The rain came down hard Friday afternoon, so hard that it was almost impossible to believe it would stop. But it did, of course, because it was graduation day.

Seniors from Albert Lea High School, teachers, parents and district officials took to the high school gymnasium Friday night for the ceremonial finish to the high school career.

“Graduates, this is your day,” district Superintendent Dr. Dave Prescott said, addressing the class of 2003. “A day you’ve been waiting for all your lives.”

Prescott told the students that they’d completed nearly 15,000 of class time during their public education. He told them to keep up with lifelong learning and that nothing ever comes easy.

“Success in anything is seldom achieved by taking the easy way out,” he said.

The ceremony, like most, was full of hope, recognition and advice.

School board member and a proud parent of a graduate, Jolinda Schreiber read the students a poem about a young man who runs in a race with his father cheering him on. The young man falls multiple times throughout and becomes very distraught, but keeps rising and finally finishes the race. The crowd treats him to applause, but the big gift is the lesson from his father.

“‘Winning is no more than this, to rise each time you fall,'”. She said that life is full obstacles and hardships, but that persevering is the most important thing.

Students Juliana Peterson and Eric Hutchison gave a team commencement speech.

“Live each day like it’s your senior year,” Peterson said.

“Our own roots will take us in different directions,” Hutchison said.

The two gave an emotional thank you to their teachers, thanking many individually.

“Thank you to all teachers,” Hutchison said, also thanking parents and everyone who supported him. “I love all you guys.”

The students crossed the stage to get their diploma’s and then, as a group, gave the ceremonial hat toss.

The class of 2003 students will now head in different directions. Some will stay in Albert Lea to find work, others will leave to do the same. Some will travel far off to school, others will stay in the state.

Karl Samuelson, a graduate, said he is going abroad next year to enroll in a high school there and work on his Spanish.

“I’ll be going to Costa Rica,” Karl Samuelson, a graduate, said. “I’m looking forward to it.”

Samuelson deferred his acceptance at St. Olaf College in Northfield for one year to take part in the program.

Rachel Antinozzi and Amber Erb both said they planned on attending Riverland Community College next fall.

Antinozzi will be taking general education courses and Erb will be taking courses in dentistry.

They both were all smiles when asked about how they felt about graduating.

“It feels wonderful,” Antinozzi said.

But graduation isn’t just the end of school for these students, it’s also a rite of passage. For parents, it is a moment of realizing the full growth of a child.

&uot;I’m happy,&uot; Rose Hood, mother of Melanie Hood, said. &uot;It’s hard to let go, but you have to.&uot;