Huntley high graduates largest class

They were born before the Internet age, before cell phones became all the rage and before "LOL" had any meaning whatsoever.

And in another 18 years, Huntley High School's class of 2008 -- most students were born in 1990 -- will recall their youth and remember how things used to be, said Huntley School District 158 Superintendent John Burkey.

"The world is going to be as different 18 years from now as it was for us looking back to 1990," Burkey said to the largest graduating class in the school's history. "The difference is you will be part of that world."

As graduates leave childhood behind and get their first taste of the real world, Salutatorian Shannon Butler urged her fellow graduates to focus on achieving their own personal best, rather than competing with others.

"The most important thing in life isn't triumph," the Lakewood resident said. "It's the struggle."

Valedictorian Jacob Walker challenged his classmates to consider whether graduation would be a day their life ended, or began.

There are some who will look back on high school as the highlight of their lives, he said.

For others, high school years will bring memories to build upon with new adventures, said Walker, of Lake in the Hills.

Either way, he said, it is important to live life to the fullest, to dream big and to see the world with renewed vigor.

"It is your choice," said Walker, who will attend Michigan State University on a full academic scholarship. "It is all of ours."

Huntley High School graduated its biggest class yet, with 359 students receiving diplomas during the school's commencement exercises Sunday.

That meant there wasn't enough room for every guest to sit inside the main gym, where the ceremony was held.

About 50 people gathered in the auditorium that doubled as an overflow room to watch the ceremony live on the silver screen.

Due to the area's growth surge, the number of graduates is expected to get bigger.

In 2007, 344 students walked across the stage to collect their diplomas.

In 2006, 250 students did the same thing.