Padua Franciscan High School celebrated its Class of 2026 with their Commencement ceremony at St. Albert the Great Church in North Royalton, Ohio, on Thursday, May 28, 2026.
Padua alumnus Mr. Gerald Koler ‘86 gave the commencement address.
Koler and his family have deep roots at Padua.
Koler’s son, Ryan ‘17, and daughter, Kaleigh ‘18, graduated from Padua, as did his three brothers, Michael ‘83, Dave ‘85, and Mark ‘87. Additionally, Koler’s sister-in-law, Christine ‘87, and seven nieces and nephews are Bruins. Currently, Koler’s fiancé’s son, John Park, is a junior at Padua.
Koler is the President and Financial Advisor for Koler Financial Group. He has more than 35 years of experience in finance, which includes retirement planning, investments, IRAs, 401(k) rollovers, college funding and insurance. Koler has earned the designation of Certified Financial Planner™ and is a Registered Principal and Investment Advisor Representative with Osaic Wealth, Inc.
He is a current Trustee and former Chairperson of the Padua Franciscan High School Board of Trustees, former Endowment Committee member, and former Chairperson and Treasurer of the Padua Alumni Association.
Koler used the movie “All My Life,” where it is said the average human lives 27,365 days, and the story of Thomas Edison’s career as examples of how to go about life and overcoming obstacles to make moments memorable.
“The first point the narrator was trying to make was to make as many of our 27,365 days as memorable as possible,” Koler said. “The second one was we don’t know how many of those 27,365 days we get, so make the most of every day. Every day is a gift from God.”
“Among his many inventions, Thomas Edison invented the light bulb. Over his lifetime, he is credited with over 10,000 failures on his various projects. That’s a lot of failures, but that didn’t bother Thomas. He looked at failure as only another way that didn’t work. Edison argued that he didn’t fail 10,000 times, but rather, successfully found 10,000 ways that didn’t work. Each failure put him one step closer to solving the problem. Failure is part of life. The question is, how do you respond to failure?”
Valedictorian Brayden Mordarski ‘26, who is heading to Purdue University to pursue a Mechanical Engineering degree, also addressed his classmates.
“Padua is a unique experience,” Mordarski said. “It’s not going to move along with us. One might say that it’s whatever. What’s done is done. It’s over, and now, it’s time to move on. Padua has changed you. Now, I can’t answer how, and please don’t ask me why, but it has. It would be a disservice to yourself if you didn’t look back and see how and see why, but that’s on you. I hope you take that time to think about it. I’m only here now telling you this so you might have an opportunity to think about it before you go off into the world.”
“…And so it goes. We did it. We officially made it past this moment in our lives, past high school. Wherever you go, you will do great things. Remember that Padua loves you just the way you are, and will always be there in Parma, always be close to your heart, and, hopefully, always be there in your mind. Nobody can take these experiences away from you. When you come across an obstacle in your way, don’t worry. You may not get it right the first time, but it’s not the main thing. It matters that you push past any failure, and you learn from it. Go wherever the wind takes you, but always keep in mind the foundation that Padua has given you: to be happy, to be holy, to be healthy, and to be highly prepared. You’re never alone, and you’re always a Bruin. I love you all, and congratulations, Class of 2026.”
Class of 2026, we hope you’re Happy, Healthy, Holy and Highly Prepared for your next chapter! And remember – you’re never alone, you’re always a Bruin!
Click here to scroll through the Commencement program.
Click here to watch a video recording of the Commencement ceremony.
