Superintendent Sean Koster opened the ceremony summarizing his hope for the class of 2026 using quotes from Ralph Waldo Emerson, Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.

The Emerson quote was: “To be yourself in world that is constantly trying to make you something is the greatest accomplishment.”

Koster said this quote is a reminder that after graduation, students will feel pressure to follow certain paths, but “the key is listen to your own convictions when the crowd is loud and knowing the difference between fitting in and actually belonging.”

The Gandhi quote was: “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service in others.”

KayLee Evans delivers the commencement speech for the NUHS Class of 2026 graduation. Evans asked her fellow graduates to think on what advice they would have given to their past selves and their future selves. “I think I would say ‘don’t be afraid to go for it,’” Evans said. “Try something new even if you are not sure you would be good at it. Don’t spend so much time worrying about things not going to plan because some of the best parts of life do not go as planned.” Photo by Clay Schuldt

Koster said chasing money and recognition can lead to a false sense of self.

He said “A life structure on foundation and contribution and not just achievement is a life well earned.”

Closing with the King quote: “If you can’t fly, then run. If you can’t run, then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving.”

Koster said he believed persistence and resilience was lacking in a modern world that was looking for instance gratification.

“Moving forward does not always have to be fast and easy,” Koster said. “There will be set backs.”

New Ulm High School (NUHS) social studies teacher Robbe Nessler served as the guest commencement speaker for 2026 NUHS graduates. He spoke on the importance of learning gratitude, flexibility and resilence. “You can’t choose the circumstances of your life, but you get to choose who you are every day,” Nessler said. Photo by Clay Schuldt

Koster asked that this years graduates never ask life to be fair, but ask life to be worth it.

The guest speaker for the class of 2026 was Robbe Nessler, who served as NUHS social studies teacher for seven years.

Nessler said in education, the focus is teaching skills to prepare students for the future. For his speech, he wanted to focus on “soft skills.” These are the skills that are harder to teach, but are learned over time. Specifically, he talked about gratitude, flexibility and resilience.

Nessler said life can be messy and unpredictable but by practicing these three skills, the graduates could get past many hurdles.

In the lead up to graduation he had heard many students, “I just want to graduate and be done with this.”

NUHS Class of 2026 senior Alexandra Goff shakes hands with the school board after receiving her high school diploma. Photo by Clay Schuldt

Nessler warned students to not wish their time away and wishing to move on to the next stage of life where things will be better. He said it is important to look to the future, but wanted graduates to remember that every day they have a chance to build a better future.

In addition, it hard to predict where you will go.

“Much of life is improvisation and reaction to things,” He said.

Nessler admitted when he graduated high school from St. James he never imagined he would be a social studies teacher at NUHS. He admitted that teaching was never on his radar, but overtime he was flexible and changed his path.

Nessler said resilience was about working through hard times. He said all the graduates had faced hard times already. Their lives had been impacted by the COVID pandemic that changed how students interacted and learned. Recently artificial intelligence (AI) has forced changes on the lives of students and teachers alike.

Recent NUHS class of 2026 graduate Ryan Johnson shakes hands with NUHS principal Mark Bergmann after accepting receiving his high school diploma. Photo by Clay Schuldt

Nessler said hard times like this are often the most effective teachers, but by practicing resilience the graduates could overcome any hurdle.

“You can’t choose the circumstances of your life, but you get to choose who you are every day,” he said.

The senior class commencement address was given by KayLee Evans.

“People think the hardest part of high school is the classes and the homework, but I can say it is trying to figure out who you are while others keep telling you who you should be,” she said.

Evans asked her fellow graduates, if they could go back four years and talk to their freshman, what would they tell themselves?

Jonas Rainwater, shakes hands with the NUHS school board during the Class of 2026 graduation ceremony. Photo by Clay Schuldt

She said the first things she would say was not to worry about doing everything perfectly, but she would encourage her younger self to be more involved and try new experiences. She would also tell herself not to worry about the smaller stuff that would be quickly forgotten.

However, in looking to the past, Evans said it was also important to ask what each of them would say to their future selves. Her advise to her future self was similar to her advice to her past self.

“I think I would say to ‘don’t be afraid to go for it,'” she said. “Try something new even if you are not sure you would be good at it. Don’t spend so much time worrying about things not going to plan because some of the best parts of life do not go as planned.”

Evan closed by saying she believed her classes freshman selves would be proud of what they had become.

She thanked her fellow classmates for the time they had together and congratulated them on what would come next.