Sunny skies, a slight, warm breeze, and a near-capacity crowd of friends and family filled Sports Authority Stadium in Parker on May 20 to mark the sendoff for the Rock Canyon High School Class of 2016.

Along with remembrances, advice and well wishes from valedictorian Ji Woo Park and National Honor Society member Emily Klein, there was still some time for humor. Mathematics instructor Tony Koy began his charge to the class to roars of laughter and cheers when he produced a three-foot selfie stick for one final shot with the class of 2016.

Of the 438 graduating seniors, 94 percent are enrolled in either junior college or university this fall, and the class amassed around $14.3 million in scholarship money. In addition, the class has been part of the effort to raise more than $275,000 during the past four years in support of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, an organization that the school has partnered with for seven years.

The class chose as its motto a quote from Nobel Prize-winning author André Gide, who wrote, “You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.”

Before presenting the class for graduation, Principal Andy Abner also took a moment to recognize students who had volunteered to serve in the armed forces and encouraged the graduates to unplug from technology and connect with the world around them.