Hellgate High School conferred diplomas to the Class of 2025 at a commencement ceremony in Missoula; the transcript does not specify the exact calendar date. Superintendent Micah Hill presided over the ceremony and Shannon Rinker, executive director of the Missoula Education Foundation, delivered the keynote address emphasizing resilience and self-advocacy.

Micah Hill opened remarks by acknowledging the Indigenous peoples of the region and introducing a student Native American drum group. "We acknowledge that we are gathered on indigenous territory," Hill said, noting the Missoula and Bitterroot valleys as the traditional homelands of the Salish on Pend Oreille and Kalispel people. He then introduced the Missoula County Public Schools Native American student drum group, led by Sean Whitegrass and Brittany Hunter, who performed an honor song for graduates.

Judson Miller, principal of Hellgate High School, welcomed families and urged the audience to allow each student's moment on stage. "Please refrain from excessive noise making, shouting, or otherwise distracting the readers during both the speeches and the diploma distribution," Miller said, asking that every family have the opportunity to hear their graduate's name.

Student leaders Stella Harvard, senior class president, and Faith Yoo, student body president, delivered commencement remarks. Harvard used a quilt metaphor to describe shared experiences and the people who stitched the graduates' journeys together; Yoo encouraged graduates to "capture" moments with presence and to notice the people who make them feel seen.

Keynote speaker Shannon Rinker, identified in the program as executive director of the Missoula Education Foundation, described a personal recovery from a traumatic brain injury and the medical journey that followed. Rinker said she was initially told there was no chance of improvement but later learned she had been misdiagnosed and underwent rare neurosurgery. Rinker told graduates, "Your potential is not something you find outside of yourself. It's something you unlock from within." She urged family members and supporters to remind graduates of their strengths and resilience.

Near the close of the ceremony, Superintendent Micah Hill used formal language to present the graduates. "By the authority vested in me by the State of Montana and the Montana Office of Public Instruction, I present to you and to the board of trustees for Missoula County Public Schools, the members of the Hellgate High School class of 2025 as having fulfilled all of the requirements and obligations to be awarded a diploma from Missoula County Public Schools," Hill said.

The ceremony included music by the Hellgate Choir and recognition of the school's music and theater staff (Ellen McKenzie, Jesse Docknell, Ryan Davis, and Dr. Laramie Dean Carlson). A roll call of graduates was read aloud during diploma distribution; the transcript records many individual names but does not state a total graduate count. The event concluded with the traditional turning of tassels and a brief closing.

Why it matters: Commencements mark a local education milestone and are community events that acknowledge students, families, staff and community partners. The debut of a student Native American honor song and a local education leader's personal recovery story were notable elements of this ceremony.