After dealing with four years of drilling, hammering and pouring concrete on their campus, Issaquah High School graduates say they have more in common than the average class.

Through inconveniences, like a few hundred classmates sharing a lunch room the size of a racquetball court, they found unity that made it worth the pain.

Students constructed the Great Wall of Issaquah, plywood walls painted in an array to guide the path along the construction path and to the completed part of the building.

The memory was one of hundreds recalled at Safeco Field June 10, where the Issaquah School District’s three schools held graduation ceremonies back to back.

“This is always very exciting,” said Superintendent Steve Rasmussen, after photographing Liberty High School students as they marched out onto the field. “It’s a culmination of 13 years of a lot of a hard work.”

Each class comes with its own set of accomplishments and its own personality.

“Everyone here is very free willed and fun loving,” said student Forrest Hurley.

They’re also, in one word, rambunctious, he said with a smile.

The staff allowed the students to decorate their mortarboards, and many seized the opportunity topping hats with photos, boas and college emblems in sparkly paint.

Skyline High School Principal Lisa Hechtman took the opportunity to highlight the accomplishments of the senior class by having students rise if the statement applied to them.

The speech called out people like athlete Kasen Williams and Ehrik Aldana, a national finalist in the Shakespearean monologue competition.

She recognized DECA students, the school’s National Merit Scholar winner, and the students going to college next year, which was most of them.

A number of honest speeches urged students to work for the good of the community, keep true to themselves and remember the good times.

“I’m sad to move on, but I’m so happy it happened,” said Skyline graduate Braden Tegman as he addressed his classmates. “Congratulations class of 2011, we did it.”

The Issaquah Reporter put together photo essays for Liberty, Skyline and Issaquah high schools.

Students toss their mortarboards at the Issaquah High School Graduation June 12, 2011.

Liberty High School graduates decorated the tops of their mortarboards for their June 12 commencement. They were the only school in district that allowed the creative designs.