A woman ran to the front row of folding chairs during Coupeville’s graduation ceremony on Friday and eagerly began snapping photos as a boy crossed the stage to accept his diploma. A visitor to the town would’ve likely assumed the boy was her son or nephew. But as the next graduate approached the stage, she continued taking photos with just as much enthusiasm and didn’t stop until the procession ended. Like most in attendance, the woman wasn’t excited about just one student’s pivotal moment; she was excited about the whole group’s.

When families and friends talked about the 2011 graduates, the conversations weren’t filled with phrases like “I’m so proud of my son” or “my sister” or “my nephew,” but instead leaned towards “I’m so proud of our kids,” “our community” and “this class.”

“The awesome thing about Coupeville is that because everyone is so close, families aren’t just supporting those they’re blood-related to,” class representative Isaac Wacker said in his opening remarks to the crowd of hundreds. “So I’m here to welcome THE family of the class of 2011.”

The bonds shared between the graduates and their adopted relatives of neighbors, peers and educators were hard to miss and easily felt.

English teacher Ken Stange told the students he would miss the “familial feel” that occurred during their lessons and he also recalled the multiple sports, projects and milestones they tackled together.

“Such is life when one spends time with a group of great people,” Stange repeated throughout his speech.

In their own speeches, the students stressed how the support they’d received from their small town and close relationships left them feeling prepared and ready to take on the next step.

“That’s what motivated me,” Class President David Lile said, “our encouragement of each other.”

The ceremony honored two valedictorians, Bryan Verble and André Stone, and one salutatorian, Lance Kidder.

Kidder urged his classmates to keep their wits about them as they went out into the world and to be careful about who to listen to and whose advice to seek.

Verble and Stone encouraged their classmates to find their purposes and to never stop searching for the higher and the better even if it took them the rest of their lives.

“Passion does not discriminate against those who reevaluate,” Stone said.

As the event came to a close, the students were swirled in a flurry of red and white balloons. The graduates gave hugs to each other and to the neighbors, friends, coaches, teachers and relatives who stood by them throughout their time on the rock.

“It’s time to show the world what people from little ol’ Coupeville are made of,” Lile said.