Saturday was a special day for hundreds of young people around the Mid-Columbia.

It was the day they had dreamed of for the past four years. When it arrived, they celebrated, flinging caps in the air.

In arenas, gymnasiums and stadiums, speakers urged the students to seize the opportunities that lie before them.

It was a day when young people voiced their dreams, fears and hopes.

It was graduation day.

Only a few ceremonies remain now -- today at Riverview Baptist Christian School in Pasco, and next weekend at Prescott and Touchet high schools, as well as Columbia Basin College's GED program.

Saturday's celebrations included these schools:

Chiawana High School

The Saturday commencement ceremony at Edgar Brown Stadium in Pasco looked like other graduations, with about 360 graduating seniors searching the packed stands for family and friends as they took their seats, and then grinning widely and waving when they found them.

But the ceremony heralded Chiawana High School's first graduating class.

Scott Middleton, senior class president, said the students set out to make Chiawana High something different. And that's exactly what they did.

"Mi casa es su casa. That's what Chiawana means to me," he said.

Jose Mendoza, a graduating senior, said there were people who doubted he would make it to graduation. "Look at me now," he said.

Now, Mendoza said, his goal is to go into the medical field and be a role model for his siblings.

Co-valedictorian Hunter Davidson encouraged his fellow graduates to make their lives mean something.

And Co-valedictorian Janyn Mercado said that it didn't matter whether their goals were to enter a life-saving field such as medicine or firefighting, or to become a Pokmon master, they should pursue them.

"You were born an original. Don't die a copy," she said, quoting author John Mason.

Carra McManamon, senior class vice president, said, "Ferris Bueller said it best: 'Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once and a while, you could miss it.' "

-- Kristi Pihl

Pasco High School

"Take the next step," Pasco High School Principal Raul Sital said in encouragement to 284 members of the Class of 2011 at Edgar Brown Stadium.

He said four graduating seniors who overcame difficult circumstances ought to be a life lesson for the rest of the 103rd Pasco High Bulldog class.

"Hard steps can be the most rewarding," Sital said, noting that a teenage pregnancy didn't stop Adelene Valdez from achieving her goal to graduate.

Brandon Search spent late nights "pushing on" at the gym and studying to become a 3A state champion in the high jump.

And brave steps taken by Tim Van Cleave faced down the dragon in his own life, while Esperanza Alcaraz turned personal tragedy with the death of a guardian into a personal triumph, Sital said.

About 5,000 people attended the commencement, where Beatriz Tlachi declared in the bilingual address: "It doesn't matter if English is your second language. What does matter is the effort you put forth."

Valedictorian Claudia Gallegos described her fellow seniors as a "class that leaves with great poise."

Pasco's 103rd graduating class finished out with more than $1 million in scholarships for 44 of the seniors.

-- John Trumbo

Kennewick High School

It was all pomp and circumstance Saturday morning when 281 Kennewick High graduates marched into the Toyota Center to receive their certificates into adulthood.

And though the procession was all about taking the next giant leap into life, the shoes worn under the traditional orange and black caps and gowns were nothing short of outrageous and fun.

There were ruby slippers, glass slippers, silver sparkly pumps, rubber flip-flops, new sneakers, old ratty sneakers, 5-inch bright orange high-heels and dizzily high platforms of all shapes and sizes.

But it was the candor of the student speeches and the music that captured the eyes and ears of family and friends who attended.

Class Salutatorian Cody Gadeberg had everyone laughing through most of his speech, which he said he couldn't have written without the aid of Google.

He talked about the lessons he learned, taking classmates back to childhood when passing gas in school was frowned upon.

"I learned that lesson -- the importance of self-control -- in first grade," he joked. He summed up his thoughts with some sage advice for his fellow grads: "Do what you love and never take life too seriously."

Co-valedictorians Kathy Roosendaal and Akshai Baskaran each encouraged classmates to be cautious.

Roosendaal talked about cultivating the need to get away from titles and keep striving for diversity in life, while Baskaran discussed conquering the monsters under his bed as a child and sang a song about it.

Associated Student Body President Devin Westermeyer kept his speech short "because I know you all have short attention spans."

Kennewick High's Madhatters ensemble entertained with a rousing rendition of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody, and when the speeches were over, graduate Cristy Star Hinojosa took the stage by storm with her singing, the whole coliseum cheering her on.

-- Dori O'Neal

Kamiakin High School

They've exemplified the motto, "Be the best you can be," for four years while sporting scarlet and gold.

Their time at Kamiakin High School might be done, but that doesn't mean the 335 Kennewick seniors handed diplomas Saturday should end their commitment to excellence, said Principal Chris Chelin.

"Seniors, your accomplishments over the last four years have been extraordinary," he said, noting their athletic, artistic, leadership and academic talents. "... There are two kinds of people in this world: Braves and those who wish to be."

Before a rousing crowd in the Toyota Center, Chelin read off a long list of the most outstanding students in each department, with the top overall award going to Kristopher A. Carter, who changed his Asperger's disability into an ability.

The class valedictorian was Kaylee Brooks, with Carissa Granata selected as the salutatorian. Both girls received all A grades throughout their entire high school career.

In addition to the graduates, six foreign exchange students received certificates of attendance.

Granata recounted the 714 days she spent in "a waiting game" -- waiting for the bell to ring, class to be over, the school day to end and the weekend to start. Graduation marks 18 years of growing up, and now the seniors can "do whatever with life we can choose."

-- Kristin M. Kraemer

Southridge High School

The Golden Voices of Southridge High School were belting out I've Had the Time of My Life, when the choir's director spun around and signaled to the 324 seniors.

The Kennewick graduates jumped out of their seats, side-stepped to the beat, spun around and clapped their hands as one.

They kept that swing in their step for the next 90 minutes.

Valedictorians quoted rock musician Steve Miller and cartoon philosopher Winnie the Pooh. The school boasted three valedictorians: Tanner Call, Erica Floyd and Orma Ravindranath. Salutatorian was Tyler Morrey.

They reminisced about being inspired by performance artist David Garibaldi, whose painting of Albert Einstein now graces the high school's halls, courtesy of the Class of 2011.

And they erupted in piercing cheers when social studies teacher Jack Hogg stepped up to the microphone.

"Seniors, we finally made it," the silver-haired man quipped. "We're all starting a new chapter in our lives -- that's why they call me the super-duper senior."

Hogg is retiring from 38 years of teaching this week.

Steve Biehn, the school's principal, commended the students for their acceptance of others. Students come to Southridge from small towns around the Mid-Columbia, and from as far away as Bosnia or Sudan, he said.

"You've brought everybody into the melting pot and made them feel welcome," Biehn said.

-- Jacques Von Lunen

Prosser High School

The 191 students wearing red caps and gowns filed into Art Fiker Stadium under warm sunny skies Saturday morning to cheers and applause from friends and family.

Valedictorian Chad Hancock talked about how it's not the big moments in life that define a person, but the small things, such as an inside joke, a hug goodbye and those short, yet meaningful conversations between friends.

"Those are the things that never come from lying on the couch. You have to get out and live to find them," he said.

Salutatorian Jordan Sperl urged her classmates to avoid procrastination calling it "the thief of time."

Procrastinating, not doing what you need to do in life, she said, "is like putting off your dreams, which essentially kills them."

Principal Kevin Lusk introduced 40 National Honor Society members, 13 students named Student of the Department and three seniors who earned associate degrees in addition to their high school diplomas.

He also handed out plaques to the top 10 scholastic graduates and honored the eight graduates who have enlisted in the military.

"If these awards are any indication of what life holds for this class, nothing will hold them back," Lusk said, adding that altogether the class earned more than $2.25 million in scholarships and awards.

-- Loretto J. Hulse

Kiona-Benton City High School

For the past four years, Kiona-Benton City High School seniors have been living from deadline to deadline to deadline.

School reports, spring and summer breaks, college applications -- the list goes on.

But now, said salutatorian Kathryn Landoe, it is time for them to set their own goals as the Class of 2011's 88 graduates look toward the future.

"Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last," Landoe shouted to her classmates, quoting Martin Luther King Jr. "Congratulations Bears, we made it to our final deadline."

The royal blue and white Bears gathered Saturday morning to receive their diplomas as a strong breeze blew through the football stadium.

It was announced that the graduates received more than $84,540 in college scholarships. The class included five foreign exchange students, who were handed certificates of attendance.

Valedictorian Erin McElroy said it's been a long journey, but they made it to this day. She encouraged the seniors to have the power and courage to overcome obstacles so they can become stronger, to work at life and not to let fear rule their destiny.

"This is our time. This is our chance. We get to grab life by the frickin' horns," McElroy said.

Once the mortarboards were tossed and the Silly String sprayed, the graduates celebrated on the field to the Alice Cooper song School's Out.

-- Kristin M. Kraemer

Tri-Cities Prep

From the stately way they marched into their high school gymnasium -- clad in dignified blue and gold gowns, to a bittersweet piano rendition of Pomp & Circumstance -- no one would know the Tri-Cities Prep Class of 2011 are notorious pranksters.

But speeches by valedictorian Dominick Ghirardo and class speaker Collin Price, after salutatorian Clara Arcia offered a prayer, recounted some of the jokes that bonded this group of 31 graduating seniors and gave them memories to last a lifetime.

Such as the time Ghirardo and Price edited Wikipedia to mislead classmates into believing the late infomercial king Billy Mays discovered the atom -- and got everyone banned from using the website for a week.

Or the time they dared each other to see who was brave enough to touch an electrified fence at a class barbecue.

Or all of the times they ordered pizza using the names of classmates -- known as the "Naughty Nine" -- who no longer attended the school.

"We really are much more than a bunch of goofballs who think everything is funny," Price said.

Ghirardo said in addition to the laughs, the class matured together as they learned lessons of caring and compassion.

"We started out as a mismatched group of kids, but we grew together and we became a family," he said.

-- Michelle Dupler