Principal Rudy Cardona began The Porterville Military Academy graduation on Tuesday evening by speaking to the huge gathering of family, friends, Porterville Unified School District administrators and board members about what the ceremony meant.
"We gather to celebrate and honor a journey that extends beyond the walls of this academy," he said, speaking partially in English and Spanish for families and students.
He spoke of gratitude and reflection for the journey and path ahead, and thanked work and support staff “Team PMA," for their dedication, support, and belief in their students, saying, "Your daily commitment has made all the difference. You are more than educators, you are mentors, role models, and builders of dreams, inspiring curiosity, igniting passion, creating lasting memories. You won’t find many other schools where teachers volunteer their time off to sleep in tents, among insects and high heat with a bunch of teenagers, or go to survival training in the middle of Summer.
"Our military instructors have instilled discipline, built character, and inspired resilience. Through your example, our students learn what it truly means to lead with honor and to serve with purpose. Your presence on campus brings a sense of structure and strength. You won’t find many schools where a student can say my teacher taught me how to tie a tie, fly a plane, and safely handle a firearm."
Cardona continued to speak about the school, where the cadets rise to higher standards, are taught with respect, encouragement, and unwavering commitment, he said. "We are proud and thankful for your service, both to our country and to our school."
He spoke to the Porterville community and told them PUSD board members visit with the students and attend the competitions, as well as business owners and veterans who mentor the cadets on weekends and evenings.
And he told parents and guardians their support has been a source of strength and motivation for these young men and women, and today's achievement is as much yours as it is theirs.
He congratulated the graduates, saying they had the courage to take the road less traveled attending PMA. "Together we have built a California Distinguished School. You are a small, but determined class, who has taken a risk, to be bold, vulnerable, considerate, demonstrating resilience. That’s bravery. That’s vision. That’s leadership.
"Remember to be leaders of character, competence, and consequence. Your journey has just begun, and I look forward to seeing the incredible impact you will make on our nation and the world. YOU ARE READY! Thank you, Godspeed, and congratulations to the class of 2026! Felicidades!"
Valedictorian Jonathan Witherspoon thanked friends, family, staff, and guests for supporting the PMA Class of 2026, accompanying them on their four year journey.
He said it was a privilege to be 2026 Valedictorian, part of a class of 36 students.
They worked together to score superior on the California Cadet Corps’ Annual General Inspection, which showed the organization PMA stands strong in its service to Porterville and Tulare Country.
Witherspoon spoke about class leaders "Andrew Dohnke, our Brigade Commander, together with Jareli Esteban achieved a superior score. Delaney Posey, our Regiment Commander, with the aid of SSG Perez, ensured her team had orderly formations. Coco Navarro was ASB president, a task not for the faint of heart, who guided ASB through rallies, holiday events, and sign making."
He spoke of failure as a challenge. "As many of our military staff say to do, fail forward.
"It is both our victories and failures that shape us to who we are now. Sitting in 100 degree heat with at least two layers of clothes on. After today, we are going off to college, some of us enlisting, and a few joining Fresno State’s ROTC programs.
"Regardless of the path you choose, plan for success, but brace for failure. Failure is the greatest teacher of all. It tests resolve to strive toward accomplishment, and reveals weaknesses. In the words of Lieutenant Colonel (Fred) Dohnke (commandant), “'Our greatest weakness is the things we don’t know'."
Witherspoon spoke about the PMA Survival Encampment at Camp San Luis Obispo. And the physical endurance at the camp; a week covering more than 40 miles carrying 20 punds of supplies, wearing the same clothes and being uncomfortable. As a sophomore he did it again. He learned from Sergeant Stephenson how the endurance challenges could be easy. It was changing his perception of fear and fatigue, said Witherspoon. The fatigue felt a little lighter and his view of challenges changed. He learned to embrace fear, and realized challenging ourselves is an opportunity to grow.
"Fail forward, learn your weakness and the things you don’t know for certain. May the future challenge us, may our lives give us adversity, and may we become better for it. Thank you for listening."
"Good evening ladies and gentlemen, friends and family, teachers and staff. My name is Cadet Captain Andrew Dohnke, 13th Brigade Commander. I am so grateful to speak to you all, and am blessed to have this experience and position. I will remember the once in a lifetime times we've endured together. My most memorable moments are the relief and celebration of leaving summer camp after receiving my DI crest. Receiving a superior grade during our last AGI, or the contrary moments of total fear during the nights of advanced survival training when I was surrounded by coyotes, have led to this moment.
"At PMA every obstacle was another reason to continue, and now we have dreams to conquer, and we have the tools to chase those dreams. It's up to us to make a choice. For my fellow graduates, I have one piece of advice. To simply put it, acknowledge haters gonna hate. I mean do not confine yourself to the criticism of others."
Dohnke quoted President Theodore Roosevelt from “Citizenship in a Republic” talking about how easy it is for others to criticize those who actually move ahead and do the work, or say they could have done better.
"Do not get weighed down by the others who are overly critical of you. Have confidence in your actions and character."
Dohnke also spoke of the feelings of triumph related to victory. For his aviation cadets, he reminded them of a hazardous attitude of invulnerability. A belief frequently seen in aviation, that accidents only happen to others and never yourself. Leading to increased risk-taking, complacency, and a failure to appreciate potential dangers, often causing pilots to skip safety steps or ignore warning signs. "Likewise I think we have developed an attitude similar.
"This mindset needs to be addressed. I want to promote change after you leave here. Confucius, a famous philosopher once stated, “We have two lives, and the second begins when we realize we only have one. My time at PMA in the Cadet Corps helped build the foundation of independence I need to be proactive in life. I know anything worthy of my time is worthy of my best work because where grace isn't offered my resilience has to be.
"Class of 2026 embraced the challenges of positions, Continue to embrace the challenges and break through the ceiling of expectations and shatter it. Build your own ceiling because you are built for the climb. My name is Andrew Dohnke, I love you all, May God bless you."
Cadet Captain Delaney Posey, 2025-2026 30th Regiment Commander spoke about experiences they were expected to remember.
"Leadership lessons, growth, running, lots of running." She said memories are tied to feelings.
"Our boots lifted for the first march, when walking became measured. Trekking across campus, when distance became measured they pushed through. Ribbons and medals pinned onto a dress uniform for the first time, metal catching your fingers faster than a loose thread. A flag in your hands. A guidon pressed into the Earth. Not just objects or sticks of honor, but real weight meaning something to you, especially if you’ve ever had to march for a few miles.
"We learned through the senses. Through touch - the fabric of a uniform. Through sound - cadences roaring in your ears. Sight - leadership happening within all of us, when someone stepped forward when it mattered. Taste - small moments that felt earned after effort… those spicy chicken sandwiches, or the powdered eggs at Summer Camp. Still questionable. Still memorable. And somehow, powdered eggs again, since repetition has its own way of really sticking with us, pun intended. Smell - Sagebrush scattered around Camp SLO that freshened our minds leading up to that Red Beret, or that distinct morning run mildew during the FitnessGram.
Posey continued to say, "And slowly, something else formed, a shared understanding. We’ve learned to build each other up, notice without words, and carry responsibility together, not in separate cargo. It was always about what we became in each other’s proximity.
"Not quite identical, still nonetheless connected. So, let it be that no moment is ever simply passed through, they are endured together with your unit, sometimes even when the only one holding it together is you."