Surrounded by teammates, coaches and family members holding college hats and cameras, Palo Alto High School seniors celebrated the next chapter of their athletic careers by publicly committing to collegiate-level sports during Signing Day on Tuesday during lunch outside the Tower Building.

According to Athletic Director Scott Davis, the event recognized not only the athletes but also the families who supported them throughout their athletic careers.

“The parents are such a big part of this,” Davis said. “When you’re in a hotel and you have to get up and be at a game at 7 in the morning, it involves the whole family.”

According to Davis, the event also gave athletes and families an opportunity to create lasting memories together after the formal ceremony.

“You want all your friends up there,” Davis said. “Get the family ones first and then allow them to kind of have that memory to keep with them.”

Davis said the ceremony took extensive coordination.

“It [the ceremony] has been a lot, but I’d say a lot of it fell on the boosters and [organizer] Lauren Williams,” Davis said. “The ordering of all the hats, so every student athlete had a hat representing the college, the nameplates, the ordering lunches.”

According to senior Yara Chaib, who committed to Johns Hopkins University for soccer, the sport helped her form some of her strongest relationships.

“I never found a bond like I found with my teammates and my coaches,” Chaib said. “Honestly, I’ll probably carry that for the rest of my life.”

Chaib said the recruiting process was challenging because she started soccer after many recruits and dealt with injuries along the way.

“I started soccer kind of late,” Chaib said. “I also had to work through some injuries, which is tough, but I think having your support system — your family, friends, teammates around — it just makes it all so much easier.”

Senior Dominic Hernandez, who committed to Saint Mary’s College of California for lacrosse, said the sport became an important part of his life after he joined as a freshman.

“Lacrosse kept me grounded,” Hernandez said. “All my teammates and my coaches have shaped me into the person I am today.”

According to senior Fallon Porter, who committed to Occidental College for swim and water polo, athletics helped her grow beyond her comfort zone, including challenging herself to reach out to college coaches during the recruitment process.

“My sports have helped me push through what I’m scared of,” Porter said. “It was hard trying to email people and email coaches, but it was so worth it.”

See below for a full list of all committed athletes: