BY BRANDY TEMPLETON

The Collaborative College for Technology and Leadership honored 48 graduates during its 20th commencement ceremony on Friday.

Ava Hourihan led the event with the Irish word “slainte,” which her family uses to toast happy events and successes. She said it described the culture at the early college.

“CCTL builds a community grounded in success,” she said. “They want us to be healthy, happy, and safe.”

Concluding her speech, Hourihan opened a canned drink and toasted her classmates.

Speaker Emily “Eli” Bianchi referenced the musical “Hamilton” and talked about leaving a legacy.

“It’s an intangible item that can’t be bought or taken,” she said. “It’s not built overnight. You have to wait for it.”

Harsh Patel talked about how the Class of 2026 has grown during its time together.

“We didn’t walk in the same people we are today,” he said. “Meaningful change happens in the small moments we don’t notice. Friends became family, teachers challenged us, we became a community. As we leave, we carry confidence, resilience, and understanding that we are capable of more than what we once thought.”

Final speaker Dakota Wilson laughed about freshman orientation, saying he remembered thinking “these people are weirdos.”

Now, he values everyone’s differences.

“CCTL has always had an immense variety in character, form, and academics. We are unique and different, but that’s okay,” he said. “Being imperfect makes you, in all your abilities, memorable and unique.”

Principal Teri Hutchens congratulated her graduates, sharing that 96 percent of them have their associate degree now and the other 4 percent will by the end of summer.

“They’ve saved their families $30,000 in loans at a university,” she said.

Ninety-one percent percent earned digital media certificates, 73 percent are going to universities, 4 percent are pursuing other education, 17 percent are going into the workforce, and 6 percent are going into the military, Hutchens noted.

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