"This event is a celebration of your achievement," Franklin Central School Superintendent Gordon Daniels told the 28 members of the 2009 graduating class at a Friday evening ceremony. "It is the start of a new era in your life."
The graduation was held in the school's cafetorium.
He was among several speakers who turned to other sources for wisdom.
"If there ever was a time to dare, it is now," Daniels said in quoting a poem by an anonymous author.
Valedictorian Elizabeth Weeden quoted folk singer Pete Seeger, saying, "Education is when you read the fine print. Experience is what you get when you don't."
There are always things that have to be learned the hard way, she said. "If you want to get anywhere in life, we can't be afraid of failing."
Salutatorian Cody Schlafer turned to Winston Churchill for his inspiration.
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm," said Churchill. But, Schlafer noted, "No one ever said life was going to be an easy road." But, he told his classmates, "Now that our high school lives are over, we need to be able to handle disappointments as they come and move past them."
The guest speaker was state Assemblyman Peter Lopez. He turned to his life story for a message to the students.
It was not enough to have potential, he said. Students must be willing to put forth the effort to develop their special talents.
"Education is a lifelong process," he said. "You have accomplished much, but there is more to do."
The skills students have learned in high school are a means to "empower" them to make the next step, Lopez observed. "We want you to be contributing members of our community."
The Franklin community expressed its support for students by providing more than $68,000 in prize and scholarship money, said Principal Jason Thomson.
Students shared some feelings following the ceremony.
Zachary West, who will be attending Nazareth College in Rochester to study music theater and English, said the high school moments he will remember best are the "quiet times" he shared with friends.
Attending Franklin has been a "wonderful" experience, he said. It provided an opportunity to get involved in a lot of different activities. But it will be a little "daunting" going off to college, he said.
For Laurel Hanson, her fondest memories will be the "all the fun it was to be with my friends." Hanson will be attending the University of Wyoming in Laramie, Wyo. to study epidemiology, which is a branch of medicine that studies diseases, including epidemics.
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