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.
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.”
“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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
“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.”
Connections Homeschool 2025 graduates
Sydney Abrams
Alinna Baker
Piper Baringer
Blaec Beale
Evan Beasley
Alexandra Bennett
Ronan Bickling
Noah Bird
Tucker Blough
Kaiden Bogie
Abigail Brady
Finley Braund
Marilyn Brewer-Cote
Austin Briscoe
Dale Bryant
Easton Bullock
Jordan Bullock
Eve Burke
Kenneth Bush
Aasen Campanella
Cruz Cannon
McKenna Carlin
George Carpenter
Nicholas Choate
Anastasia Chuprov
Sarah Clarke
Lydia Coe
Cameron Cook
Evan Cooper
Isabelle Cruz
Sinclair Dahl
Katie Dambacher
Agnese DeVita
Gavin Donahue
Daniel Dyer
Jacob Edmunds
Telan Fallon
Kelly Gilliam
Josiah Gordon
John Haerle
Aspen Haley
Katie Hallam
Ashlyn Harris
Seamus Hatton
Addison Havrilla
De’ahni Hemmings
Hyrum Henderson
Tanner Henderson
Aria Hill
Laura Horn
Michael Houser
Blaine Hunt
Megan Hutchins
Ashana Ivanoff
Rebecca Jardine
Leif Jaworski
Blake Johnson
Katie Johnson
Carson Kandas
Ethan Koch
Elijah Lee
Caiden Llewellyn
Jonathan Loop
Scottlyn Lyons
Alexander MacMaster
Laurel Matson
Darien McCracken
Jody McKinney
Chenia McNearney
Logan Mese
Abigail Miller
James Moody
Judah Mumey
Josiah Napier
Marley Nightingale
Jason Oleson
Kyler Pearson
Layla Pearson
Taylor Pyfer
Mark Rader
Harland Richards
Hannah Riedel
Natalia Sherwood
Caeli Shoop
Jade Stewart
Addison Stiers
Justyce Stockman
Nikolas Sulczynski
Aiden Sullivan
Jolee Swanson
Xinlan Tanner
Brenden Theel
Boone Theiler
Matthias Travers
David Trefren
Benjamin Tupper
Garrett Updike
Nicholas Veh
Aidan Volk-Wall
Molly Waarvik
Christi Weisser
Talia Weisser
Jocelyn White
Mailea Willden
Kaden Williams
Peyton Williams
Joseph Winrod
Izabella Wolpert Houston
Juanita Wood
Brayden Woods
Scout Wyant
Terry Yerly
Students process into a graduation ceremony for Connections Homeschool in Soldotna, Alaska, on Thursday, May 22, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Students process into a graduation ceremony for Connections Homeschool in Soldotna, Alaska, on Thursday, May 22, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Students process into a graduation ceremony for Connections Homeschool in Soldotna, Alaska, on Thursday, May 22, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Valedictorian Xinlan Tanner speaks during a graduation ceremony for Connections Homeschool in Soldotna, Alaska, on Thursday, May 22, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Leif Jaworski speaks during a graduation ceremony for Connections Homeschool in Soldotna, Alaska, on Thursday, May 22, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Elijah Lee walks to receive his diploma from his parents during a graduation ceremony for Connections Homeschool in Soldotna, Alaska, on Thursday, May 22, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Students celebrate after a graduation ceremony for Connections Homeschool in Soldotna, Alaska, on Thursday, May 22, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Students celebrate after a graduation ceremony for Connections Homeschool in Soldotna, Alaska, on Thursday, May 22, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
