ross would always remain a member of the Class of 2026. The moment served as a reminder that the bonds formed during high school often extend far beyond classrooms, grades and activities, becoming part of a class’s shared story long after graduation.
That sense of shared experience became a central theme throughout the student addresses.
Valedictorian Aekari Chien opened by taking classmates back to their first days on campus, recalling freshmen who wandered hallways searching for classrooms, showed up to the wrong lunch periods and wrote letters to their future senior selves wondering what life would look like four years later.
Looking across the field Thursday evening, she noted that the students seated before her had become almost unrecognizable from those nervous freshmen. Through athletics, visual and performing arts, clubs, leadership programs and countless other experiences, students found places to belong and discovered friendships that eventually felt more like family.
“Our class is so lively,” Chien said as she reflected on the energy that defined the Class of 2026. She described the constant activity that filled the campus each day, from the bustle of the quad between classes to rallies where students could feel the bass reverberating through the gym and hear ringing ears long after the final cheers faded. Everywhere students went, she said, they could feel the vitality and spirit that classmates brought to Folsom High School.
While celebrating those memories, Chien also acknowledged the uncertainty that often accompanies graduation. Many students will soon become freshmen again on college campuses, while others will enter careers, military service or entirely new chapters of life. Drawing from her own experience of moving seven times during her life, she spoke candidly about change and adversity.
“It frequently gets worse before it gets better,” she said. Yet she expressed confidence that the graduates sitting before her had been prepared by the challenges they had already overcome. Rigorous academics, changing schedules, evolving routines and the countless ups and downs of adolescence had equipped them with resilience and independence.
“Just like you’ve been taught at Folsom High, you will persevere, you will learn, and you will grow. And eventually, you will flourish,” she said.
Her speech culminated with what would become one of the defining themes of the evening.
“Folsom High has gifted us with two things, roots and wings,” Chien said. The roots, she explained, ensure graduates always know where home is and remember who they are, while the wings give them the ability to pursue excellence wherever life takes them. As she encouraged classmates to spread those wings and discover how far they could fly, the metaphor resonated throughout Bulldog Stadium.
While Chien reflected on the journey the class had taken together, fellow valedictorian Lulu Frieders focused on the people who made that journey possible.
Standing before her classmates, Frieders argued that none of the accomplishments celebrated that evening happened in isolation.
“No one achieves things entirely on their own. It takes a whole village, or in our case, an entire dog pack,” she said.
Throughout her remarks, Frieders painted a picture of the community that surrounded the Class of 2026. She spoke of teammates who offered encouragement before games, classmates who spent late nights studying together, friends who shared morning coffees and faculty members who consistently went above and beyond to help students discover their potential.
She credited teachers and mentors who helped students launch theater productions, build art portfolios, find internships, learn coding, create volunteer organizations and pursue opportunities they may never have imagined possible. Looking out at rows of classmates seated across the field, she described the countless relationships that helped shape their high school experience and the values they would carry into adulthood.
One lesson in particular remained with her.
“The people we choose to spend our time with shape who we will become,” Frieders said, recalling advice from her track and cross-country coach. The message, she explained, extended far beyond athletics. The people graduates choose to surround themselves with in the years ahead will influence the direction of their lives and the people they ultimately become.
At a time when society often feels increasingly isolated and divided, Frieders challenged classmates to prioritize empathy, meaningful relationships and authentic connection.
“We become what we love, including the people around us, the goals we pursue, and the place we call home,” she said. “Let’s find people that we love. Let’s find a purpose that we love. Let’s make our lives something that we love.”
While Frieders focused on community, valedictorian Kinga Major focused on the extraordinary accomplishments the Class of 2026 achieved together.
Preparing to attend the United States Naval Academy, Major built her remarks around the Latin phrase “Ex scientia tridens” — through knowledge, sea power. The phrase, she said, reflected the journey of the graduates sitting before her and the opportunities that now lay ahead.
Drawing from accomplishments across campus, Major highlighted a class that consistently excelled in every arena. She celebrated Folsom High’s fifth consecutive Sacramento County Academic Decathlon championship, the 14 awards earned at the Lenaea Theater Festival, four gold medals captured by SkillsUSA competitors, a gold rating and second-place finish earned by choir students at the WorldStrides Heritage Festival, a state football championship and the achievement of sending 10 wrestlers to state competition.
“This is our strength. This is sea power,” Major said as she connected those accomplishments to the power of knowledge, preparation and perseverance. But she was equally quick to credit the people who made those successes possible. Teachers, administrators, counselors, coaches, custodians and families, she said, all played vital roles in helping students reach graduation night.
“It is through knowledge that we have found our own capability to lead, to endure, and to command our own futures,” Major said. “Now it is our turn to lead and give back to those who believed in us first.”
In one of the ceremony’s most memorable moments, Major asked her classmates to join her in a call-and-response affirmation rooted in the themes of her speech. “I have the knowledge,” she called out, drawing a unified response from hundreds of graduates seated across the field. When she followed with, “I have the strength,” the answer came back even louder. The exchange echoed throughout Bulldog Stadium and drew cheers from family members and friends, serving as a fitting reflection of the confidence, resilience and shared pride that defined the Class of 2026.
When Cadenhead returned to the podium later in the evening, he shifted from celebrating accomplishments to discussing character.
Using a series of humorous stories overheard from students during the school year, he introduced a topic familiar to many teenagers — aura. While the audience laughed at tales involving television debates, history lessons and a student worried she had ruined her aura after tripping on the way to class, Cadenhead used the moment to deliver one of the night’s most meaningful messages.
Aura, he explained, is not something that can be lost in a moment of embarrassment. It is built intentionally over time through the choices people make every day.
“If you’re happy with your aura, it’s because it’s been curated intentionally over many years,” he said. “It includes the way you smile, the way you walk into a room. It is showing up when people need you. It is how you smile at strangers. It’s respecting a lot, judging a little, and forgiving often.”
The principal told graduates that character is reflected not in achievements or titles but in the impact people have on others. The confidence they carry, the kindness they extend and the way they treat those around them shape every relationship and every room they enter.
“You change every space and relationship that you are in, and that is never an accident,” he said.
As he concluded, Cadenhead offered a final farewell to the students he has watched grow over the past four years.
“Class of 2026, we love your aura, and we will miss you.”
Moments later, Folsom Cordova Unified School District Board President Jennifer Larratt formally authorized the awarding of diplomas, certifying that the graduates had fulfilled all requirements established by the state and district. One by one, students crossed the stage to receive the diplomas they had spent years working toward before celebrating with classmates, teachers and family members on the field below.
As the ceremony concluded, graduates participated in the traditional turning of the tassels before launching their caps skyward in celebration, marking the official end of their high school careers. They then streamed onto the bluegrass field beneath the stadium lights, gathering for photographs, hugs and final conversations with classmates, teachers and family members. For the 684 members of the Class of 2026, the evening represented the culmination of four years of academic achievement, personal growth and shared experiences. The graduates now leave as Folsom High School’s 101st graduating class, carrying forward the lessons, friendships and memories that speakers throughout the evening reflected upon as they begin the next chapter of their lives.
Thursday’s ceremony was livestreamed by Folsom Times in partnership with the Folsom Cordova Unified School distriction. The entire event can watched on the media outlets YouTube Channel HERE. See photos from the ceremony and the celebration below.
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