Maine East seniors joyously put their high school years behind them Monday night at their commencement ceremony at the Rosemont Theater.

“The group of students seated before you have all been an integral part of the culture and fabric that makes up Maine East High School. They came to us as boys and girls and leave as men and women. Through their leadership and dedication to Maine East, they have represented us in ways that we can all be proud of,” said Steven Isoye, Maine East’s principal.

Other speakers at commencement included Isabel Kesheshian, the senior class president, and Cia Merin Mathew and Hyun Joon Kim. While Maine East does not have a valedictorian, it honors Maine Scholars, who are at the top one percent of the class, at commencement.

The Maine Scholars this year were Mathew, Kim, Braven Chi-Yung Leung, Garima Kumar and Mahek K. Parikh.

Of the 437 seniors who graduated Monday, about 88 percent plan to attend a two- or four-year college or university, said Dave Beery, director of communications for Maine Township High School District 207. There were 29 January graduates and another 16 are expected to graduate this summer.

Isoye paid tribute to the students in his remarks, saying: “So much good occurs when you enter the doors of Maine East, remember that, and visit often. Thank you students, for teaching me about diversity and how it is possible to have cultures from around the world converge in one location. I really wish the world could see how all of you interact and learn that it is possible to come together in peaceful ways. It is sad to say, but you may never experience anything quite like this again in your life. Be proud to have been a part of Maine East.”

Isoye also listed some of the accomplishments of the senior class:

In the world of academia:

·During their senior year the Class of 2010 demonstrated academic excellence by having 43 Illinois State Scholars.

·Scholarships acknowledging the achievements of these students have been awarded in the amount of just under $1 million.

·The class of 2010’s future plans include 3.4 percent of men and women entering the world of full-time work, 3.7 percent entering military service, 4.7 percent undecided, and 88.2 percent going into higher education among public and private two or four year colleges and universities.

On the playing fields in Athletics:

· 63 seniors were named Illinois High School Association (IHSA) and Central Suburban League Scholar Athletes

· 32 seniors were named Central Suburban All-Conference Athletes

·1 senior set the Girls State IHSA Record for 160 goals in a season and 14 goals in a game in water polo and she was a state qualifier in swimming.

In Applied Arts and Technology:

· We had seniors compete in local, state and national competitions with the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA), DECA An Association of Marketing Students, Skills USA, a partnership of students, teachers and industry, and at the Regional Accounting Competition awards where 40 seniors competed in sectionals, 24 seniors competed in state level competition, and 11 seniors were national qualifiers.

In the Visual Arts Arena:

· Forty seniors had art work selected for the Maine East Art Exhibition

· Twenty nine seniors had art work selected for the Annual Central Suburban League Exhibit.

· Twenty two seniors had art work selected for the Great Frame-Up Creative Self-Expression Show.

· Twenty eight seniors had art work selected for the Brickton Art Exhibit.

In the performing arts:

· One senior was a District 7 Illinois Music Educators Association (IMEA) musician

In Speech, Debate and Broadcasting:

· One senior on the speech team took fourth place in Poetry Reading at the IHSA

Regional Speech Tournament

· At the Chicagoland high school video Festival, 1 senior placed 4th in the Public Service Announcement category, 1 senior placed 4th and 1 senior placed 5th in the commercial category. 2 seniors won Platinum Awards for their commercials.

In volunteerism:

Through Lyceum, the District Gifted and Talented Program, senior students did volunteer work that included a week in Cedar Rapids, Iowa to assist flood victims. They volunteered throughout the year at the Maine Niles Association for Special Recreation and weres awarded the MNASR Volunteers of the Year. They also volunteered at CONNECTIONS to the homeless in Evanston, making meals, purchasing meals, painting the facility and organizing donations.

Through the National Honor Society they collected pens and pencils for the children of the Oke-Odan tribe in Africa, they raised over 500 for Unicef and $600 for Haiti earthquake relief.