Michael Ridge’s father is a cop. His grandfather was a cop. So was his great-grandfather.

So it was hardly a surprise that Ridge would one day graduate from the Boston Police Academy. Wednesday, the 26-year-old was one of 67 police recruits sworn in as officers.

“He has wanted to be a police officer since he was 5 years old,’’ Deputy Superintendent William Ridge (class of 1985) said after his son’s graduation ceremony at Agganis Arena. “In third grade, he wrote a story that he was a police officer, and he and his best friend caught all the bad guys.’’

Many recruits in class 55-15 came from law enforcement families. Among the graduates was Carolyn Ivens, daughter of Captain Paul Ivens, who is expected to retire this year from District D-4.

For others, the path was not always so clear.

Suni Muhammad received a mechanical engineering degree years ago. But after deciding he didn’t want to be an engineer, he ranged from finance to real estate. Then, he joined the Army reserves and spent several months stationed in Kuwait.

Among all the twists in his life, Muhammad said he always wanted to become a police officer. When asked what was harder — receiving a mechanical engineering degree or graduating from the academy — Muhammad didn’t hesitate.

“Definitely graduating from the police academy,’’ he said after the ceremony. “With a mechanical engineering degree, it’s pretty much on you. You need to study, come in, and take an exam. Here, there’s the team work, and there’s the procedures that you have to learn that are outside of the norm.’’

When Muhammad walked on stage with his two sons to accept his diploma, his 13-year-old son, Khalil, held the paper as his own.

During the ceremony, Mayor Martin J. Walsh reminded the recruits that although graduating is a big personal achievement, they cannot forget about their families and the communities they serve.

“Officers are involved in crime prevention more than they have ever been in the past, and that means engaging in the community,’’ he said. “Because you have made this commitment and made it through the academy, I am confident that each and every one of you are the leaders that we need in our cities and in our towns.’’

Based on recent events — the Boston Marathon bombings, the Paris attacks, the Orlando nightclub attack, Tuesday’s explosions in Istanbul — Boston Police Commissioner William B. Evans said the nature of policing has changed.

“We used to just worry about crime and interacting with the community,’’ Evans said in a separate interview.

Of Wednesday’s 67 graduates, 53 will be stationed in Boston districts, and 14 will be stationed in towns around the state.

Evans said about 74 percent of the graduating class was white. Official statistics were not available as of Wednesday evening.

Gianna Mullane, one of the fewwomen in the graduating class, said she tried getting into the academy for about 10 years. Then, the same day she signed her papers last year after finally being accepted, she found out she was pregnant with triplets.

She deferred her acceptance, then became president of the class. Balancing everything was tough, she said, but nothing compared to having triplets.

Moments before the recruits were pronounced officers, all 67 stood, stone-faced, staring out at family and friends in the crowd. While Mullane said she was teeming with excitement inside, she knew better than to crack a smile.

“Part of our training is that when you’re in that platoon, and in that position of attention, you’re stoic,’’ she said, describing a time when some of the class laughed at a joke an officer made, then had to spend two hours running up and down a hill as punishment.

But on Wednesday, once the graduation ended, smiles, hugs, laughs, and tears were all allowed.

Trisha Thadani can be reached at trisha.thadani@globe.com.