{"id":346418,"date":"2026-06-04T12:38:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T12:38:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/346418\/"},"modified":"2026-06-04T12:38:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T12:38:11","slug":"meet-the-sacramento-areas-class-of-2026-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/346418\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet the Sacramento area’s class of 2026 \u2014 Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Abridged version:<\/p>\n

Thousands of students across the Sacramento region recently graduated or are preparing to walk across the stage in a matter of days.<\/p>\n

Abridged spoke with graduates of the class of 2026 about their high school experiences, plans for the future and advice for any soon-to-be high schoolers.<\/p>\n

This is the first of a two-part series sharing the stories of students from Woodland, Elk Grove, Sacramento and Natomas.<\/p>\n

Graduation season is taking place across the Sacramento region. And as thousands of high school seniors have accepted their diplomas and prepared to walk across the stage, several graduates from the class of 2026 recently sat down with Abridged to share stories of their time in high school.<\/p>\n

The 17- and 18-year-olds spoke about the family and community that inspired them, sometimes to the point that freshman versions of themselves wouldn\u2019t recognize who they are now.<\/p>\n

Some are the first to graduate in their family. Others are following in the footsteps of multiple generations. Most reflected on just how short four years ended up feeling.<\/p>\n

Jump to each graduate\u2019s story:<\/p>\n

Santiago Morales, Woodland High School, Woodland<\/a><\/p>\n

Stephanie Chen, Cosumnes Oaks High School, Elk Grove<\/a><\/p>\n

Sofia Contreras, St. Francis Catholic High School, Sacramento<\/a><\/p>\n

Lamar Willis, Inderkum High School, Natomas<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2018He wanted me to do better\u2019<\/p>\n

In one semester, Santiago Morales turned a 1.2 GPA into a 4.0.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As a\u00a0freshman, Morales\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0have the grades to\u00a0make\u00a0the Woodland High School soccer team. Wanting to\u00a0compete\u00a0in a sport\u00a0he\u2019s\u00a0enjoyed since he was 3\u00a0years old helped motivate\u00a0his\u00a0turnaround.\u00a0Morales\u00a0played\u00a0for the junior varsity\u00a0team\u00a0as a sophomore\u00a0and\u00a0on\u00a0varsity\u00a0the next two years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But he was\u00a0also inspired by his family, he said, including his older brother, who died when Morales was going into middle\u00a0school\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought of it like, he went to heaven believing in me,\u201d Morales said. \u201cHe wanted me to do better.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"student\"Santiago Morales kicks a soccer ball at Woodland High School. (Cameron Clark)<\/p>\n

Morales, 18, will be the first in his family to earn a high school diploma without attending a\u00a0continuation\u00a0school. He plans to earn an associate degree\u00a0in business administration at Woodland Community College, while also going to barber school.\u00a0Later, he hopes to transfer to a four-year college and follow in his dad\u2019s footsteps with his own barbershop.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFreshman me, I don\u2019t even think he would be thinking he\u2019s graduating from Woodland High,\u201d Morales said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Morales\u00a0is not only\u00a0graduating; he has direct involvement in\u00a0Friday\u2019s ceremony. Classmates voted to feature his design on the event programs, and\u00a0as\u00a0one of a handful of student speakers, Morales will give the land acknowledgment.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

He anticipates\u00a0tears from both his parents.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to be wearing sunglasses, though,\u201d\u00a0Morales said.\u00a0\u201cSo\u00a0they\u00a0won\u2019t\u00a0see me crying.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"studentSantiago Morales shakes hands with Woodland High School principal Gerald Salcido. (Cameron Clark)<\/p>\n

\u2018I felt like a random stranger\u2019<\/p>\n

From varsity swimming and various clubs to about a dozen Advanced Placement classes and medical career\u00a0courses, Stephanie Chen balanced a lot in her\u00a0four years at Cosumnes Oaks High School.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt kept my life filled,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Chen, 17, was in sixth grade\u00a0at Zehnder Ranch Elementary School when the COVID-19 pandemic began. Remote\u00a0and later hybrid\u00a0learning\u00a0made the following middle school years feel just like a continuation of elementary school, she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Then,\u00a0\u201cwhen I entered ninth grade, I was like, \u2018Woah, this school is huge,\u2019\u201d Chen said. \u201cI felt like a random stranger that just entered a new world with, like, a language I didn\u2019t speak.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

But now, having mastered high school\u00a0in Elk Grove, she said she feels ready to take on one of the state\u2019s largest college campuses.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"StephanieStephanie Chen works inside a medical career pathway classroom at Cosumnes Oaks High School on May 26, 2026. (Denis Akbari)<\/p>\n

Chen is set to study physiological sciences\u00a0at the UCLA, with plans to eventually head to medical school. As of now, she said\u00a0she\u2019s\u00a0interested in becoming either an OBGYN or plastic surgeon.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In her family, Chen is a first-generation college student.\u00a0She\u2019s\u00a0excited to\u00a0get to\u00a0share pieces of\u00a0the\u00a0experience with her parents whenever they visit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like, woah, this is cool,\u201d she said. \u201cI get to show my family college life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"StephanieStephanie Chen at Cosumnes Oaks High School on May 26, 2026. (Denis Akbari)<\/p>\n

\u2018I really have changed for the better\u2019<\/p>\n

Traces of Sofia Contreras\u2019 family\u00a0are\u00a0all over\u00a0St. Francis\u00a0Catholic High School.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There\u2019s\u00a0the\u00a0statue of the school\u2019s namesake, designed by her mother\u2019s cousin, Adan Romo.\u00a0Other pieces\u00a0of his artwork<\/a> dot the East\u00a0Sacramento\u00a0campus.\u00a0The names of her mother, Monica Romo, and grandmother, Susanna Leon, are\u00a0listed on the walls with decades worth\u00a0of\u00a0alums.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The family\u2019s most recent stamp on the all-girls private school is a heart-shaped lock, fastened to the front gate of the Canticle Garden.\u00a0The engraved metal reads \u201cSofia, Monica, Susanna\u201d and \u201cClass of \u201926, \u201992, \u201967.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Contreras, 17,\u00a0graduated from\u00a0St. Francis on May 21 and is headed for Pomona College in southern California.\u00a0As her high school\u2019s valedictorian, she took the time\u00a0to highlight the bonds that go beyond family.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"locks\"Sofia Contreras points at a lock at Canticle Garden at St. Francis\u00a0Catholic High School. The lock includes her name along with her mother\u2019s and grandmother\u2019s. Her mother and grandmother also graduated from the school. (Shelley Ho)<\/p>\n

\u201cSomething really big at St. Francis is sisterhood and community,\u201d Contreras said. \u201cI kind of wanted to be able to remind us not to lose it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

At St. Francis,\u00a0the top 10\u00a0students\u00a0can\u00a0apply to be the valedictorian. Contreras,\u00a0after\u00a0learning she was eligible to put her name forward, was\u00a0wary.\u00a0Had\u00a0she\u00a0been\u00a0asked as a ninth grader to stand on stage and give a speech to all her peers, Contreras said she expects her answer would have been no.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOr if I was going to, I would have been, I don\u2019t know, hyperventilating in the car beforehand,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But, Contreras said,\u00a0\u201cI took the opportunity.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was one of the\u00a0big things\u00a0I realized, like,\u00a0\u2018Oh,\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0not the same person I was before,\u2019\u201d she said.\u00a0\u201cI really have changed for the better.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"personSofia Contreras, 2026 valedictorian of St. Francis Catholic High School, looks at a wall with names of graduates of the school. (Shelley Ho)<\/p>\n

\u2018Take your time\u2019<\/p>\n

If Lamar Willis had any advice for soon-to-be high schoolers, it would be to\u00a0participate.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cJoin any clubs that you\u2019re interested in,\u201d Willis said. \u201cOr even not interested in \u2026 Just find something to do.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The\u00a0recent graduate of Inderkum High School in North Natomas\u00a0said basketball was the highlight of his\u00a0freshman\u00a0year.\u00a0But after fracturing his left ankle that spring, persistent pain kept\u00a0Willis\u00a0from playing on a team in the years\u00a0following.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"student\"Lamar Willis graduated from Inderkum High School as part of the class of 2026. (Cameron Clark)<\/p>\n

Willis, 18,\u00a0participated\u00a0in a handful of other extracurriculars, including lunchtime Bible studies and enrolling\u00a0his senior year\u00a0in a weekend\u00a0program\u00a0teaching\u00a0students manufacturing skills<\/a>. He excelled in his math classes but plans to study business and marketing at Sacramento State to keep his future career options open.\u00a0<\/p>\n

His other words of wisdom\u00a0to any incoming ninth graders: \u201cTake your time.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Last fall, one of his teachers\u00a0put\u00a0a countdown to\u00a0graduation\u00a0up\u00a0in their classroom.\u00a0It began with a\u00a0number in the 200s.\u00a0Willis recalled thinking,\u00a0\u201cMan, we got a long time.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

But then,\u00a0he said,\u00a0\u201cIt just kept going down and down.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

When\u00a0the countdown\u00a0hit\u00a030\u00a0days,\u00a0Willis\u00a0thought, \u201cOh man, it\u2019s right there.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Even\u00a0on the day of graduation, May 29, Willis said the\u00a0full weight of the moment\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0sink in.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just went by\u00a0super fast.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"student\"Lamar Willis graduated from Inderkum High School as part of the class of 2026. (Cameron Clark)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Abridged version: Thousands of students across the Sacramento region recently graduated or are preparing to walk across…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":346419,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[121,123,122],"class_list":["post-346418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sacramento","tag-sacramento","tag-sacramento-headlines","tag-sacramento-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346418","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=346418"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346418\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/346419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=346418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=346418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=346418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}