With a turn of the tassel from right to left, Fox Valley Technical College students marked a milestone moment. They became graduates.
The Class of 2026—1,007 graduates earning associate degrees and technical diplomas—gathered Sunday, May 17 at the UW Oshkosh Kolf Sports Center for commencement. The ceremony featured remarks from several speakers, followed by the presentation of candidates and the conferring of degrees.
Jacob Sterns, a graduate of the Construction Management Technology program, delivered the student commencement address. During his remarks, Jake traded his mortarboard for a hard hat and tapped into his construction education to reflect on his journey at FVTC.
In construction, we talk a lot about foundations. Now, a foundation isn’t the most glamorous part of any project. Nobody drives past a building and says, ‘Wow, look at that beautiful foundation.’” But every contractor, every project manager, every tradesperson knows the truth: the foundation is everything. If you get that part wrong, it doesn’t matter how stunning the structure above it may be. It will crack. It will settle. It will fail. Education works the same way. Fox Valley Technical College gave me more than technical knowledge and a degree. It gave me a foundation.
Chris Hess, President and Chief Executive Officer of Goodwill North Central Wisconsin (NCW) served as the commencement speaker. In his remarks, he highlighted the college’s commitment to hands-on training.
You are graduates of Fox Valley Technical College—builders, fixers, problem-solvers, innovators. People who don’t just talk about change, but make it happen. Your journey to this moment wasn’t abstract or theoretical. It was hands-on. It was wiring, coding, machining, welding, caring, diagnosing, repairing, analyzing, and creating. It was learning by doing—and sometimes learning by doing it wrong first.
The Class of 2026 included:
- 553 students graduating with honors (above a 3.5 GPA)
- 61 Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) Honor Society graduates
- 42 veteran graduates
The top three programs represented among graduates were Criminal Justice, Emergency Medical Technician, and Business Management.
See highlights in our commencement photo gallery >
Watch the ceremony >
In their own words
Student Commencement Address/Jake Sterns
Ladies and gentlemen… today is an exciting day. Fellow graduates, I don’t know if you know me, but I’m Jake. We went to college together. Those were some good times! Or maybe we should say it like Charles Dickens: ‘It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.’
Before I begin, I want to give everyone a big congratulations for being here today. And on behalf of the Class of 2026, I want to thank everyone who makes Fox Valley Technical College so excellent:
- To the board, administration and staff – thank you for your wisdom, vision and tireless work to advance the college and help us coordinate our lives and our education.
- To the faculty – thank you for giving all of yourselves every day, pushing us to do our best, even on the days that we don’t want to learn. All the while, taking the extra time to build relationships with us, that for some, will last a lifetime.
- To family and friends – your support, sacrifice and dedication have not been overlooked. We love you and we thank you.
My degree is in construction, so I’m going to talk a bit about that here today. In construction, we talk a lot about foundations. Now… a foundation isn’t the most glamorous part of any project. Nobody drives past a building and says, ‘Wow, look at that beautiful foundation.’
But every contractor, every project manager, every tradesperson knows the truth: the foundation is everything. If you get that part wrong — it doesn’t matter how stunning the structure above it may be — it will crack. It will settle. It will fail.
Education works the same way. Fox Valley Technical College gave me more than technical knowledge and a degree. It gave me a foundation. And, like any solid foundation, it wasn’t poured alone:
- It took instructors who invested in me beyond the curriculum.
- It took classmates who pushed me to think harder.
- It took mentors, family, and people in this room who believed in something they had not yet seen finished.
We live in a culture that loves to celebrate the finished building. The ribbon cutting. The diploma. The title. And I won’t pretend these moments don’t feel good — they do. But I’ve come to believe that what happens before the ceremony, in the relationships formed along the way, is where the real work lives. That’s where we take shape.
Looking back on my time here, the moments that changed me most weren’t the tests I passed or the projects I completed. They were the conversations with people who took the time to pour into me. And I don’t take that lightly, because I know time is the most finite resource any of us have. When someone gives you theirs, that’s something worth honoring.
My faith grounds me in this. I believe we are not placed here to simply accumulate achievements. We are placed here to serve one another; to build each other up in the true sense of the phrase.
And the greatest investment I can make with whatever platform or opportunity comes from this season of life is to pour back into the people around me the same way this community poured into me.
Now, at the end of our careers as students, we have an opportunity to pursue our passions. William Shakespeare once said, “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.”
In life, we can’t always count on being born great or having greatness thrust upon us. But always remember the opportunity to achieve greatness is within our grasp. Keep in mind that many of our social and political heroes started their lives as ordinary people. Despite the failures we will make and although we may be ‘average’, we find that the average can achieve greatness. Whether recognized by the world or just a few.
So to my fellow graduates… be proud of what you have built. You earned it. But don’t walk out of here with your eyes fixed only on the structure. Tend to your foundation. Invest in your relationships — with your families, your colleagues, and your communities. Because at the end of any project, nobody remembers the schedule. They remember how you treated the people on the job site.
Class of 2026, it’s been a splendid few years together. And from the bottom of my heart, congratulations. I wish you all the very, very best.
Thank you.
Commencement Address/Chris Hess
Good Afternoon. Someone once told me the key to public speaking is to do three things. Be thankful, Be brief, and Be seated. I’m going to try to do all those things here today. First thank you to FVTC college, its faculty and staff for having me here today. And thank you to all our graduates, friends and family for welcoming me here and for putting up with me for a few mins.
Graduates—today belongs to you.
Today we celebrate a powerful achievement: not just a degree or a credential earned, but skills mastered, obstacles overcome, and confidence built step by step. You chose a path that demanded focus, discipline, and grit. A path that required you to show up early, stay late, and keep going when quitting would have been easier.
And you did it.
You are graduates of Fox Valley Technical College—builders, fixers, problem-solvers, innovators. People who don’t just talk about change, but make it happen.
Your journey to this moment wasn’t abstract or theoretical. It was hands-on. It was wiring, coding, machining, welding, caring, diagnosing, repairing, analyzing, and creating. It was learning by doing—and sometimes learning by doing it wrong first.
You balanced jobs, families, responsibilities, and setbacks and your achievement today is commendable.
And The Work You will do next will Shape Everyday Life
Because of people like you:
- Lights turn on.
- Machines operate safely.
- Patients heal.
- Buildings stand strong.
- Networks connect.
- Businesses grow.
- Communities function.
You are entering fields where results are visible, tangible, and essential. When something breaks, the world doesn’t look to theory—it looks to you.
And here’s the truth: our communities have never needed technical talent more than they do right now.
But today isn’t just about what you can do.
It’s about what you will choose to do with what you’ve learned.
Your skills are powerful tools—but tools only matter when they’re picked up and put to good use. Every wrench, keyboard, gauge, or program you touch is an opportunity to make life better for someone else.
You will work in factories, hospitals, shops, labs, job sites, offices, and businesses across this community. And in those places, you will have a daily opportunity to answer a simple question:
Will I just do my job—or will I make an impact?
Here is something import….Impact Is Built in Small Moments
Impact doesn’t always look like headlines or awards.
Sometimes impact looks like:
- Taking the extra minute to do the job right.
- Training the next person behind you.
- Treating a customer with dignity.
- Showing up when it’s hard.
- Fixing a problem no one else noticed.
- Being kind to someone on the day they needed it the most.
Communities are strengthened not by grand gestures, but by consistent excellence. And excellence, graduates, is something you now carry with you.
You Are the Future Workforce—and the Future Leaders…
And leadership doesn’t only come with a title.
Leadership shows up when:
- You choose safety over shortcuts.
- You choose integrity over convenience.
- You choose teamwork over ego.
- You choose improvement over complacency.
Your employers will depend on you. Younger workers will learn from you. Neighborhoods will rely on the work you do—often without ever knowing your name.
And that is a noble kind of leadership.
Keep Learning. Keep Growing.
Today is not the finish line, it’s a launch point.
Technology will change. Tools will evolve. Careers will shift. And the most successful people in technical fields aren’t the ones who know everything, they’re the ones who keep learning.
Stay curious. Ask questions. Learn from mistakes. Invest in yourself.
The skills that got you here will open the door. The mindset you carry forward will decide how far you go.
Our Community Needs You.
Graduates, this community is proud of you—and it needs you now more than ever.
It needs your skills, your work ethic, your problem-solving, and your belief that things can be built better than they were before.
Where others see problems, you see solutions. Where others see complexity, you see systems. Where others see obstacles, you see a way through.
That mindset is a gift.
So today, celebrate—fully and unapologetically. You earned this moment.
But tomorrow, go build something that matters. Fix what’s broken. Create what’s needed. And leave every place you touch better than you found it.
Graduates, your hands are ready.
Your minds are sharp.
And your community is counting on you.
Congratulations to the Class of 2026!
Now go to work—and make us all proud.
