Erb addresses class of 2026

WAUPACA – On January 30, Waupaca High School Principle Jenifer Erb had a medical emergency at school. She was flown from to Neenah and doctors determined she had a brain bleed. She had surgery, spent time in the neuro intensive care unit and for a while was on a ventilator. She has been recovering since then while John Erspamer has acted as interim principal.

On Saturday, May 30, Erb took to the stage in the high school gymnasium wearing a ceremonial graduation gown. The audience erupted with massive applause, a standing ovation that went on and on and on. She was not going to miss speaking to the graduating class of 2026.

Erb spoke about importance of resilience and how life can be filled with unexpected hardship. When she concluded her speech, the crowd stood again and gave her even more applause, a testament of appreciation to this well-loved educator.

District Administrator Mark Flaten addressed the seniors and spoke of Waupaca’s very first class of students that graduated in 1876. He pointed out that the class of 2026 was part of a long line of students has been supported by a community that has tradition of valuing education.

The senior address was given by valedictorians Alton Ross and Oliver Funk-Rusch who also did an interpretive dance with a ribbon-tipped wand.
A second senior address was given by valedictorians Thomas Thiel and Abigail Higginson whose speech was a clever potpourri of song lyrics (Don’t Stop Belivin’, etc).

The ceremony lasted one hour and fifty minutes and at the end, the seniors moved their tassels from the right side of their mortarboards to the left side, the symbolic gesture that marked them as graduates.