LEWISTON – In a bittersweet ceremony filled with standing ovations and Red Sox metaphors, 235 Lewiston High School seniors became graduates Friday night.
“Just remember, dreams really do come true,” said keynote speaker Tom Caron, sports commentator for NESN and a Lewiston alum.
Because the school’s Don Roux field was too soggy to accommodate a crowd, Friday’s graduation was held at the Colisee. Hundreds of friends, family and Lewiston students packed the building for the two-hour ceremony.
“If I could have a party right now, I’d be like Woohoo!,'” said Annette Jordan as she visited with her son, graduate James McCluskey, before the ceremony. “I’m excited, happy sad. Mixed emotions.”
Most of the speakers only showed one emotion: joy.
“Hey, we made it through high school without a scratch. How hard can everything else be?” said salutatorian Stephanie Dondek as the Class of 2005 gave her a standing ovation and tossed beach balls back and forth.
Class President Robert Labbe spoke of the past, of each lighthearted and serious milestone.
“Four years ago we entered a different LHS,” he said. “We are no longer Somali students or American students. We are Lewiston High School students.”
Caron, the keynote speaker, spoke of the future.
“You can overcome the odds. You can take a chance. You can make it happen,” said Caron, who graduated from Lewiston High School in 1982.
He urged students to follow their dreams, even if their dreams don’t pay very much. His own first job paid just $50 a week, Caron said. But he was having fun.
“It’s a tired old line, but money doesn’t make you happy,” he said.
In gowns of blue and white, the school colors, 235 seniors received their diplomas as the sun began to set outside. Some waved to their parents. One broke into dance.
Several students said they will go to work after high school. Some planned to take a year off.
Zahra Abdala, 19, said she will attend McIntosh College in New Hampshire to study criminal justice. With their Muslim head scarves peeking out from under their new mortarboards, she and her friends snapped photos and talked about their excitement moments before the ceremony.
“Four years,” she said, rolling her eyes. “We didn’t even eat today, that’s how nervous we are.”
Across the room, James McCluskey, 17, chatted with his mother, grandparents and cousins. Like Abdala, he planned to go to college. He will study automotives at Northern Maine Community College in Presque Isle.
“It’s the first day of the rest of my life,” he said.
Of the 235 graduates, more than 60 were members of the National Honor Society or the National Technical Honor Society. The class valedictorian was Stephanie Blanchette, a National Technical Honor Society member.
Fifteen students received special scholarships during the ceremony.
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