Hundreds of high school students participated in Osbourn High School's graduation ceremony Monday evening—424 to be exact. 

School Board Chair Scott Albrecht said it was the largest class to ever graduate from the only high school in the City of Manassas.

Albrecht reminded the students that it was the teachers and support staff that helped them reach this day to which the graduating seniors erupted in applause. He also told the students to "never give up on learning" and to "volunteer and get involved to leave the world in a better place."

Several speakers at the ceremony, which took place at Jiffy Lube Live, reminded the graduates of the meaning behind the word 'commencement,' which is "the act or instance of a new beginning," including Valedictorian Kara Anne Dunegan who urged her classmates to take life by the reins and not let fear hold them back. 

"If we don't fail at some point...we haven't even begun to reach our full potential," she said.

Manassas City Mayor Harry Parrish told the class of 2012 that the moments after graduation are not an "intermission or break" but the next chapter in their important life and a time to "propel yourself forward."

Parrish also pointed out the seniors of 2012 have been awarded a combined total of $1 billion in scholarships and were part of great football and basketball programs, as well as choir ensemble CenterStage, which recently placed first at a nationwide competition.

Salutatorian Jamie Lynn Null also decided to reminisce about the past with her   classmates during her speech. "We all had one thing in common—our dedication to OHS. We should be proud of the legacy we left at OHS."

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