CRANBERRY TWP — For the 43 seniors who graduated Friday night from Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic High School finishing their high school education meant spending their final year at a new school.

The 2014-15 school year was the first for North Catholic in Cranberry Township. The school had been in the Troy Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh since 1939.

The 185,000 square-foot, $70 million building was completed last summer and had an enrollment of about 300 during its first year.

Several students said Friday that changing to a new building at a new location was a challenge that the class was able to overcome.

In her speech, salutatorian Isabelle Dohanics of Cranberry Township referenced seniors not knowing how to open their lockers on the first day of school and getting lost looking for classrooms.

But the class was resilient and left its mark in multiple ways, Dohanics said.

The football team won 27 consecutive games including a state championship in 2013, while members of the class started a robotics club that has grown and become popular.

“It was hard, but we definitely reaped the benefits of a new building,” Dohanics said after the ceremony.

Future classes of North Catholic students will be set up for success in the school, she said.

“With all the new classes, programs and activities, it’s definitely going to grow quickly,” she said.

Edward Kunz of Cranberry Township said there was plenty of continuity when they made the transition.

“It’s still North Catholic, just a different building,” he said.

The students and staff at the school share a close bond, he said.

“I got a good solid education with good family values,” he said.

Valedictorian Maria Meyer said in her speech that overcoming adversity, like moving to a new school, was something that made the class great.

“Sometime between August of 2011 and now we all became a family that has unbreakable bonds,” Meyer said.

The commencement speaker was Kevin Colbert, Pittsburgh Steelers general manager, who graduated from North Catholic in 1975 and is a member of St. Kilian Parish.

Colbert used the Steelers as an analogy for working hard and overcoming challenges in life.

In 2004, the Steelers went 15-1 and had home field advantage in the playoffs, but the team was let down when they lost to the New England Patriots in the conference championship.

“Like those 15-1 Steelers, you did a lot to be here, but the challenges you face in the coming years are going to be great,” Colbert said.

In 2005, the Steelers started the season 7-5, but won its final four regular season games and eventually became the first team in NFL history to win the Super Bowl after entering the playoffs as a six seed.

“The challenge is going to be great, but it’s all about how are you going to face those challenges?” he asked the graduating seniors.