For 26 years, The Gazette has been proud to sponsor a program to recognize the city’s high school outstanding achievers as they graduate and move on to the next chapter in their lives. The students are judged by an independent panel on their academics, their community involvement and an essay they write about the challenges they have encountered.

The Gazette’s Best and Brightest 2017 celebration Wednesday at Security Service Field was a night of recognition and accolades for 20 honorees whose diversity in background and interests was noted by Gazette publisher Dan Steever.

The evening’s keynote speaker Jacob Eichengreen, executive director of the Quad Innovation Partnership, told the graduating seniors about his post-high school experiences in Haiti and how that changed and challenged him. Eichengreen said that he was eager to see the world they would help to create and so are we.

At a time when so much of the news about young people is not promising or good it is heartening to know that our city has produced such an impressive array of science, math and technology phenoms. Many of the Best and Brightest are headed for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. We wish them well and hope they will return to their community to contribute to the future.

To see all of the stories on the Best and Brightest Class of 2017, go to gazette.com.

Once more we want to congratulate the following students:

– Aliza Anderson, William J. Palmer High School

– Anna Borden, Pine Creek High School

– Anna Chavez, William J. Palmer High School

– Justin Dieter, Pine Creek High School

– Bee Franklin, Colorado Springs School

– Julia Gaubatz, Air Academy High School

– Kalia Hunter, William J. Palmer High School

– Sarah Khammash, Pine Creek High School

– Shepherd Kruse, Home-schooled

– Grace Meluso, William J. Palmer High School

– Jessica Mills, Air Academy High School

– Isabella Nunez, Fountain Valley School of Colorado

– Grace Quereau, Sand Creek High School

– Mary Reynolds, William J. Palmer High School

– Holly Rieping, Air Academy High School

– Varsha Selvam, Pine Creek High School

– Jessica Shand, Discovery Canyon High School

– Amy Wang, Pine Creek High School

– Sarah Weidman, The Colorado Springs School

– Colin Welge, Pine Creek High School

The Gazette editorial board