Press Play on the Future: Class of 2026
By Melody Guyton Butts, Associate Director of Marketing & Communications
Two weeks before graduation, Cana Yao ’26 awoke with an ambitious idea. It would be so cool, she thought, to create a time capsule video capturing her classmates’ predictions for where they’ll be in 10 years. She’d need to spend her remaining hours as a Durham Academy student convincing as many of her classmates as possible to lay bare their hopes, dreams and fears — and then edit the footage in time for a pre-commencement release.
Yao was undaunted. And her persistence paid off, as fellow members of DA’s Class of 2026 addressed her prompt with earnestness and humor. In the end, she distilled the aspirations — and, in some cases, tongue-in-cheek predictions — of 58 classmates into a five-and-a-half-minute short film. Some seniors spoke of career goals: Broadway, delivering babies, flying fighter jets. Others focused on the personal: adopting a dog, traveling, prioritizing friendships.
A fortnight after her fateful 3 a.m. wake-up, Yao took the stage of Duke’s Page Auditorium to deliver the Class of 2026 commencement address. The video project, she said, began with her own attempt to imagine what the future might hold.
“Over 50 conversations later, I still can’t answer it. I don’t know where we’re gonna be in 10 years, and I think that’s a good thing. But what I do know is that through all of our attempts to get to the answer of a rather unanswerable question … a picture begins to form of the Class of 2026, as we are right now. Silly, serious, and sometimes, dare I say, wise.”
On url.da.org/classof2026 see:
- Yao's time capsule video
- profiles for each member of the Class of 2026
- video of the full commencement ceremony
- college matriculation list
“My time at DA has been brief yet unforgettable. Through ups and downs, the community provided for me in ways that have fundamentally shaped my character and belief in my own potential. Having the opportunity to explore my interests academically and push back against previous conceptions of mine has been both invigorating and thrilling.”
Minali Jensen
“Mrs. Marr, thank you for pushing me to explore political science! Your class and your passion for what you teach are what made me realize how much I want to learn about the interactions between international organizations and nations and how I can mobilize to help people across the world live better lives.”
Cleo Gordon Parisi
“Today is emotional because something beautiful is ending. But instead of only being sad that it’s ending, we can be grateful that it happened at all. We got to be here, together. And that is something worth celebrating.”
Anna Walsh
Senior Awards speech
“DA has taught me how to interact with others with different backgrounds, opinions and beliefs. I’m able to disagree but still have real meaningful relationships with others.”
Sutton Hogan
“I will forever cherish my time at Durham Academy, the friends that I have met over the years, and the connections that I have made while being a Cavalier.”
Jacob Bullock
“I am most proud of my ADV Thesis project from junior year. As the culmination of my year-long research and experiment process, I had a 33-page research paper, a newfound interest in astronomical data sonification, and a proposal for DA’s science curriculum. Recently, I implemented this proposal for the ninth grade physics classes, and it felt so fulfilling to see the results of my research being used in real life to influence and hopefully encourage future scientists.”
Joanna Yoon
“As we move into spaces that can so often feel bogged down by division, we are left with a choice. We can cling to the independence I did when I was 3, or we can choose something that transcends beyond ourselves as individuals. We can choose humility and humanity. We can choose to listen rather than dismiss. We can choose to support when it’s easier to tear down. And we can choose collaboration over competition. If DA has taught us something, it’s that while we should be lucky for the community we have, we have a responsibility to cultivate it wherever we go.”
Maya Patel
Commencement welcome
“I cannot overstate how much DA has done for me. I truly believe that DA is the cause of my love for learning and my desire to make the world a better place. It means so much to me to have this family and this home. I have loved my 14 years here, and it feels so weird to be leaving. I love this place so much and am so grateful for my time here!”
Nick Shaikh
“Dr. Cindy Moore is an evening star during the dusk turning to dark. She was so supportive, helpful and comforting. Even her office had a nice home-feel to it. I give Dr. Moore the most credit for the respect I have for teachers and my own will to be one.”
Kane Woodward
“Even though I had never picked up a stick a day in my life before our first day out on the field, my lacrosse coach, Bria Irizarry, treated me like I was her star player. … Everyone deserves to have a coach like Bria at least once in their lives; I know she’ll always be cheering for me regardless of if I’m one of her players or not.”
Fiona Lawton
“Being authentic is something that is so hard to do, but will help you infinitely throughout your time in high school and beyond. It leads to you finding your closest friends, the activities that mean the most to you, and experiences that will change your life for the better.”
Gaby Goodman
“While tonight is one of our last official nights as high school students, we will always be members of this newly rebranded Cavalier family. We are the first class to graduate under the watchful and somewhat unsettlingly bright green eyes of Blade, with dual swords named Moral and Productive strapped to his back.”
Sasha Bilsborrow
Senior Celebration speech
“Take a weightlifting class! Coach Babwah and Coach Lee helped reshape my relationship with exercise and taught me the fundamentals of weightlifting that I can use for the rest of my life. Don’t be afraid of Coach Babwah’s morning class. Trust me, it’s worth it!”
Shriya Dharmapurikar
“Mr. Cluff is the kind of person you are glad has children so that there may be more people like him. He is among the finest individuals humanity has to offer, and I trust him with my life.”
Tony Varela
“It has been really amazing getting to have the direct support of teachers and classmates in small environments, which has allowed me to develop discussion, leadership, and reasoning skills. I’ve also become so much more of an interesting person because of the multitude of classes and the many people I’ve met.”
Nathaniel Wilber
