LEWISTON — The Internet took center stage Saturday at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee as Auburn’s Edward Little High School graduated 240 seniors.

Keynote speaker Auburn Schools Superintendent Katy Grondin and several of the featured student speakers talked about the pride the students took in working to combat bullying over the Internet.

“An Eddie is part of a group of students who come together to rally against cyberbullying, one who becomes a student leader against hate, gives a speech or writes a poem about the pain of discrimination, violence and abuse,” Grondin said.

Jordan Tate, who graduated in the top 10 of her class, talked about the importance of speaking up for oneself.

“One recent example is that our class was able to raise its voice against cyberbullying,” Tate said. “We decided enough was enough. Instead of standing by and watching it all happen, we introduced a new option, ‘#nobull.’ The two-word phrase signifies a stand against bullying, but when said quickly, as if one word, it connotes that one is a ‘noble’ person for speaking out.”

Introducing each of the five students’ speeches were clips from YouTube.

Valedictorian Niyati V. Desai showed a baby, first startled, then laughing, in an effort to illustrate her theme on the importance of humor in dealing with life’s unexpected turns.

“I love to watch funny YouTube videos, especially if they involve cute, laughing babies,” Desai said. “It’s always a good stress reliever to watch silly videos, as they help us laugh and lighten up a bit.”

Salutatorian Christopher A. Cloutier played a YouTube clip of someone driving a motorcycle. The clip cuts abruptly to a music video of Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” before returning to the motorcyclist driving down the street.

Cloutier coached students to expect the unexpected as they make their way in the world.

“Our plans for the future may change,” he said. “Some of us will change majors, transfer to other colleges or find jobs in places we didn’t expect.”

A clip of a small boy learning to ride a bike prefaced Connor A. Dumont’s speech about determination and persistence culminating in the art of practice.

“In order to master any task, practice is the key,” he said.

A bungled kitchen experience served as the video introduction to Taylor M. Brackett’s talk on the need to focus and learn from our mistakes.

Seniors Duncan C. Gelder, Nika P. Faulkner, Claire N. Ross and Shane W. Cloutier provided musical interludes throughout the commencement program.

Grondin, a member of the graduating class of 1982, was also the mother of graduating senior Richard Grondin.

Katy Grondin said she expected to pursue a degree in social work at the University of Southern Maine and hadn’t planned on ending up back in Auburn as the top schools administrator.

“It is exciting to know that there is one thing that will always connect us to each other and to all who have and will graduate from Edward Little High School and that is we are all Eddies.” she said. “An Eddie works hard to achieve, to lead the bank, sing a solo or follow his or her passion.”

cwilliams@sunjournal.com

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