Jovan Arias chose to attend New Technology High School because he knew it would look better on his college application. He found out there was a reason for that.

“It was tough,” the 18-year-old graduate said Thursday.

So was Arias, holding down two jobs while he slogged through New Tech’s graduation requirements including an internship, three years of math and four Napa Valley College classes. All this under the eye of teachers at a significantly smaller school than Napa High or Vintage High.

“It’s definitely a different school,” Arias said. “It’s great for students who are feeling they aren’t learning enough.”

On Thursday, the school’s 52 graduating seniors received their diplomas at Memorial Stadium, capping off a high school career at a school known for its rigors.

Where students at traditional high schools can snag headlines for their athletic prowess, students at New Tech recently garnered attention at La Strada dell’Arte, an arts fundraising event held for the school, where a group of students sold T-shirts with environmental slogans and used environmentally-friendly devices like a solar oven.

One of the students, 18-year-old Matthew Coleman, plans to go to the UC Santa Cruz to pursue a Ph.D. in astrophysics.

“I’ve been wanting to get this Ph.D. since I was in the sixth grade,” he said.

That kind of work ethic is encouraged at the school, said New Tech Principal Monica Tipton.

Tipton said New Tech offers project-based learning where students spend more time doing collaborative projects than in a traditional high school, emphasizing oral and written communication, plus other critical thinking skills.

“It’s really based on the philosophy of a small school,” she said.

New Tech has a student body of 350 this year. The class of 2007 was unique, English teacher Rebecca Pollack said, because it was the last class that entered New Tech as juniors, reflecting a choice to leave behind friends and other contacts at a regular high school to take on something that was new and different.

“When you walk around with these seniors, there aren’t the cliques that you find at other schools,” she said, explaining that collaborative projects often get more students to get know more of the other students.

For 18-year-old Jewel Geronimo, his mom originally pressured him to go to New Tech, but after a short time he said the choice became his to stay.

“Project-based learning and all that, it’s all good,” he said.

For many graduates Thursday, their minds were on the future.

“I’m really happy that I actually did it,” said Karina Ochoa, 18, about graduating. She plans to head off to Sacramento State University to pursue a double major of nursing and Spanish, with a minor in psychology. “I’m really excited for my future.”