BRUNSWICK — The crowd in Bowdoin College’s Sidney J. Watson Arena was on its feet Friday night, following the lead of Brunswick High School senior Caroline Hinckley.

Wheeling up to the stage “felt like going uphill on a roller coaster,” Hinckley said. Holding a walker, she stood and crossed the stage to a standing ovation.

“It was like one of those movie moments,” Hinckley said after the ceremony that awarded diplomas to 204 graduates.

Hinckley’s story, fighting a rare autoimmune disorder called Devic’s disease that just over a year ago left her immobile, was one of three stories highlighted in valedictorian Madeline Schneider’s remarks to the class of 2012, and it carried a message she said touched the experience of each graduate.

“So often I feel that we undervalue graduation, seeing it simply as a rite of passage instead of an achievement,” Schneider said. “Getting here was hard. Getting to this night, and this diploma was hard.”

For Molly Herman, Schneider said, it was about not letting size outweigh her tenacity as a lacrosse goalkeeper. For Aaron Thiboutot, Schneider said, it was about not letting cystic fibrosis stop him from competing on bowling lanes across the state and across the country.

In the face of challenging circumstances, “we don’t need to have the answers or even confidence,” Schneider said.

“All we have to do is confront these fears, look them straight in the eye like Caroline, Molly and Aaron and say, ‘Get out of my way, I have things to do.’”

With the same gusto, Superintendent Paul Perzanoski called on the class of 2012 to tackle the challenges that most who have turned the tassel recently have faced: student debt.

In 1970, Perzanoski said, he received a scholarship from the Lions Club to attend Connecticut State University.

“Would you like to guess how long it paid for my education?” Perzanoski said. “It paid for my tuition and books freshman year, sophomore year and half of my junior year.”

Zero debt

At graduation, his debt was zero.

“In less than 40 years, we’ve gone from zero to six-figure debt for our young people before they even land a job,” Perzanoski said. “As a generation, the class of 2012, you must work to make this a major issue for your political agenda and we as a nation need to help you fix it.”

To applause, Perzanoski also challenged the graduating class to “bring civility back to public discourse,” and, hitting a personal note, to keep good friends close in mind.

“I can’t stress enough how important it is to stay connected,” Perzanoski said.

Friday’s graduation, the 155th in the school’s history, also included performances by the BHS band, addresses by Natalie Naculich, Mitchell Black, Ann Kelly, salutatorian Erin Eldridge and Principal Donna Borowick.