LEWISTON — Before 241 Lewiston High School graduates received their diplomas Friday night at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee, they were praised as successful for having work ethic and talent.

Aspirations teacher JoAnne Dowd said resilience was the first word that came to her mind when she thought about the class.

“From you I have learned much. I will carry your stories in my heart,” she said.

Dowd and Assistant Principal Paul Amnott were the keynote speakers chosen by the graduates. Amnott is retiring. Dowd shared a few examples of how the graduates have shown resilience.

Three members are struggling with life-threatening diseases, she said. “Yet you get up every morning, come to school, do your best, engage fully in your life without one moment of self-pity or despair. You remain cheerful and upbeat. Resilient.”

Others have gone to school while working many hours to help support their family and caring for siblings. “You are here tonight, having pulled it off,” Dowd said.

Some came to school while their families “were disintegrating around you.” Despite the heartaches, “you held it together every day,” she said.

Many have balanced full lives of work, sports and academic success. “You have excellent time management skills,” Dowd said. “You use every available moment, such as doing homework on the bus at 10 p.m.”

Some graduates came to the United States from foreign lands, Dowd said. Among the Somali graduates were eight whose last names are Mohamed. “You have had to adapt to a completely different culture and education system,” she said. “You have been successful. Resilience.”

Amnott recalled when the graduates were freshmen how they assembled in the gym as an assistant principal told them to remember June 1, 2012, the day they would graduate. It would come sooner than they thought, they were told.

“There were grumblings in the audience, ‘That’s four years from now! It’ll never get here!’” Amnott said. “Guess what, that day has arrived. You will leave here tonight as graduates of Lewiston High School, Class of 2012.”

The graduates cheered and applauded.

He advised them to focus on the positive, choose a career they love, take responsibility for themselves, be active participants in life and learn from mistakes.

Valedictorian Heather MacNeill said leaving peers and faculty is scary, “but we’ve armed ourselves with the tools to not only survive, but thrive.”

Salutatorian Rachel Mills said as they leave Lewiston High they’ll take diplomas, knowledge, memories and friendships that have “molded us into the individuals we are today.”

Of the 241 graduates, 83 percent are going to college, training or the military, Principal Gus LeBlanc said. Examples include Adam Bailey, 17, who said he’s going to the University of Maine at Presque Isle to study criminal justice, and Katrina Ellis, who plans to go to Central Maine Community College, then the University of Maine at Farmington.

Just before diplomas were awarded, the senior choir sang “We Are Young” by Fun. The seniors’ caps swayed as they sang along.

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