'The Pinnacle of Our High School Career'

April Peng stood at the lectern last night and posed a question to her fellow classmates in the of 2011. 

"Where will you be in 10 years?" Peng said, overlooking a bright and crowded Moon Area High School gymnasium. "What will you have accomplished?"

Nearly 300 Moon Area seniors concluded their high school educations last night, marking the first commencement ceremony held in the district's recently completed high school. 

On a night that for many is about looking forward, those who spoke at the ceremony instead reflected on what many described as a tumultuous year for the graduating seniors. 

Outgoing principal Michael Hauser remarked that the graduating seniors showed resolve through a school year marked by a teachers strike, school closures, the from one school building to another and the .

For Hauser, it was a particularly emotional evening: The event also was the of his 17-year tenure with the district. 

"It was a pretty tough year," Hauser said. "And you all were able to smile after being unhappy."

Distinguished class member Emilie Davignon described her last year of high school as a  "rough year for everyone," during her speech. 

"There have been unexpected twists and changes," Davignon said. "But I think it has made us closer than any other class before us." 

Aaron Johnson achieved a milestone for the district as its first African American valedictorian. 

Johnson, a stand-out basketball player with a 5.0 GPA, will attend Virginia's College of William & Mary in the fall. He too said the year's struggles pulled him and his classmates closer. 

"I can tell you all that there have been air balls and slam dunks this year," Johnson said. "My father says that adversity doesn't build character -- it shows it."