Cora Keehner is the valedictorian, and Mariah Moser the salutatorian, of the MFL MarMac class of 2026.
Keehner is the daughter of Dan and Darla Keehner of Watson and Moser the daughter of Jonathon and Cheri Moser of McGregor. Both said academics have long been important to them and their families.
“This was definitely a goal I’ve always had,” Keehner shared. “I’ve been pushed to stay on top of my education and prioritize my academics my entire years of high school and even middle school. So earning this really makes me feel like it’s time well spent.”
“This is definitely a goal I had coming into high school,” Moser agreed. “I wanted to get the best grades possible because academics matter to me and to my family.”
Keehner’s favorite subject has been math. She enjoys that it offers a challenge, as well as a definitive answer each time.
A college chemistry class she took last school year was another favorite.
“I enjoyed the struggle and challenge,” she reflected. “That gave me a chance to focus and really put a lot of effort into what I wanted to earn.”
Moser enjoyed math too, as well as public speaking.
“I got to write my own speeches and then present them,” she said. “I also enjoy the creativity behind the writing.”
Among the MFL MarMac staff, Keehner has been most inspired by agriculture teacher and FFA advisor Sarah Plaht.
“She has given me multiple opportunities to grow in the ag industry and through FFA and those experiences are going to stay with me,” Keehner said.
For Moser, it was student council advisor Casey Evanson who stood out. Moser served with her for three years and felt they worked well together.
“She taught me a lot about leadership too—not just academics,” she said.
Both Keehner and Moser have appreciated the opportunities MFL MarMac offers to take college courses while in high school. They’ve also taken advantage of opportunities outside the classroom, such as internships with hands-on experiences in the real world.
The school’s range of extracurricular activities has benefitted them as well.
Throughout high school, Keehner was involved in basketball and was a state-qualifying cross country runner. She participated in choir, the musical, FFA, SODA (Students Opposed to Drugs and Alcohol) and National Honor Society, and was an all-state speech nominee.
Moser stayed busy with cross country, golf, dance team, show choir, choir, band, musical, SODA and National Honor Society. She was an all-state nominee all four years of high school in both large group and individual speech.
Keehner enjoyed that extracurriculars gave her something fun to do outside academics.
“It also gave me a sense of just staying on top of my stuff,” she added. “There’s so many things out there, and if you’re not taking the opportunity to be involved in them, that’s your own fault, and you’re only hurting your own advantages for your future.”
To Moser, being involved creates a well-rounded person.
“Salutatorian and valedictorian are amazing accomplishments, but I’m personally more proud of all the activities I’ve been a part of because I think it really shows who a person is and how much they can handle,” she said.
That’s why Moser suggests other students get involved.
“It teaches you so many life lessons,” she said.
Her other advice is to not let one class keep you from reaching your academic goals.
“If you have a class or something that isn’t working out the best for you, don’t give up on your other ones because you can still get pretty far,” she said.
Keehner’s advice for other students is to power through the hard moments—the times you want to give up.
“There will be moments when you don’t want to complete stuff or you just want to ignore the fact that you have tasks that need to be done. But life is like that, and this is not as hard as life is going to be in the future. Just pushing through that makes your mind stronger. I’ve learned that through sports and powering through homework on late nights after games. It improves the quality of your character,” she stated.
Both hope their classmates remember them as hard workers, and they look forward to sharing the stage with them one last time at graduation on Sunday, May 17. In her speech, Moser plans to highlight favorite class memories. Keehner will focus on keeping a strong mindset.
“No matter what struggles you’re facing, you have to push through them if you want to reach your goals,” she said. “I’m really excited to share my message.”
While both Keehner and Moser said they’ll miss MFL MarMac—their friends, teachers and extracurriculars—they are ready for new adventures too.
Keehner will attend Iowa State University this fall, majoring in agricultural engineering. She hopes to work for an engineering company some day and return to northeast Iowa and be around the family farm.
Moser will head to Loras College. She’s still determining her major, and said some of her experiences this school year helped hone in on her interests.
“I was kind of debating between creative media or marketing, because that’s something I’ve enjoyed. I had a few experiences this school year, which has helped me decide, but also kind of made me realize I’m not entirely sure if this is where I want to focus,” she said. “But I do plan to come back to the area after college. I love McGregor and Clayton County.”
As Keehner and Moser reflect on how far they’ve come and what their futures hold, they are thankful for those who helped them reach this point.
Keehner credits her grandparents and parents.
“They’ve instilled in me that education is important, and along with my faith, I try to make sure there’s always room for those two things before any other extracurriculars. And I felt like I’ve done a good job with that these past four years,” she said.
Moser appreciates her parents’ guidance.
“I feel like a lot of people don’t take academics seriously in school because it’s just a letter on a piece of paper. In our house, it shows the type of character you have for hard work, and that’s what matters more to me. So I’d like to thank my parents for always pushing me and not letting me give up when things got difficult,” she shared.
