Four years ago, the staff of Spring Grove Area High School invited in a stream of students and family members to check out their new facility.

Friday night, the high school invited in a stream of students and community members again, this time to both get out of the rainstorm and to congratulate graduating seniors.

Those 257 seniors represented the first Spring Grove graduating class to spend all four years at the new high school.

Now, as class president Eric Boeckel said, they'll go on to their next phase of life outside of those now-familiar high school walls.

"If we knew what the future would be like, it wouldn't be nearly as exciting," Boeckel said inside the high school gymnasium.

The class have some impressive accomplishments, according to principal Rosemary Cugliari. Seventy-five percent are heading to post-secondary education, nine are joining the military, and the class earned a combined $635,000 in scholarship money. Plus, they had nationally and state-recognized athletes, business students and academic performers.

Students speakers advised their classmates to never forget Spring Grove, but not to stop moving forward, either.

"At some point, most of us will leave behind the familiar odor of our small town," said speaker Molly Korman.

Korman joked there's not much she could recommend students should do.

"I'm not going to give you advice. After all, we're teenagers. We know everything," Korman said with a laugh.

Fellow speaker Bria Topper did have one piece of advice, though.

"Let your dreams drive your decisions," she said.

- Reach Andrew Shaw at 505-5431 or ashaw@yorkdispatch.com, or on Twitter @ydblogwork

Spring Grove Area High School Class of 2012

Number of graduates: 257

Graduation ceremony held: June 1 in the High school gymnasium

Class president: Eric Boeckel

Student speakers: Molly Korman, Bria Topper

Other speakers: Superintendent Robert Lombardo, Principal Rosemary Cugliari