From Campus Crosswalks to Authentic Voices: RHS Graduates Welcomed into 'Long Blue Line' at 133rd Commencement
Courtesy photo
UCLA-bound Lillian Peske was one of Redlands High School’s graduation speakers for her peers in the Class of 2026. She is shown here with her parents, Jonathan and Wendy Peske, and brother Joseph, an RHS freshman who played trombone in the band during the ceremony.
By David James Heiss
Redlands News Collective
REDLANDS — At its 133rd commencement held June 4 at the Redlands Bowl, Redlands High School Principal Wes Cullen reminded graduates of the longstanding tradition and legacy they have inherited.
“Tonight, you have joined the Long Blue Line,” Cullen said, “which is more than just a saying at RHS. It’s a tradition, one built by generations of students who believed in excellence, integrity, resilience and service to others.”
That "Long Blue Line" refers to the historic legacy of students who have attended California’s oldest public high school still operating on its original site.
Graduate Lillian Peske was the first to address her 400 fellow graduates, joking about the giant crosswalk "smack-dab in the middle of our campus" that bisects the school.
“Freshman year we were expecting to navigate some tough new classes, more extracurriculars. Maybe even deal with some praying seniors," Peske said. "But the last thing we were ready for was fighting for our lives during passing period.”
She noted that watching more than 2,000 students navigate the crosswalk in a matter of minutes represents "either an odd struggle, or a blessing.”
“When we’re facing the crosswalk of our lives,” Peske told her classmates, they should remember how curiosity got them to graduation. “When we face our crosswalks, our closed gates, and our daily passing periods, let us wonder. Take the time to understand each other.”
Livestream video still via Redlands Unified School District
Kelsie Victor addresses her fellow graduates.
Senior Kelsie Victor praised her peers as survivors of local wildfires, comparing the class to a forest that has been rejuvenated and regrown.
“Allow yourself the space to burn, because that in turn will give you space to grow, to flower, and to fruit,” Victor said, noting how certain pine cones require the intense heat of a wildfire to release their seeds. “Embarrass yourself. Run the risks — reasonable ones — shoot your shot at that new job, that open mic, that special someone.”
English teacher Jason Walker delivered this year’s charge to the Class of 2026, offering three concepts as a lifelong guide.
“Three of the most important words in the English language become the road map to your life: honesty, perseverance, camaraderie,” Walker said.
Walker used his address to caution students against taking shortcuts in the modern world.
“We live in an era where an AI can generate a decent-ish response. It’s quick and easy and gets the job done, but does it, actually?" Walker asked. "It’s correct, technically, but it’s not honest, because it has no skin in the game. It isn’t you … take the long and winding road, the one where you discover and cultivate your authentic voice, your true self … Your life isn’t a probability. It’s a possibility.”
He explained that perseverance means more than simply not giving up when things go wrong, emphasizing that deep learning results more from failure than success.
As for camaraderie, Walker noted that "nothing is more important than being polite, respectful, and acknowledging toward the people in your lives. One of the greatest gifts in life is the gift of friendship.”
He invoked the memory of his longtime friend, the late Dr. Donna St. George, a legendary RHS educator who passed away in October after decades of coaching championship-winning Mock Trial and Academic Decathlon teams.
“Everything she said was articulate and genuinely from the heart — whether you liked it or not,” Walker said, adding that he wished he could have just one more four-hour phone call with her.
He urged graduates to protect their real-world connections, rather than trading "the slow development of real friendship for the fast content of a digital feed.”
“Honesty is hard when everyone seems successful at being false while curating their perfect lives. Perseverance is exhausting when you feel like you’re constantly failing in comparison to those around you," Walker cautioned. "Camaraderie is inconvenient because real people and genuine relationships are messier than people who you can just follow or admire from afar.”