Achievement and resilience were the themes of Renton Technical College’s joyous 2026 Commencement Ceremony, June 23rd at the ShoWare Center in Kent, as more than 700 students crossed the stage to earn a diploma, certificate, or degree.

Your support has played a meaningful role in this journey across the graduation finish line for countless students. You didn’t simply fund education—you helped build confidence, develop talent, and sustain the hard work that leads to real transformation.

Students like Commencement speakers Onecima Izazaga Moreno and Rocelle Harris (pictured left) shared deeply personal stories of perseverance, reminding classmates that every graduate arrived with a different journey but crossed the same finish line.
Onecima came to RTC seeking both a high school diploma and a new career. After earning a $6,000 McCarthy Bridge Grant, she completed the Business Coordinator Program.

“If someone like me, a woman, an immigrant, someone who once lost all hope, can stand here today, then you can achieve whatever you set your mind to,” she said. “RTC changed my life. And today, standing here on this stage, I want to tell you that your dreams also have a place here.”

Rocelle, known as Chef Row, described herself as a mother, survivor, and formerly incarcerated woman who chose to rewrite her future. She is a recipient of the Les Dames d'Escoffier Endowment for Culinary Arts Scholarship and is now a proud graduate from the Culinary Arts Program. At RTC, she served as vice president of the Associated Student Government, founded the Culinary Grind Club, and earned multiple scholarships and awards.

“There was a time when I felt trapped by my past and the mistakes I had made. There were moments when I wondered if people would ever see me for who I was becoming instead of who I used to be,” she said, holding back tears. “But I learned something powerful: our past may explain where we came from, but it does not determine where we are going.”

Now that is a gift that keeps giving!

Your continued generosity to support scholarships, emergency grants, tool and book grants, is a wonderful part of each student's success story. The countless volunteer hours of the RTC Foundation Board of Directors, and the commitment to excellent training from industry partners like Boeing, SPEEA, IAM District 751, Invitation Homes, Concrete Technologies, and the Connell, McLennaghan and Dahlby families just to name a few of our amazing partners - thank you for honoring the talents of students.

As we celebrate the Class of 2026, their future is bright because they have earned it—and because this community chose to believe in them.