POCATELLO — Hundreds of high school graduates crossed the stage this week, celebrating their accomplishments and receiving their diplomas as they prepare to enter the next chapter of their lives.

More than 950 graduates — including 235 from Century, 345 from Highland, 275 from Pocatello and 97 from New Horizon— celebrated their academic achievements and years of perseverance and growth.

The students will move on to potential careers in education, health care, business, arts and entertainment, technology, science, sports and many others. For the class of 2026, graduation marks an end to their primary school education and, for many, the beginning of their collegiate futures.

New Horizon High School

New Horizon held its graduation Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Portneuf Wellness Complex with about 97 graduates.

Graduating New Horizon student Jacob Allred said his high school experience was wrought with difficulty from start to finish, but fresh perspectives at the alternative school helped steer him toward a future that is bright and full of opportunity.

“I wanted to give up on school, but Amy, the principal of New Horizon, she brought me under her wing and took care of me, seeing that dark shadow of a kid in the room who was struggling and needed help and she brought me in and helped me,” Allred said.

Allred describes New Horizon Principal Amy Prescott and Vice Principal Keith Ottley as two of the best people he has met in his entire life.

“I was giving up all hope but Amy saw the lightest parts of me and she made me shine,” Allred said. “It brought back all of my hope and it made me feel like there is potential for me after all. I stuck it out and she helped me get through high school the rest of the way.”

For his senior project, Allred decided to write about bull riding. When teachers asked for a backup project, he expressed interest in music writing, and a teacher encouraged him to bring in his guitar and play for the class. The move instilled confidence, with many students approaching Allred and encouraging him to continue pursuing his musical talents.

Allred plans to attend Professional Bull Riders Academy in Texas to pursue a career in bull riding and continue writing and playing music on the side.

“When people typically look at schools like New Horizon, they think of troubled kids,” Allred said. “But in reality it’s kids who struggled, it’s those kids that were in the back of the class who gave up and couldn’t do it anymore, just because they didn’t feel like they were worth it. New Horizon needs more credibility for what they actually do there. I like to live by that saying — that what you put out into the world will always come back to you.”

Pocatello High School

Pocatello High School held its ceremony Friday at 10 a.m. at the ICCU Dome with about 275 graduates.

Sarai Olvera’s high school experience was transformative. During her freshman year she would often end the day crying in her parents’ car and dreading her return. After a transfer to Pocatello High School and through student leadership, she found confidence and a passion for serving others.

“One of the big things that student leadership has done for me is that it’s truly helped me find a passion for serving others,” Olvera said. “I think that even just as a human, that’s my biggest love language, is acts of service and helping others around me. I think student leadership truly did do that for me. I was just a general representative my sophomore and junior year, and then I was elected student body president for this past year.”

Student leadership helped Olvera segue into her collegiate future. She will attend Utah State University in the fall as an Aggie ambassador on a full-ride scholarship. She credits her success to student leadership, her peers and her advisors.

“I will definitely carry leadership forward in that aspect, because just as I’ve been able to serve my peers, my advisors and teachers as student body president, I’m going to be able to do that same thing at Utah State, where I can serve prospective students and the current student body,” Olvera said. “My ultimate goal is to become a pediatric nurse practitioner and I’d love to carry leadership forward at that point, too. I would love to be my own boss at some point in that job, but also lead others to be able to have that same passion to serve and impact others.”

Highland High School

Highland held its ceremony Friday at 1 p.m. at the ICCU Dome with about 345 graduates.

Pilot Bulak’s experiences in middle school weren’t always easy. After dedicating two years to online school, his relationships with friends were strained, and by his freshman year at Highland he was largely starting from scratch. Despite those challenges, he persevered.

“Through these four years I have grown so much socially, in relationships, academically, physically, I have found passions beyond anything that I could have ever imagined,” Bulak said. “I found what I want to do for a career for the rest of my life. I fell in love with acting and theater. The things that I found during these four years will impact the rest of my life and I’m so grateful for it.”

During his freshman year, Bulak got involved in student government, where he developed friendships with people he describes as amazing and brilliant, who helped instill him with confidence.

“Those leadership skills that I’ve garnered and grown have helped me already in college,” Bulak said. “I’m already part of my college’s ambassador program and it helped me in drama, especially. I only started doing drama and acting my junior year. I was pretty late to it, but I hit it off with all those people. They were some of my best friends.”

Bulak said he found a family in his drama class and over the last few years found success in garnering acting roles and in the school’s Thespian presidency.

“Over this past year I took first and became a state champion in drama for serious acting and now it’s what I’m doing for the rest of my life,” Bulak said. “I’m going to school to act down in Utah. They gave me a big scholarship for my audition and I plan to be in leadership positions, do lots of acting, have fun, and grow even more once I get there.”

Bulak will attend the University of Utah, where he will pursue a Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in acting.

Century High School

Century held its ceremony Friday at 4 p.m. at the ICCU Dome with about 235 graduates.

Graduate Nichole Huang said she enjoyed her high school experience and took advantage of everything the past four years had to offer.

“I was really able to take advantage of all of the opportunities that Century High School and Pocatello offers and I had a wide range of extracurriculars, so I’m glad I didn’t limit myself,” Huang said. “When I first came to Century I only knew a couple people but I love that I’ve made so many friends, and I was also able to build great relationships with a lot of my teachers.”

In the summer before her senior year, Huang participated in a bioenergy internship at Idaho National Laboratory — her first experience that sparked a serious interest in engineering.

“I also did neuroscience research with a professor at Idaho State University and I really enjoyed being able to apply what I learned in my science classes to the real world,” Huang said. “Both of these experiences made me interested in conducting scientific research and it’s something I want to continue in college. I have also played the violin for eight years and it’s a really important part of my life. I’ve made a lot of friends through music and I love that it’s something I can do both individually and with others.”

Huang will attend Texas A&M University in the fall on the Brown Foundation scholarship. She was accepted into the E2EnMed Early Assurance Program and will major in chemical engineering or biomedical engineering on the pre-med track.