150 years later, Tabor celebrates class of 2026
Graduates toss their commencement programs in the air at graduation on Friday, May 22. Photos source: Lawrence Films
Tabor Academy seniors sit at graduation. 
Deane Konowicz speaks to the crowd. 
The class of 2026 celebrates its graduation.
Graduates toss their commencement programs in the air at graduation on Friday, May 22. Photos source: Lawrence Films
Tabor Academy seniors sit at graduation.
Deane Konowicz speaks to the crowd.
The class of 2026 celebrates its graduation.
MARION — The Tabor Academy community marked the culmination of the school’s 150th year celebrating the class of 2026’s graduation.
The graduates and their guests were joined by the underclassmen for the Friday, May 22 ceremony under a large tent on the school’s campus. Among the graduating class were 29 Tri-Town students.
Head of School Tony Jaccaci said this year’s graduates grew from tentative freshmen to confident and principled young adults during their time at the school.
"In this, our sesquicentennial year, it is not an overstatement to say that the Class of 2026 has been a historic group," he said.
Co-Head of School Vince White said he wanted his class to remember the journey when looking back at their high school years, not just the destinations.
While championships, awards and college acceptances were exciting, he said, the moments spent with friends and experiences at the school were important parts of the road that got them there.
“That was the actual trip," White said. "The amount of beauty in your life is dependent on whether you choose to notice it."
Chloe Fox, the other co-head of school, reflected on firsts and the importance of new beginnings.
She said every year she became a beginner again, with much to learn and grow from. As new graduates, she said her classmates will again be beginners — and she encouraged them to embrace the experience.
"Every year here, we became beginners again," Fox said. "Just when we finally thought we understood something—whether it was academics, friendships, or ourselves—life handed us something completely new."
Dean Konowicz, a retired Air Force colonel, gave the commencement speech. He graduated from Tabor in 1995 and now leads the Utah Field Office for Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.
He said the values the senior class learned at the school, including care, courage, collaboration and curiosity, will outlast anything else they studied.
At the close of the ceremony, graduates tossed their programs in the air — they do not wear caps at graduation — and recessed out of the tent surrounded by applauding faculty and staff.
