MANCHESTER — Caps and gowns gave way to red jackets as the 51 members of City Year New Hampshire's Class of 2012 celebrated their graduation after fulfilling a 10-month commitment of tutoring and mentoring elementary school students.

City Year is an AmeriCorps program focused on children considered to be at-risk for dropping out of school later in life. The corps members of this year's CYNH class were divided into teams assigned to one of six local schools, where they worked, hands-on, with students and teachers trying to encourage children about education. The City Year members proudly donned the trademark red jackets they have worn throughout their year of service.

“Getting to work with these kids and my teammates was the best experience of my life,” said Kate Meskey, a 24-year-old from Lancaster, Pa.

City Year's motto is “Give a Year. Change the World.”

Meskey was voted by her classmates as the winner of the Spirit of City Year award, which goes to the corps member considered to best exemplify City Year values. She learned she was receiving the honor last week, just a day her birthday. That meant coming up with a speech to deliver during Friday's ceremony at the Palace Theatre, where relatives, friends and teachers who worked with this year's group cheered and applauded throughout the celebration.

“The credit for our work extends out much farther than these 51 red jackets,” Meskey told the audience.

City Year members range age 17 to 24 and must have at least a high school diploma or GED to qualify. Many have completed college and wanted to provide some sort of community service before moving on to a new stage of life.

Meskey, a graduate of Temple University with a degree in psychology, has signed on for another year. She will return to Manchester as a group leader for the incoming members of the CYNH's Class of 2013.

Members are dispersed throughout the country, spending a year far from home in an often unfamiliar environment with peers who start off as complete strangers.

Josh Martin, a Charlotte, N.C., native who graduated from Appalachian State a year ago, wasn't sure what he wanted to do before pursuing his doctorate in 20th Century American literature. He chose City Year, which sent him north to New Hampshire.

“You come into this place and you meet such a diverse group of people, you can't help be in turn culturally diversified yourself,” Martin said. “This has opened me up so much in life perspectives and ways of thinking about the community and humanity as a whole.”

The Manchester schools involved with CYNH this year were Gossler Park, Bakersville, Beech Street, Wilson, Parker Varney and McDonough.

CYNH co-executive director Alexandra Allen said the teams targeted Manchester because as the state's largest city, it also has the highest number of dropouts.

Allen said corps members encouraging students in areas such as attendance, math and English while steering them toward a path of completing their education.

Allen, who is leaving the state branch to work at City Year's national headquarters in Boston, said this year's group made an indelible impression on her.

“They just took it more seriously than any group I've ever seen,” she said. “They really felt responsible for their children's well-being and success and they felt responsible for each other and it was an amazing thing to see.”