Scarborough High School’s class of 2012 is nothing short of extraordinary; there’s no more simple way to put it. Together they have seen more than 20 state championships, two principals, dozens of teachers, four years, and countless memories.

On Sunday, their time as high school students came to a close in their graduation ceremony at the Cumberland County Civic Center. With a walk across the stage and a moving of a tassel, these students became alumni.

“Tonight, we will cease to be a graduating class, and what a class we’ve been,” valedictorian Susan Rundell said in her speech. “We’ve been a class of collaboration, not competition. A class where the achievement of one is truly the achievement of all.”

The class vice president, Maddie Palmer, introduced Rundell with a description of Rundell’s considerable achievements, including, but not limited to, awards in Academic Decathlon, Latin, and karate. Rundell will continue her education in the fall at Yale University.

In her address, Rundell recognized the root of the word valedictorian: one who says goodbye. “Tonight, we say goodbye to a part of our lives and a way of thinking that accompanies it,” she said. By graduating, Rundell said, the classmates will “close a chapter of our lives dedicated to dreaming about actions, and open a chapter that will see us do our best to make something of those dreams.”

She closed her speech with a promise that she and her classmates can no longer be barred by the promise to wait, as they are the future. “Tonight we can say goodbye to this insignificant and meaningless label and become something infinitely more powerful,” she said. “Tonight we become the present.”

In his address, Principal Dean Auriemma talked about sincerity and integrity, synonymous in the Hebrew language. “Each of us will find ourselves working to be our true self,” he said. “And hopefully we will step out of the comfort and safety of the group to lead us through our integrity.”

He challenged the students to be conscious of their neighbors and applied a broader definition to the word. “While we are busy being ourselves, there are other people we bump into along the way,” he said. “Our neighbors, metaphorically, are those we do know and those we do not know.”

Spanish teacher Erik Zavasnik, introduced by salutatorian Alex Henny, also spoke. He warned the graduating class of the dangers of joining the “sheeple,” those who blindly follow the actions of the crowd.

“You’re going to start forging your own path in the world,” he told the class. “You have a choice to join the sheeple… Or you can choose to do something more meaningful with your life.”

He said that he wants them, “to know what you’re doing, and why, and not just blindly following the path of others around you.”

“Trust me, if you’re self-assured, if you’re curious about the world around you, and you’re passionate about what you do, you will be different, you will be noticed, and you will be successful,” he said. He advocated being “quietly unique,” and creating a path different from those of the sheeple.

“The path that leads to rich life experiences, it’s not always the easy one, it doesn’t always work out,” he continued. “But in the end, it does, and in the end, it is the more rewarding one.”

Graduated now, these young adults do face a crossroads. They are off to college, the military, or the workforce. They are off the pursue dreams, big and small.

“No longer are we to be defined in terms of the world we live in,” Rundell promised. “The world we live in will be defined by us.”

The class left the stage with their diplomas Sunday night, leaving behind only a forgotten red cap and a few half-inflated beach balls. But what they will come to leave behind on the world is journey just starting to begin, and one that will certainly be as extraordinary as they are.

Ali Pelczar is a junior at Scarborough High School.

Class of 2012 Vice President Madeline Palmer introduced and welcomed valedictorian Susan Rundell to the podium for her speech.