LEWISTON – Nearly 250 Lewiston High School students became graduates Friday night as fireworks exploded against a twilight sky and hundreds of friends and family cheered.

Held on the high school’s Don Roux field, the two-hour ceremony was filled with songs and jokes. In one exuberant speech, salutatorian Joseph Lee rapped, quoted Dr. Suess and led the Class of 2004 in a rousing round of applause for itself.

“Well, you did it. You completed the four-year struggle we call high school,” he said. “Yay-ah!”

Even as Lewiston High School said goodbye to the Class of 2004 Friday night, it welcomed back an alum.

Adam Barr, an Emmy-winning screenwriter and 1984 Lewiston graduate, delivered the keynote address.

“Four hard years, and now that it’s over you’re prepared for life. High school has given you all the skills you need out there,” he said, earning chuckles from the audience. “You think I’m kidding? You won’t believe how many times you’ll be asked about Beowulf.”

Born and raised in Lewiston, Barr, 38, told the students he’d ridden his bike on the same streets, eaten at the same restaurants and learned from the same teachers as they had. There is nothing God-like about celebrity, nothing unattainable about success, he told the new graduates. Everyone from the Class of 2004 can achieve, he said.

But Barr urged the teenagers not to measure success only in the money they earn. He told them they didn’t have to move to California and become a Hollywood star to achieve greatness.

“Being great isn’t doing great things. It’s doing things with commitment, integrity and with intention,” he said. “Do that and you’ll really be the star of your own movie.”

The ceremony marked the end of school for a group of teenagers who made history in Lewiston. The Class of 2004 was the first to experiment with “teaming,” a program that kept the same groups of students together through changing classes. They were the students who had to deal with the school’s growing diversity and the students who helped build Lewiston’s award-winning civil rights team.

“I think all of you would agree that growing up with the Class of 2004 has been an interesting experience,” said valedictorian Sara Anne Tuttle in her graduation speech. “We can gladly say we left our mark.”

In gowns of blue and white, the school colors, 245 seniors received their diplomas as the sun began to set.

When the ceremony ended, fireworks exploded overhead, shimmering in red and blue.

Of the 245 graduates, 12 were part of the National Honor Society. Seventy-five percent will go on to a school or training. Two percent will enter the military and 19 percent will work or take a year off before college.

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