Holy Family Cristo Rey Catholic High School (HFCR) celebrated the Commencement Ceremony for the Class of 2026 on Monday, May 11, at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Birmingham. The school’s president, Robert “Bo” Garrett, presided over the ceremony, with Principal Hunter Wolfe conferring diplomas.

Special guests included Margaret Dubose, superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama and HFCR Board member; Joseph Bulgarella, chair of the HFCR Board of Directors; and Father Phil Paxton, C.P., pastor of Holy Family Catholic Church and HFCR Board member.

The ceremony opened with an invocation by Alisson Sanchez Murillo and a welcome from Teresa Howard. Senior Marilyn Guzman, selected by her peers, delivered the Commencement Address. Salutatorian Tiffany Gutierrez Pillado, a parishioner at St. Francis Xavier, will attend Samford University in the fall to pursue nursing. Valedictorian Dorianni Mendoza, a parishioner at Prince of Peace Catholic Church, will attend the College of the Holy Cross as a QuestBridge Match Scholar, where she plans to study neuroscience on a path toward neurology. Dubose presented Mendoza with the Bishop’s Trophy, which recognizes excellence in leadership, Christian service, and academics.

The 35 graduates collectively earned more than $4.5 million in scholarship offers and financial aid, received over 450 college acceptances to 91 institutions nationwide, and achieved a 100% college acceptance rate — an average of nearly 13 acceptances per student.

The Holy Family Cristo Rey Class of 2026 included Harmony Adley, Jary Alberto Munguia, Darria Boles, Taniya Edwards, Diabi Escalante Perez, Kevin Figueroa, Landen Finch, Luis Flores Anguiano, Brittany Garcia Huesca, Tiffany Gutierrez, Marilyn Guzman, Nancy Guzman, Anthony Hall, Teresa Howard, Antony Juarez Hernandez, Kiera King, Cameron Kipp, Paige Locke, Tory McCain, Dorianni Mendoza Arellano, Trimya Mumford, Evann Patterson, Erik Perez Arroyo, Reagan Perry, Fernando Ramirez Ramos, Zayden Rivera, Andria Robertson, Angel Rodriguez Herrera, Yoselin Rojas, Kaeden Russell, Alisson Sanchez Murillo, Jazmin Sontay, Joseph Tochimani Gutierrez, Lesly Velazquez Piña, and Germari Walker.