Ten Sierra Lutheran High School seniors filed into the crowded chapel of Grace Community Church in Minden on Friday night in the first step toward adulthood.
"They know what the truth is, and they walk in it," said SLHS teacher and senior class advisor Phil Garwood. "They're ready."
Garwood waited with the graduates in the church's anteroom before the ceremony.
"I feel good, happy and stunned," said Zach Borgman.
The 17-year-old is planning to attend the Culinary Art Institute in Sacramento, Calif. He wants to be a chef.
"Don't give up. Persevere to the end," he said.
Classmate Levi Grabow is going to the University of Nevada, Reno, to study engineering and physics.
"I'm excited and happy that my family and friends are here today," he said.
Grabow said he is looking forward to the responsibility that comes with graduation.
"Moving onto the next step," he said.
After the walk, and before the awarding of diplomas, class salutatorian Kelly Johnson gave an address.
"The lessons learned and the memories made will remain with us for the rest of our lives," she said. "Everything that happened within the walls of Sierra Lutheran High School shaped our lives and will never be forgotten."
Johnson said she and her classmates shared both trials and triumphs in the years they spent together.
"We made it guys," she said.
Class valedictorian Aaron Sever said, "God has continually formed the members of this class."
Sever urged his classmates to keep the spirit and serve God.
"Life isn't supposed to be easy," he said. "It's supposed to be challenging."
