SANDPOINT — Each of the 23 Lake Pend Oreille High School graduates was celebrated at a commencement ceremony Thursday that was both personal and celebratory.

An aspiring chef was gifted both equipment and a personal cookbook from the school culinary arts teacher. Another, known for her love of knitting, was gifted yarn, materials, and other supplies to create future projects. Another was gifted an ounce of U.S. silver due to his love of money and determination to succeed, but dedicated to the community and helping others at the same time.

The ceremony also honored Charlie Miller, a senior at the school who died from injuries sustained in a September 2024 windstorm, as well as longtime teacher Randy Wilhelm, who was retiring after 27 years at the school.

Principal Luke Childers highlighted both the graduates' resilience and achievements, saying they are responsible for where they are today — on stage graduating, and about to step boldly into the future.

"Today is more than a ceremony," Childers told the packed auditorium at the Sandpoint Events Center. "It's a celebration of strength, perseverance, and heart. LPO graduates, we are here because you have shown up, not just to school, although that matters, but to life. You showed up on the days when it would have been easier to stay in bed, on the days when life was unkind, and on days of immense sadness. You kept going through the noise and the doubt, the setbacks and the grief. You didn't just walk into this room in a cap and gown, most of you climbed your way here."

They showed up each day, albeit some days with more energy. They showed courage and fought for their future. While they may have doubted at times if they would graduate, they have.

"You're not just finishing school, you're closing a chapter that many of you thought would be too hard to write but you wrote it anyway," Childers told the graduates as he caught their eyes while they sat in two rows on the auditorium stage. "You made this school your own, not in spite of your challenges but because of them."

He told them to celebrate their graduation and to be proud of the work they put into making it possible. He told them not to worry if life knocked them down — they were ahead of the game compared to most.

"You already know how to get back up," Childers told them. "You already know how to rebuild. Life doesn't get any easier after high school but you get stronger. … You've already proven that you are strong enough."

He encouraged them to remember where they have been and all they have accomplished, and to embrace the challenges they have overcome.

"You are not defined by your past. You are defined by your resilience," Childers told the graduates. "You earned this diploma and no one can take it away from you. So take a breath, soak it in, this is your moment."

In introducing Tyler Neshkoff, the first of two student speakers, Childers said he had come to LPO as a freshman, struggling to figure out his place and with home and past school experiences.

"This young man went from being a lost soul to a true leader in every sense of the word," the principal said, noting Neshkoff had already started on his journey in real estate by taking a course designed for new agents at the same time he completed his high school degree.

When given the microphone, Neshkoff prompted both laughter and cheers as he talked about his journey. He joked that he'd written multiple speeches, some about his recent adoption of a cat, others that he claimed to have lost.

But he told the crowd not to worry.

"As I'm looking down at my speech, I see that I wrote it on a notecard with a pencil so yeah, I don't have a speech," he said, prompting multiple chuckles throughout the crowd. "But that's not to worry because, fortunately, Randy (Wilhelm) … made me write 13 more."

Despite claiming his cat ate the notes to his speech, Neshkoff told those gathered that the Tyler who stood before them today was not the Tyler that started at Lake Pend Oreille during his freshman year.

That Tyler didn't attend school and often showed up in extra-large sweatpants. The support of his parents, his girlfriend and her family — and Lake Pend Oreille teachers and staff — helped him find his way.

He talked about a diss track — about cats and cat owners — sung to Pat Benatar's "Hit Me With Your Best Shot." He talked about wanting to levitate over the crowd similar to how illusionist Criss Angel might but being told no because school officials wondered if he would wear "something that rhymes with pants" or not.

"But seriously, I really just want to say thank you for everything the community has done for me, including you guys and the staff," Neshkoff said. "You have all been amazing and I'm grateful for it."

The speech of fellow student speaker Emma Hogan was more serious but equally heartfelt.

Starting at LPO as a sophomore, Hogan initially kept her quiet, analytical mind to herself but soon started to show her true spirit as she gained in comfort and confidence.

"Emma is a leader through her actions, not just her words," Childers said, noting she graduates with 12 college credits as well as her high school degree as she heads off to the University of Idaho in the fall. "Her influence is quiet but mighty."

Over the past three years, Hogan said she drilled many pieces of information into her head, including Isaac Newton's Third Law of Motion — that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

The theory applies to more than physical mobility; it also applies to life, Hogan told the crowd. After making her fair share of mistakes, changing schools, and several "personality crises," she said she arrived at Lake Pend Oreille.

"It was like a breath of fresh air," Hogan said. "Everything felt right and everything that I had been through, fought, and avoided just seemed irrelevant compared to what I was now able to achieve."

Past challenges aren't resentful memories. Instead, they are a marker of where she was and where she is now.

"My reactions to different situations pushed me in the opposite direction, exactly the place I was headed for in the first place," Hogan added. "My dad always told me growing up that if a million things don't work, try again another way. There's always one more thing you can try."

And that is what LPO allows students to do — try another way, and another, and another, until they find one that works for them.

"Throughout these years of growing up and finding ourselves, we've had the opportunity of finding each other, too," she added before thanking her fellow graduates.

While some may think LPO is where "the bad kids go," Hogan said that is far from the case.

"All I've seen are a bunch of strong-minded individuals who just want something more for themselves, who yearn for understanding, both for themselves and the world around them."

    Gavin Clifton, an aspiring model and fashion designer, checks out the Dubs T-shirt he was given during Thursday's Lake Pend Oreille High School graduation ceremony.
  

    A family member makes sure to capture the moment as a Lake Pend Oreille High School graduate receives their diploma on Thursday.
  

    Lake Pend Oreille High School teacher Randy Wilhelm presents graduate Liz Schmidt with a faux brick to pay tribute to her hard work in creating a model of the historic brick school.
  

    Lincoln Balch is presented with a fly-fishing pole and gear to remind him to take the time to enjoy the quiet moments as he gets set to head off to U.S. Army boot camp.
  

    Leilani Corin smiles as she is presented with a crown during Thursday's Lake Pend Oreille High School graduation ceremony, symbolizing her power, her beauty and ability to be a leader.
  

    Lake Pend Oreille High School teacher Rand Rosecrans talks to the school's graduates during Thursday's commencement ceremony.
  

    LPOHS graduate Emma Hogan gets a hug from a family member after giving her speech at Thursday's commencement ceremony.
  

    James Middleton is pictured at Thursday's Lake Pend Oreille High School graduation ceremony.
  

    Tyler Neshkoff describes having written 13 possible speeches prior to Thursday's Lake Pend Oreille High School graduation ceremony.
  

    Lake Pend Oreille High School graduates listen to a speech during Thursday's commencement ceremony.