The El Hogar Class of 2025
November 17, 2025On Saturday, we closed another school year with a beautiful graduation ceremony for our sixth promotion of 12th graders. Our team had a full setup ready to stream the ceremony, but the internet signal across the whole community went down at the last minute. It’s one of the daily hurdles of life in Honduras, especially in the rural areas like where the Technical Institute is located. We quickly switched to a cell phone to make sure families and supporters could still watch. The audio and video were not what we hoped for, but it still gave a window into a milestone moment.
Graduation carries deep meaning here. Many of our students are the first in their families to finish high school. Our teachers work hard to honor that. They transform our campus with borrowed equipment, decorations, and even chairs and tables from friends, relatives, and the Episcopal Church.
In a conversation with the 12th graders the weeks before graduation, Claudia asked them to share their plans after graduation. The students’ first answers weren’t about becoming “an engineer” or pursuing a personal dream. Instead, they said they wanted to get a good job so they can support their families, a response says so much about the strength and character of our students. Not only do they carry their own dreams, but also the hopes of their parents and siblings. Many of their parents have sacrificed, encouraged and held the belief in them, so their accomplishments are not theirs alone, but shared. Claudia reframed her question and asked them what their personal goals were post-graduation. Most of them plan on pursuing post-secondary education, a number of them have already completed the entrance exam to the public university. Two of them are in the process of applying for the Air Force and one has a job lined up with the company they did their internship at last month.
There were mixed feelings at graduation too. Once the diplomas were handed out, some students felt the weight of stepping away from the place they have called home for so long. Leaving their second family is not easy. The transition ahead can be tough because it brings new responsibilities, financial pressure, the search for opportunity, and the uncertainty that comes with leaving a familiar support system. Even with all of that, they are ready. They have the skills, confidence, and the drive to move forward.
In their speeches, Claudia, Norma, and our valedictorian, Luis, thanked the North American community for believing in them. They shared how much it matters that people, some of whom have never met them, still stand behind their education. Your trust in El Hogar and in these young people is felt in real ways. Your partnership helps shape their path and gives them strength as they take their next steps.
Thank you for being part of their journey.
