She could have taken any of a number of easier routes to graduating high school. Friday night, Hayden Tourtillott will receive her high school diploma as a reward to herself for not giving up and thinking of her future.
Hayden Tourtillott, 20, should have graduated with New Prague High School’s Class of 2024. For a variety of reasons, some of which she acknowledges were within her own control, Tourtillott didn’t get the work done, working for an hourly wage to pay rent and meet commitments rather than complete the school work needed to earn passing grades and graduate.
Hers is a story of resilience. Last year, Tourtillott decided the time had come to finish what she had started. This spring, with support of her teachers at Compass Learning Center, she finished the classes needed to earn a diploma from New Prague High School. She has made sure her state of mind is in the right place and focused her priorities on completion of her high school requirements. Tourtillott plans to attend the commencement ceremony and celebrate the accomplishment with her mom, stepdad, family members and friends.
She’s not sure what to expect from the ceremony. Tourtillott will be seated amongst seniors, graduates-to-be she expects she doesn’t know, seniors who were sophomores when she should have graduated had everything gone according to plan. While completing her senior year was something she did for herself, attending the ceremony is her way of thanking the people in her corner – her mom and stepfather, other family members, co-workers and friends who believe in her. Tourtillott’s mom, Christine Sydness of Montgomery, credits her daughter’s quiet humility and determination with the decisions to finish and attend the ceremony. The CLC holds a small-scale ceremony to honor students who complete their journey through credit recovery, Tourtillott said.
“My friends were pushing for me to do it,” she said of attending the commencement ceremony. “They wanted to be there to have it be a big finale.”
She spent her senior year, 2020, dealing with...
To see more on this story pick up the May 21, 2026 print edition of The New Prague Times.