ILWACO — More than 60 young members of the peninsula community reached a major milestone in their lives Saturday night, celebrating their graduation from Ilwaco High School with hundreds of friends and family in an outdoor ceremony where the overarching mood was that of celebration and perseverance.

For the second year in a row, Peterson Field on the IHS campus played host to the high school’s graduation ceremony on June 11. Stormy conditions earlier in the week threatened to relocate the ceremony to Aase Gym instead, but the weather on early Saturday evening was clear and the sun was shining down brightly on the Class of 2022.

The ceremony featured a rousing performance from the IHS Concert Band — which included the graduating seniors — of a medley of movie themes from the iconic “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones” composer John Williams, as well as the Jazz Band’s performance of “The Chicken,” arranged by Kris Berg. Senior choir students also teamed up to perform a sparkling rendition of Andy Grammer’s “Back Home” arranged by Mark Brymer, a feel-good anthem about remembering your roots.

Noah Cherry, one of the graduating seniors selected to speak at the ceremony by faculty and classmates, said that the Class of 2022’s graduation from IHS “serves as a launching point projecting us to wherever our futures are meant to take us, whether we’ve landed ourselves a career, taken up a trade, or continued our education at college or technical school.”

“Life is a journey. We don’t stop growing once we get our diplomas,” Cherry said. “Moving beyond high school gives each and every one of us new opportunities to continue growing and to learn new skills that we will carry with us for the rest of our lives. This graduation has already shown us how capable we all are in accomplishing our goals when we commit ourselves to doing it.”

IHS Principal David Tobin, who is retiring at the end of the school year and was surprised with an honorary diploma as a member of the Class of 2022 during the ceremony, called this year’s class an “outstanding” group both individually and collectively, as well as being academically strong; two students maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA throughout high school, 10 had a GPA between 3.7 and 3.99, and five more had a GPA between 3.5 and 3.6.

Tobin called the class’ graduation the first chapter of the rest of their lives, and told them that the best is yet to come.

“You had doubts, and you had doubters, but here you are. You made it. We’re excited for you, we believe in you, and I am happy to say to you: Look who you’ve become. We’re proud of you,” he said. “So get out there and have the courage to take that next step, to take the risk, to fail, to try again, to make a difference in your world. You’ve got this.”

As for what lies ahead for the Class of 2022 post-graduation, many are continuing their education at colleges and universities throughout the Pacific Northwest, others are taking up a trade or attending a technical school, some are entering the workforce in what is currently a bustling labor market, and two are joining the U.S. Armed Forces.

Some of the post-secondary institutions that will be attended by IHS’ newest alumni includes: University of Washington, Montana State University, Central Washington University, Gonzaga University, Linfield University, Washington State University, University of Puget Sound, Whitworth University, Western Washington University, University of Redlands, Brigham Young University, Northern Michigan University, and Boise State University.

In all, this year’s class was awarded more than $103,000 in local scholarships from local groups and organizations, exceeding the cumulative total from last year.

Scholarships were given from the likes of: the Ocean Beach Hospital Foundation, South Pacific County Firefighters Local No. 3999, Masonic Lodge No. 48, New Life Church, Willapacific Branch of the American Association of University Women, Surfside Golf Association, Ilwaco Sports Boosters, Ocean Beach Education Foundation, Pacific County Bar Association, Beach Barons Car Club, and many more.