Bloomington High School North graduation 2026: That’s a wrap!

On Saturday afternoon (May 30), Bloomington High School North held commencement exercises for the Class of 2026. Included here are a report on the remarks by student speakers and photographs. 

Kelton O’Connell: Make this rock just a little bit better

Kelton O’Connell opened with a candid look at the purpose of schooling in America. He described the customary caps and gowns as “silly dresses” and reminded his classmates that millions of others across the country had accomplished the same thing: “We completed our required training on how to be a person. We did all the things, from learning to use the restroom to writing annotated bibliographies.”

He described schooling as something to him from early on like a pipeline to the workforce. “School felt like it was a system invented for the sole purpose of molding us into the perfect industrial commodity, so we can sell ourselves to the highest bidder.”

O’Connell then turned to a more hopeful message, saying that what matters is not grades or test scores, but self-determination and humanity. “These past four years at North have been an exercise in testing that,” he said, adding that students “are not defined as people by our transcripts or our SAT scores. We get to decide who we are.”

He continued with the theme of self-determination, even when it comes to subjective attributes: “Someone up here will probably call the class of 2026 hard working, driven, determined, compassionate, or kind, but we get to decide that. We get to decide who we are.” Later in the ceremony, North principal Matthew Stark picked up on O’Connell’s remarks, when he told the class of 2026: “You are thoughtful. You're resilient. You are talented. And yes, Kelton, you are compassionate. And you are ready.”

O’Connell wrapped up by saying he trusted that the class of 2026 would “find our place in this complex world, so that we can do our part to make this rock that we exist on just a little bit better.”

Riley White: Stay true to yourself

Riley White, focused on the emotional arc of the four years and the resilience it demanded. White reminded classmates that they started out “nervously navigating through these hallways for the first time,” unsure what high school would hold. Since then, she said, their time at North has been “a mix of laughter, tears, and triumphs, and challenges,” from celebrating under the Friday night lights one week to studying for exams the next.

White said the class had learned that “growth isn’t linear” and that courage can mean simply showing up when you’re uncertain. She urged graduates heading to college, into jobs, or still sorting out their plans, to stay grounded in who they are and to “always stay true to yourself and follow your passion.”

White credited teachers, coaches, and families for pushing students to reach this point, and reminded classmates of their school identity, closing with, “Remember, it’s great to be a Cougar!”

Avy Perkins: That’s a wrap!

Avy Perkins, took a cultural angle, measuring the authentic experience of North against Hollywood’s version of high school. Perkins noted that film and television have turned high school into its own cinematic genre, populated by “stereotypical tropes and unrealistic expectations,” from picture-perfect prom nights to dramatic hallway showdowns. Citing movies like “Grease,” “Clueless,” and “Napoleon Dynamite,” Perkins said those images can make students feel as if they’ve missed something if their own stories don’t match the screen. She leaned into the film analogy: “We've spent the last few years comparing our behind the scenes footage full of bloopers to everyone else's highlight reel.

Perkins quoted the legendary film critic Roger Ebert’s observation: “It’s not what a movie is about, it’s how it is about it.” The value of their time at North, she said, was not in whether their experience looked like a blockbuster but in “how you treated others, how you stayed true to yourself, and how you handled the scenes that didn’t go as planned.”

Perkins urged classmates to see themselves as the director and executive producer of “the movie that is your life,” with “total creative control over the kindness and honesty you bring to every scene,” even as their scripts go through rewrites.

Perkins closed her remarks with a movie-production flourish, holding up a clapperboard and saying: “Today, we can officially call cut on our last scene of students at North. Thank you, class of 2026.” Then she snapped it shut: “That’s a wrap!”

Photos: BHSN graduation (May 30, 2026)