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A few minutes after 5 p.m. on Friday, 203 students bustle around in white caps and gowns in the Henry J. Kaiser High School gymnasium. It’s one hour and 15 minutes until showtime.

“I love you Ms. Fuller,” says one student as she engulfs special education teacher Kimberly Fuller in a hug.

Kari Noborikawa wipes tears from her meticulously-lined eyes as she pulls away from embracing a group of classmates. She’s a Kaiser Cougar through and through — was in band, played volleyball and tennis, ran track, co-edited the student paper and was in at least two service organizations. She wears a gold honors stole over her robe and has a full-ride scholarship to pursue peace studies at Chapman University.

“There were lots of ups and downs,” she says. “But I’m so glad I went to school here. I made so many friends and had so many great experiences and made lots of memories.”

The school is located in the affluent Hawaii Kai, surrounded by high-rise condominiums, high-dollar homes and immaculate lawns near a well-kept marina. Of the school’s approximately 1,000 students, a total of 90 or so are eligible for free or reduced-price federal lunch programs. Registrar Sean Barrett estimates that about 95 percent of the students who started ninth grade together four years ago are walking for graduation today.

Kari has barely begun describing her experience at one of Hawaii’s before she is swept into a 5:30 line-up for class photos.

In just under an hour, the graduates will emerge from the gym and walk onto the school’s stadium field, with the marina and condos in the background. Meanwhile, vendors fill the outside air with smells of kettle corn and hot dogs. Guests arrive and begin filling the stands with gifts of flowers, lei and plastic inflatable floaties.

After photos inside the hot and humid gym, principal John Sosa and other school administrators take turns addressing the fired up students in private. Their parting words are mixed with nostalgia, optimism and advice. Counselor Nanette Umeda chokes on tears as she tells the class she will be graduating with them.

“You have given me the most white hair I have ever received in a few years, but I am proud of every one of you,” she says.

Each speech brings progressively louder cheers and applause as the students realize how close they are to getting their diplomas.

At 5:55, some 203 enthusiastic voices rise with the lyrics of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’.” Classmate Kashmir Aio sprints across the gym floor, prompting the graduates to do the wave while proud educators mill around with cameras, filming and photographing every moment of these students’ last few hours on their high school campus.

Dan Hilton says his dad considered sending him to a private school, but he thought all along he fit in better with public school students.

“I don’t think I could have fit any of the private school stereotypes,” he says, adding that he doesn’t think private school is necessarily more academically rigorous than public school.

Like all public schools, Kaiser has its strengths and weaknesses, but he was able to navigate it with success. Although some classmates struggled academically, Dan and another student found a way to take an independent study in calculus this year.

“I definitely think that if you want, you will receive the aid at Kaiser to achieve what you want,” he says. Johns Hopkins University has given him $35,000 to become an electrical engineering student this fall.

As excited as Dan is, he says the students who barely made it are probably even more psyched; and their families are, too. Outside, relatives and friends gather with video cameras, goodies for the grads, noisemakers of various sorts to cheer them on and posters featuring their names and smiling faces. The band members, dressed in black suits and dresses, play celebratory tunes as guests find their seats. Police details linger on the fringes of the burgeoning crowd, relaxed but scanning to ensure safety and order.

At 6:30 p.m., the graduates march onto the school’s open field overlooking the Hawaii Kai valley and take their seats in front of the class mural. The ceremony opens with a reminder of the dignity of the event and a warning that any ignition of fireworks will end the celebration. Noisemakers are discouraged too, but within seconds they are back in the mix and building volume with the vocal shouts and cheers.

The national anthem settles most guests into a more solemn spirit, and valedictorian Aiwa Ono commends her classmates’ perseverance but warns them not to get too comfortable. Continued success will require continued effort, she says, reminding her peers of the second law of thermodynamics.

“The more energy we put forth, the less disorder and the more opportunities we will have for success,” she says in closing.

The graduates of 2010 are ready to be world-class citizens, principal John Sosa tells the crowd. And many are already scattering to the earth’s four corners. The 203 seniors will in a few moments be alumni representing about 84 two- and four-year colleges.

“You have respected our school and gave back to our community,” Sosa says. “I have great confidence you will make us all very proud to have been a small part of your development.”

Fifty-six Kaiser students received about $2.7 million in scholarships to be spread over the next four years, said the college and career counselor, adding that the amount is usually higher. The number of Kaiser students leaving for foreign lands is usually even greater, but the economy has stifled some students’ ambitions.

“We used to have a lot more going to even two-year schools in California,” she says. “Not this year. There’s no money in California, either. I think money is a big issue this year.”

Most of those who aren’t planning to attend schools on the mainland and overseas have plans to attend local two-year colleges, she said.

Despite the tough economic times, the graduates seem no less excited to be passing this educational benchmark. They come forward onto the stage in pairs, meeting in the middle. Most pairs high-five. Others fist-bump or chest-bump. Some hold hands. Two boys curtsy. Band members riff on their instruments to acknowledge their friends.

Before the final presentation of the class, friends and family are already pushing forward to move onto the field. A roar of excitement erupts when the final notes of the alma mater have left the graduates’ lips and their caps go flying in a giant flock of white squares and gold tassels against a blur of blue streamers.

Kari gets lost in the rush onto the field. She almost can’t see over her array of lei by the time she finds her father. Ernie Noborikawa proudly bears Kari’s name and picture on a wooden stake held high above the exhilarated crowd. He places a hakulei on her head. Family and friends gather around her banner as the graduate turns in circles, receiving hugs, kisses and lei of ribbon, candy and flowers.

Even as the original crowd begins to dissipate around 8 p.m., a steady stream of fresh supporters arrive from cars parked off campus, bearing more lei and aloha.