Valedictorian Address 2026: Shane Good

Good afternoon everyone—families, coaches, staff… and my fellow graduates.

If you had told me a few years ago that high school would involve living in cabins, traveling the world, occasionally sleeping in a building called BOB to survive the weather, and sharing the best friend group with my siblings…I couldn’t have imagined it. See, Finley and I started our high school journey at our rural public school where no one understood the sport we did because it didn’t involve a rope and a cow. We use to commute 2hrs to and from Copper on weekends and skip school a day or so each week to train. We had no real community and no support or appreciation for our goals.

Then we found Wy’East. Nothing about this place is a typical high school. And we are definitely not typical students.

Wy’East is a place people come to when they don’t quite fit into the traditional system—or when their dreams are just a little too big for their hometowns. It’s a place where snowboarders, skiers, mountain bikers, and skateboarders all end up under one roof… somehow surviving each other.

And more importantly, it’s a place where we found something a lot of us didn’t expect: belonging.

A lot of us came here from far away—some from across the country, some from across the world. Italy, China, and even Canada, and yet somehow we all ended up speaking the same language: progression, crashes, retries, and of course, “2 skip.”

We didn’t just go to school together—we lived together. We trained together. We traveled together. We went through injuries, mental battles, breakups, and those long Oregon winters where it rains so much you start questioning your entire existence.

We’ve seen each other at our worst—frustrated after a bad training day, dealing with injuries, or just mentally checked out. But we’ve also been there for each other’s best moments—the podiums, the breakthroughs, the times when something finally clicks after months of trying.

Speaking of worst… the snowboard and ski team had a trip earlier this year at ruka, and it was one of the best trips this winter—perfect jumps, insane progression, and high vibes—until the cold hit. No seriously.

And not just one person… everyone. It spread through the team so fast that we basically had to quarantine into “sick” and “not sick” groups… which lasted about a day before everyone ended up in the same boat anyway.

But even with all of this happening, we just kept going—trying to not get caught by the medical staff, layering up, and still keeping the vibes high in the park and somehow for the rest of the trip. 

You can see something unique in the alumni who come back, still connected, still supporting each other across the entire action sports world. And now, we’re part of that too.

But let’s be honest—Wy’East doesn’t just build athletes. It builds independence… sometimes whether we like it or not.

We’ve been doing our own laundry, some of us since eighth grade—which explains why a lot of us smell like mold. Seriously… one day, maybe we’ll get dryers that actually dry.

We’ve learned how to manage our time without parents telling us to get off our phones… which is also why a lot of us now have what can only be described as elite-level brain rot.

If you’ve ever successfully used your foot to lift your suitcase just enough on the scale at the airport to avoid an overweight fee—you know that Toph has prepared you for real life. There are times you have to problem solve and be creative.

And in the real world, things don’t always go smoothly.

Flights get canceled. Bags get lost. Gear doesn’t show up. After Toph is done crashing out on an airline rep, he teaches you to pull it together and get out there even if it means competing on borrowed skis. 

Speaking of Toph…

Toph, you’ve taught us a lot. Not just about skiing, but about style—something that technically can’t be taught, but somehow you do anyway.

But more than that, you’ve been the person who shows up when someone’s struggling. You remind us why we love what we do—and why it matters that we’re even here in the first place.

And your “vibe reports”? Let’s be clear… you are the vibe.

Breeze—our ski team dad, our on-the-road chef, and probably the most technical coach any of us will ever have—you’ve built an entire army of “jits” who just want your approval. And honestly, we all do.

Barb—thank you for somehow keeping all of us safe and mostly in line.

Sabina, Heidi, Adam—thank you for making sure we actually graduate and don’t just accidentally turn into full-time professional teenagers.

Brody—thank you for creating the ping pong and gaming space that definitely did not help our productivity, but absolutely helped our sanity.

Ari—thank you for being the person everyone goes to with their big news… and yes, we’re all aware of your fan club.

And to Roy the goat, and all of our awesome residential staff—you’ve been way more than just people who write us up when we mess up. You’ve been mentors, role models, and sometimes the only adults around who actually understand what we’re going through.

This school demands a lot—self-discipline, resilience, teamwork, and the ability to get back up when things don’t go your way.

But the biggest thing it gave us… is a place to belong and people to belong with.

The friendships we built here aren’t normal. They can’t be.

When you’ve traveled the world together, pushed each other through fears, celebrated birthdays far from home, and stood by each other through the hardest moments… that kind of bond doesn’t go away.

So as we leave here and head into whatever comes next—whether that’s competing, college, working in the industry, or figuring things out as we go—I think we all carry the same thing with us:

We know how to show up.

For ourselves. For our sport. And for each other.

And no matter where we end up, we’ll always come back because Hanley and Elijah promised free airbag time to alumni. But seriously, this isn’t goodbye, it’s just a 2 skip for now.

Congrats to the class of 2026!  Thank you Wy’East.