MUCKLESHOOT — The June 2026 Muckleshoot Graduation Season represents the 25th year that I have been blessed with participating in our annual graduation season for the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe. I want all of you to know how honored and blessed that I feel to be a part of such a beautiful community here at Muckleshoot! Thank you very much to everyone in our beautiful community for all of your dedication, hard work, support and commitment to achieving excellence in our Muckleshoot Department of Education Programs!
I want to begin by stating that we are extremely thankful to our Muckleshoot Tribal Council, Muckleshoot Executive Committee for Education, the Muckleshoot Higher Education Committee, the Muckleshoot Tribal School Commission, and the Muckleshoot Head Start Parent Policy Council for supporting and sponsoring all of our 2026 Muckleshoot graduation ceremonies.
On Friday, June 12, 2026, we had 850 people gather in the beautiful Muckleshoot Casino Events Center to celebrate our incredible 32 Class of 2026 high school seniors from our Muckleshoot Tribal School. We were joined by Julian Neal, Seattle Seahawks Cornerback, who provided our Class of 2026 MTS Graduates with an extremely inspiring and motivational keynote speech during this special evening.
In the history of our Muckleshoot Tribal School starting with our first high school graduates from MTS in 2001, we have now reached the amazing milestone of having 488 total high school graduates from our Muckleshoot Tribal School!
This was an amazing year for our Muckleshoot Tribal School Class of 2026 and we are all extremely proud of their incredible accomplishments. I want to recognize our Class of 2026 from Muckleshoot Tribal School and highlight some of their future plans:
Anthony Alestra, Muckleshoot Indian Tribe — GAP Year - Otis College of Art & Design
Jared Cross, Muckleshoot Indian Tribe — Workforce
Jack Crowell, Klamath Tribes — Workforce
Kaliya Elkins, Muckleshoot Indian Tribe — Gap Year - Beauty School
Hailey Fahrenkrug, Muckleshoot Indian Tribe — Other - Workforce
Alejandra Garcia, Muckleshoot Indian Tribe — Workforce
Mikaih Gillis, Kickapoo Nation — Workforce
Lyena Gopher, Muckleshoot Indian Tribe — Mesa Community College
Karley James, Muckleshoot Indian Tribe — Other - Travel
Harley Jansen, Blackfeet Nation — University of Washington
Alex Kinggeorge, Muckleshoot Indian Tribe — Bellingham Technical College
Louisa Lucero, Puyallup Tribe — University of Washington Tacoma
Desmond MaGee, Muckleshoot Indian Tribe — Military
Kirah Marquard, Muckleshoot Indian Tribe — Highline College
Alesha Martin, Muckleshoot Indian Tribe — GAP Year - College or University
George Moses, Muckleshoot Indian Tribe — GAP Year - Green River College
Savina Moses Atimalala, Muckleshoot Indian Tribe — Gap Year - Beauty School
Randy Mounts, Nisqually Indian Tribe — Workforce
Beatrice Nelson, Muckleshoot Indian Tribe — GAP Year - Community College
Sierra Nelson, Muckleshoot Indian Tribe — Green River College
Hilary Penfield, Blackfeet Nation — University of Washington Tacoma
Ronald Penn IV, Muckleshoot Indian Tribe — GAP Year - College or University
Joseph Perez-Elkins, Muckleshoot Indian Tribe — GAP Year - College or University
Nayeli Rodriguez, Blackfeet Nation — GAP Year - Renton Technical College
Aurelia Sanchez, Muckleshoot Indian Tribe — Whatcom Community College
Kandace Simmons, Muckleshoot Indian Tribe — Gap Year - Beauty School
Tnessa Starr, Puyallup Tribe — GAP Year - Green River College
Aliyanna Tiznado-Jansen, Muckleshoot Indian Tribe — Gonzaga University
Anna Lou Vejar, Muckleshoot Indian Tribe — Workforce
Theron WhiteEagle, Muckleshoot Indian Tribe — Workforce
Alfred Williams, Muckleshoot Indian Tribe — Oregon State University
Jayden Williams, Tulalip Tribes — Workforce
On June 17, 2026, we celebrated an all-time record number of graduates at our MIT Adult and Higher Education Graduation Ceremony at the MIT Casino Events Center.
For our Class of 2026, we had an all-time record number of Muckleshoot Tribal Members (45) who earned college degrees, including five Muckleshoot Tribal Members who earned their doctorate degrees: Dr. Gina Hillesheim, Dr. Huda Swelam, Dr. Madrienne White, Dr. Angel Williams and Dr. Ryan Wilson. Congratulations to these five Muckleshoot Tribal Members for this incredible academic accomplishment of earning their doctoral degrees!
Additionally, we had an all-time record number of Muckleshoot Tribal Members (139) who earned Technical, Vocational and Academic Certificates; 19 Tribal Members who earned High School 21 Plus Diplomas; and (1) one Tribal Member who earned their GED Diploma. In totality, we celebrated another all-time record in the history of the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe for our total number of Muckleshoot Adult and Higher Education Graduates. We had a total of 204 graduates that we honored for the Class of 2026 in our Muckleshoot Adult and Higher Education Division!
We want to congratulate all of our Muckleshoot Scholars who tackled this huge milestone of achieving their degrees and certificates in 2026.
Our Class of 2026 Muckleshoot Tribal Members earning college degrees:
Gina Hillesheim – Doctor of Philosophy in Education – National University
Huda Swelam – Doctor of Education – University of Washington Tacoma
Madrienne White – Doctor of Education – University of Washington Tacoma
Angel Williams – Doctor of Education – University of Washington Tacoma
Ryan Wilson – Doctor of Education – University of Washington Tacoma
Rose Davis – Master of Legal Studies, Tribal Self-Governance – Arizona State University
Makoa Elgin – Master of Science in Botany; Evolution, Ecology, Conservation concentration – University of Hawaii Manoa
Melissa So – Master of Science, Curriculum and Instruction – Western Governor's University
Steven Yanish – Master of Education for Practicing Educators – University of Washington Tacoma
Sylvia Agaton – Bachelor of Arts, Tribal Governance and Business Management – Northwest Indian College
Irene Anderson – Bachelor of Arts, Tribal Governance and Business Management – Northwest Indian College
Venecia Barrera – Bachelor of Arts, Tribal Governance and Business Management – Northwest Indian College
Marlin Brown – Bachelor of Science, Cybersecurity and Information Assurance – Western Governors University
Curtiss Buchanan – Bachelor of Science, Business Administration – Purdue University Global
Robin Greenhalgh – Bachelor of Science, Early Childhood Education – Salish Kootenai College
Tania Korndorfer – Bachelor of Science, Psychology, Minor in American Indian Studies – Washington State University
Jack Lewis – Bachelor of Science, Finance; Minors in Psychology and American Studies – University of the Ozarks
Trey Lockwood – Bachelor of Science in Biology – Utah Valley University
Latanya Mustin – Bachelor of Arts in Psychology – Seattle University
Lamont Nichols – Bachelor of Business Administration – University of North Texas at Dallas
Valerie Ross-Zhaawendaagozikwe – Bachelor of Science, Environmental Science and Biology University of Wisconsin – Superior
Pearl Zaldivar – Bachelor of Arts, Community Advocates and Responsive Education in Human Services – Northwest Indian College
River Carey – Associate of Applied Science, Commercial Building Engineering – Renton Technical College
Brenda Daniels – Associate of Applied Science, Administrative Management – Highline College
Alighah Elkins – Associate of Arts and Sciences, General Direct Transfer – Northwest Indian College
Lena Elkins – Associate of Arts and Sciences, Business and Entrepreneurship – Northwest Indian College
Desiree Everett – Associate of Applied Science, Early Childhood Education – Lakeshore Technical College
Isabell Flores – Associate in Arts, Direct Transfer – Green River College
Victorya Foulkes – Associate of Arts and Sciences, General Direct Transfer – Northwest Indian College
Irene Isadore – Associate of Arts and Sciences, Public and Tribal Administration Northwest Indian College
Tyshauna Johnson – Associate of Arts and Sciences, General Direct Transfer – Northwest Indian College
Cassandra Lewis – Associate in Arts, Direct Transfer – Green River College
MaryJane Miller – Associate in Applied Science, Carpentry Technology – Green River College
Veronica Miller – Associate of Arts and Sciences, General Direct Transfer – Northwest Indian College
Chandra Moses – Associate of Arts and Sciences, General Direct Transfer – Northwest Indian College
Ezra Nelson – Associate in Applied Science, Carpentry Technology – Green River College
Kesiah Nichols – Associate of Science – Dallas College
Mario Paul – Associate of Arts and Sciences, General Direct Transfer – Northwest Indian College
Roseann Reeves – Associate of Arts and Sciences, General Direct Transfer – Northwest Indian College
Ariana Romo-Rincon – Associate of Science – Dallas College
Lyna Semon – Associate of Applied Arts in Accounting – Clover Park Technical College
Leeschelle Sohappy – Associate of Arts, Direct Transfer – Bellevue College
Michelle Sohappy-Lara – Associate of Arts and Sciences, General Direct Transfer – Northwest Indian College
Stina Starr – Associate of Arts and Sciences, General Direct Transfer – Northwest Indian College
Wah'leah Wight – Associate of Applied Arts in Accounting – Green River College
Our Muckleshoot Tribal Members continue to achieve great success by earning degrees and certificates in higher education through the support of our Muckleshoot Scholarship Program. We all want to celebrate the wonderful accomplishments of our Muckleshoot Tribal Members who are achieving college degrees from numerous high level programs across the country.
We achieved another all-time record number of graduates during the Muckleshoot Graduation Season of 2026. If you combine the total number of graduates from Head Start through higher education, it would look like this: Muckleshoot Early Learning Academy (Head Start) – 69; Muckleshoot Tribal School Kindergarten – 24; MTS 5th grade – 35; MTS 8th grade – 45; MTS High School – 32; Muckleshoot students graduating from other high schools – 20; Muckleshoot Adult and Higher Education Division: college degrees – 45; post-secondary certificates – 139; and High School 21 Plus Diplomas – 19; GED Diploma – 1. Our 2026 Muckleshoot Tribal Graduation Season resulted in an all-time record for the total number of graduates with a total number of 429.
I want to take this opportunity to salute all of our proud 2026 Muckleshoot graduates and all of our families. I am extremely proud of all the dedication and hard work that our students, families and staff members contributed to making the educational experiences of our students so successful. We are looking forward to every one of our Muckleshoot graduates taking advantage of our Muckleshoot Scholarship Program, achieving their college degree or higher education certificates, and being hired for positions of leadership here at the Muckleshoot Tribe, or in our greater community.
I want to thank each and every person who contributed their time and hard work to make this 2025-2026 academic year and graduation season so successful. We all have witnessed and participated in another historic graduation season for the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe. Let us also give thanks to our many Tribal Elders and Tribal Leaders whose dreams and hard work have made the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe’s vision of “education as a lifelong journey” possible.
Find graduate names and photos for HeadStart, Kindergarten, 5th Grade, 8th Grade, 12th Grade, and Adult & Higher Education Graduations; along with messages to graduates from friends and family.
At an age when many young adults are just beginning to discover new hobbies, 19-year-old John Daniels Maestas has already checked an ultramarathon off his bucket list.
Families from across the Muckleshoot Community gathered at Keta Creek on June 13 for the annual Kids Fishing Derby, enjoying a morning filled with fishing, outdoor recreation, and time spent together with family and friends.
Muckleshoot youth and families gathered at South Wind Park on May 16 to celebrate the opening of a new multisport court made possible through a partnership between the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe and One Roof Foundation.
The Muckleshoot Canoe Family performed at the Seattle Seawolves Rugby Game during halftime on May 31.
The Muckleshoot Messenger is a monthly Tribal publication. Tribal community members and Tribal employees are welcome to submit items to the newspaper such as announcements, birth news, birthday shoutouts, community highlights, and more. We want to hear from you!
Please direct Media Inquiries to Muckleshoot Intergovernmental Affairs.
Official Government Website for the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe
© Muckleshoot Indian Tribe 2026
