One hundred and twenty proud graduates accepted their diplomas Wednesday evening during a commencement ceremony for Edmonds eLearning Academy, the Edmonds School District’s comprehensive online high school.

The school, which serves both full- and part-time students, was founded by Sam Gladstein in 2007. Academic classes are all accessed through an online learning platform and can be done at any time of the day. Students follow a course calendar that requires completing daily tasks for each of their classes as well as maintaining regular communications with their teachers.

“As we celebrate today and you enter your next life adventure, I hope you remember that a belief in yourself is the first step to finding that adventure, finding that success, finding your joy,” eLearning Principal Kim Hunter told the graduates during the ceremony at Edmonds School District Stadium. “And if your belief in yourself falters, remember that we have your back. We believe in you. I believe in you.”

Student speaker Layla Velasco described the strength see saw in her classmates as they battled many challenges throughout their school careers, including learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I know my classmates are leaders because throughout everything we’ve been through, they all have one thing in common, and that’s not giving up,” Velasco said.

“The future doesn’t wait for us, we create our own future,” she added. “And when we do that, we will show the world we are ready for anything that it throws at us.”

Student speaker Shreya Moses said she never felt like she fit in at a school until she began her classes at Edmonds eLearning. “Being able to work at my own pace in classes allowed me to prioritize which classes to focus on each day,” she said.

“With eLearning, I was able to start working and save up money for my future,” she added. “And I was also able to pick the subjects that I wanted to learn about.” That included criminal justice classes, which were a good fit, Moses said, because she plans to become a police officer.

School counselor Jamie Regis, whose family has pledged to honor the memory of founder Sam Gladstein by awarding an annual scholarship to an eLearning graduate, presented this year’s award to LiLi Schreiner.

— By Teresa Wippel