Canyon High School’s class of 2026 was never going to go out without making sure their mark was made.
Many of the nearly 490 students sitting on the College of the Canyons football field Friday night had spent high school preparing for after-graduation aspirations typical in Los Angeles County and nowhere else.
Along with the strength of the high school’s commitment to its own student body’s cultural diversity in its programming, according to several students who spoke at the ceremony and to The Signal Friday, the past four years had given them an education they were honored to represent.
That’s not to speak of what 2026’s graduating class had achieved academically. During Principal Shellie Holcombe’s commencement message, she pointed out that Canyon High scored the highest academic growth in the William S. Hart Union High School District last year. That set the stage for Canyon High’s first California Distinguished School award in its history, she said.
But beyond that, Holcombe said the class of 2026 had demonstrated strength of character that’d make them a valuable part of the future of the Santa Clarita Valley.
“You are a class of Cowboys who exhibit kindness, respect and tolerance of differences. You lift each other up, support one another, and represent the very best of what a school community can be,” Holcombe said. “For that reason, you are precisely the type of individuals we will seek out in the future, and that is not simply a statement, it is a conclusion drawn from what you have already demonstrated.”
Graduating class speakers, for their part, described Canyon High similarly: as a place where their teachers had rewarded creativity and courage, and had given them a version of education that wasn’t just a means to a good-looking transcript.
Senior speaker Abeer Saiyed said that Canyon High’s clubs were an essential part of that experience for many students.
“A supportive school can change your direction, and I think a lot of us found that here. Through clubs, activities and new experiences, we started to figure out who we are and what actually mattered to us,” Saiyed said. “It stopped being about getting the perfect grades and became about trying new things, taking risks … And we didn’t do that alone. Our teachers challenged us, supported us, and believed in us.”
Courage has many faces: By the time senior members of the Canyon choir had performed “The Climb” and district leaders began conferring diplomas, about five beach balls had been collected from the student audience and gutted.
As the final rows of students were getting ready to receive their diplomas, graduate Breezy Mulan told The Signal how the past four years at Canyon High had prepared her for next steps: She’ll be going to Syracuse University before pursuing directing.
Mulan worked on several films as a stunt performer with her dad, a movie producer, while being active in performing arts clubs on campus.
“I have an amazing teacher, his name is Mr. (Kyle) Jellings, and he was my film teacher from the get-go. And then I found my theater teacher, Mr. (Art) Miller, and I joined theater, and I did like 20 clubs, and I just got myself really involved,” Mulan said. “Just a lot of really great opportunities that high school’s brought me, that clubs, that my parents, have brought me.”
Mulan said Canyon High’s inclusive, creatively charged culture had given her a genuinely special high school experience.
“I’ve seen so many cultures here, and the amount of clubs here, there’s ASU, BSU, Filipino club,” Mulan said. “I really enjoy being here, and the amount of extracurriculars, like band, choir, theater, they’re all connected, and I love how in touch Canyon is.”
