Senior Air Force cadets leapt into the fountains of the Air Force Academy's "Air Gardens" this week to celebrate the completion of their final exams before graduation. It's a informal graduation ceremony that comes ahead of the rites planned for May 23 in Falcon Stadium, where Defense Secretary Jim Mattis will deliver the keynote address. The tradition - allowed only to seniors who have completed their last test as a cadet - is believed to be as old as the academy itself, with the first class of graduates taking the plunge in the spring of 1959. On Wednesday, seniors gathered in front of one of the fountains on the Terrazzo - the central grounds of the qcademy campus. Read more on Colorado Springs Gazette