It was an evening of celebration as faculty of the Commonwealth Connections Academy bestowed nearly 100 students with graduation honors.

The graduation ceremony, held at Penn's Peak in Jim Thorpe on Tuesday, was the seventh graduating class for the academy. In addition to this ceremony, three others are being held at sites in Philadelphia, Harrisburg and Pittsburgh to honor the hundreds of cyberschool students that make up the class of 2015.Speakers at the ceremony included Anthony Rusnak, CCA's high school principal; graduates Christopher Henderson and Stephen Taranto; and Dr. Maurice Flurie III, CEO of CCA.Rusnak welcomed family, friends, faculty and graduates to the ceremony before introducing Henderson and Taranto to the podium.Henderson spoke about the students' school careers as a ladder that needed to be climbed."Today is the day," he said. "Thirteen years ago we started climbing the ladder, and today we reached the top. Everyone graduating truly deserves to be recognized."We walked in here as teenagers and we walk out of here as teenagers with a diploma," Henderson continued, noting that after today they will go on to begin their climbs on their next ladder, whether it be college, a job or starting a family."Do not be so focused on that top step of the ladder," Henderson said. "Cherish all the small steps up the ladder. Focus on enjoying life and every moment. Make memories. Put your phones down and lift your heads up. This world has a lot to offer and you decide what you take from it."Taranto echoed Henderson's thoughts, thanking everyone who helped the graduates get to this point in their lives."This is an exciting day for many of us," he said, speaking about the journey that the students had to take and how they should now look toward their future.Following the student speakers, Rusnak addressed the class before introducing Flurie for the commencement address."Class of 2015, we need you," Rusnak said. "We need you now to go out and do great things in this world."Flurie spoke about the journey Commonwealth Connections Academy took over the past few years to get to this point Tuesday."Our graduates will go into the world knowing that they have the knowledge and experience to compete in a rapidly growing, rapidly changing technology-rich society," he said. "But your story is still being written."He then challenged the graduates to not be complacent in their life."Engage in your community. Make it a better place to live," Flurie said before congratulating the class one last time.Flurie and Thomas Longenecker, COO of CCA, then presented the graduates with their diplomas before sending them off into the world to start the next chapter of their lives.