PORTLAND – More than 130 Gray-New Gloucester High School students became graduates Saturday in a bittersweet ceremony marked by a classmate’s memorial, an unusual keynote speaker and raucous rock music.
“I feel like it’s surreal, like it’s not even happening. It’s like I’m out of my body looking down,” said 18-year-old Ashley Reed moments before graduation.
All 131 graduates sat on stage while hundreds of people filled the rest of the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland. On stage, officials set one chair, draped in white, to honor Michael Huff, a member of the class who was killed in a snowmobile accident in 2002.
Most of the students had known Huff for years and they believed he belonged with them, even if only in spirit, for their milestone moment.
“He was a very important part of our class,” said 18-year-old Alison Gallant.
During the two-hour ceremony, several officials and class leaders spoke about the special kindness and the unique gifts, talents and passions of the Class of 2005, from sports and academics to community service.
“I stand here looking at these young adults, and I have to say you are a class that has fulfilled its promise,” said SAD 15 Superintendent Victoria Burns.
While most speakers focused on the past, the keynote speaker talked only about the future.
Dressed as Thomas Jefferson, author and futurist August Jaccaci predicted great things for the teens and the world they will help shape. By 2025, he said, the Class of 2005 will help abolish war and usher in a second Renaissance period.
“Today is the beginning of your Renaissance party,” he told them. “I would say that it’s the most important party the world has ever seen.”
Then, one by one, Gray-New Gloucester’s graduates walked to the front of the stage to receive their diplomas. Nearly all placed a red rose on the memorial chair. When it overflowed, they laid their flowers at the chair’s base, next to a framed black and white picture of Huff.
At the end, officials presented Huff’s parents with a posthumous diploma for their son. As Chris Huff held his son’s diploma high and Lynn Huff held his picture, the crowd responded with a standing ovation.
Class President Alicya Orlando ended the ceremony with the shortest speech of the day. Praising her classmates, she said, “These are the people of our future.”
Instead of the traditional “Pomp and Circumstance” played by the school band, Alice Cooper’s “School’s Out” blared from public address speakers as the students marched off stage.
Approximately 60 percent of the graduates will go on to college or other training, according to Principal Paul Penna. Nearly half the class was recognized for honors or high honors work.
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