Mountain Valley Academy’s 2025 graduation ceremony on June 4 highlighted the accomplishments of 16 seniors in an intimate setting.
MVA seniors Amber Dianne Fisher, Zizi Shadae Pavlocak and Claire Trieva Scanlan graduated magna cum laude by earning 3.7 to 3.8 grade point averages, and seniors Alice Lucina Ertl, Isabella “Izzy” Lynch and Katherine “Katie” Elizabeth Pochel graduated summa cum laude with 3.9 or higher grade point averages.
“I am truly, deeply thankful I was given the opportunity to learn and grow at Mountain Valley Academy,” said Pochel, the class salutatorian. “It was such an amazingly unique opportunity and I know the skills and lessons I learned there will aid me greatly in my future endeavors.”
As the first speaker at the commencement ceremony held on the Ramona Street campus, Pochel told her fellow graduates that they were finally stepping back from their hard work of the past 12 years and were able to see the fruits of their labors.
The 2025 MVA graduates will be parting with the skills they learned at the “wondrous school,” she said.
“We will leave with invaluable skills and lessons learned, such as perseverance, independence and flexibility,” Pochel said. “Throughout the years I’ve spent at MVA, I discovered a community. This small corner of the universe has brought about encouragement and comfort beyond anything I could have ever imagined. Through pure circumstance, I found a place that not only offered students a welcoming home-away-from-home, but pushed us to grow into the best version of ourselves.”
Pochel described the teachers and faculty as “guiding words that uplift our spirits no matter what.”
“Instead of a simple classroom, we are greeted with a space that allows us to learn and improve to our utmost potential,” she said. “Mountain Valley Academy has a very unique way of offering near-unlimited freedom for expression and growth at will, and for that, I will forever be grateful.”
MVA 2025 Valedictorian Lynch said the school’s focus has been on each student.
“Everyone I have met and become friends with has impacted me in a way that I will cherish and love forever,” Lynch said during her speech. “For one last time, I’d like to rewind and reflect on the four years that have ed much too quickly.”
Lynch then gave credit to “amazing teachers” who spent so much time to ensure that the students were successful, not only in academics but in their lives. She also thanked Principal Courtney Sawada and staff for ensuring the school runs smoothly and for answering questions.
“To my family who has guided me my entire life, and especially these past years, your is not unnoticed,” Lynch said. “From car rides to late nights, you have always been there to me and my dreams. Without everything you have taught me, I would not know who I am today. I love you forever and always.”
After describing an incredible journey of making memories with her friends and classmates, Lynch highlighted the individual accomplishments of the Class of 2025.
“We have all built our lives brick by brick, creating an amazing masterpiece that we will call our future,” Lynch said. “We might all be on different paths to different places, but our one thing in common is that we are the next generation to bring greatness to our world. I don’t know about you, but I am so ready to see what we become.”
