PORTLAND – Taking the podium at Windham High School’s graduation Sunday, Christopher Frost, the class of 2011 vice president, set the tone for a ceremony that marked the end of one era for the students, and the beginning of another.

“We’re truly ready to take on the world,” Frost told the crowd at the Cumberland County Civic Center. “And this isn’t the last time you’ll hear from the Windham High School class of 2011.”

And with that, the ceremony was under way. In the end, the 234 members of the class of 2011 had their diplomas, as well as a reminder of all the memories they had made over the years, and some good advice for moving forward with the next stage of their lives.

The ceremony’s featured speaker, Diane Leavitt, a business teacher at the school, thanked the class, which she affectionately described as “my kids,” for “being a great group to work with,” and focused her comments on self-confidence. She said each new experience, such as entering high school as a ninth-grader, is scary at first. But the students themselves have proved that the fear, she said, can be overcome.

“Now that you’ve graduated from high school, you’re entering another new stage of your life,” Leavitt said. “It’s going to feel a lot like freshman year, that scary feeling. But it’s an experience that’s going to continue for the rest of your life. So it’s OK, you’ve been through it before. You have experience. Look where you are today. You’ve moved out of that uncomfortable zone, you’re in a real comfort zone now. That cycle will continue as you move through life.”

Leavitt then said one’s self-confidence is in a constant state of flux, depending on experiences.

“I look at self-confidence as if it were the tides, you know, the ebb and the flow of the tide,” she said. “Today we’re really confident and then we start something new and the confidence level drops again but then we build it back up.”

Salutatorian Emma Krieg spoke next comparing high school to her favorite sport of running.

“It is the long race that is run in hopes of making it to this end, graduation,” she said. “We start off the first of our four years in hopefulness, our nerves coursing through our bodies, excited and yet anticipating what the next four years will bring. Will we be successful? Will we make friends? … Our endurance is crucial to our success in high school … (Without it) we would not be here today to celebrate the fulfillment of a very important milestone in our lives.”

The sports theme continued with Nathan Paluso, the third honor essayist and a champion swimmer, who told of his comeback from a disappointing finish in 2010 to become a state and New England champion a few weeks later.

“The dedication and determination paid off. Had I given up, all of my previous efforts would have been for nothing,” Paluso said. “That is why it is important to keep going even when you have obstacles in your way.”

Elizabeth Shively, the second honor essayist, then spoke to recognize the talent in the class of 2011. She praised class members who have already made a success of themselves in various arenas – as an Eagle Scout, an entrepreneur, a registered Maine Guide, an auto racing rookie of the year and an exhibitor at the Portland Museum of Art.

“The class of 2011 is one of individuality. Every member of this class is so different, and our successes reflect that,” Shively said. “But these successes cannot be quantified. They are all of great value no matter what they are. For the value of success is not defined by the success itself but by the value of the individual and by the value the individual holds in it.”

Evan Gardner, the first honor essayist, told the class of 2011 to move bravely into the world.

“Now is your time to move on from this moment, to go past the boundaries of Windham High School like so many have before into that crowd of strangers and ultimately make your impact on the world around you,” he said.

Lastly, valedictorian Ben Richardson emphasized the value of friendship in his speech.

“There were a number of subjects that I considered for this speech but when I look back on my four years at WHS, I see my friends. I see the people who have been in my life. And when I think about what is important and meaningful, I think about the relationships we have developed as a class,” Richardson said. “Although success and achievement are wonderful, they do not hold the same value without the human relationships that stand behind them. None of these people would be sitting on this stage right now if they had not received the support of friends and family.”

During his speech, Richardson and his friend Benedetto Robinson received a rousing ovation after reciting a poem the two had composed for the occasion on the nature of friendship.

Once the diplomas were handed out and the tassles flipped from one side of their caps to the other, the class celebrated with Jack Johnson’s hit song “Upside Down,” which saw grads dancing in the aisle on the stage.

Following the dance, class member Shelbi Wassick made closing remarks summarizing the class’s collective pain – including the loss of two classmates – and triumphs, such as state championships and scholastic achievements.

The absent classmates were not far from the thoughts of the graduating students. During her remarks earlier in the night, Danielle Bellavance, the class historian, remembered two members of the class of 2011 who did not live to see graduation – Kyle Rogers and Mackenzie MacVane.

Another student, recently injured in a car accident on Pope Road two weeks ago, was also not in attendance. However, Patrick Thorne, who is recuperating at Maine Medical Center, was remembered with a standing ovation when Principal Deb McAfee told the audience she would personally hand-deliver his diploma to his hospital room after the ceremony.

McAfee, contacted on Monday, said she found Thorne in excellent spirits.

“Patrick looked great,” said McAfee, who was joined at the bedside ceremony by RSU 14 School Board member Elizabeth Fillinger. “His family and friends saw him get his diploma and he put on his cap and tassle. But he was doing well.”

Following Wassick’s closing remarks on Sunday, grads threw their caps in the air signifying “we have the power to do anything, to achieve everything, to break the man-made barriers that hold us back, and to soar above and beyond all expectations,” as Wassick said in her speech.

“We are the graduating class of 2011,” she continued. “Strong and intelligent and prepared to take the world by storm. Ready or not, here we come!”

Brittany Loring helps Carly Smith get ready for the ceremony, pinning a memorial ribbon to her lapel. (Photo by Rich Obrey)Class marshals Logan Cummings and Shannon Busque lead their classmates onto the Cumberland County Civic Center stage as friends and family reach for their cameras. (Photo by Rich Obrey)