By Renee Worthing
Staff Writer
With temperatures outside hovering around 90 degrees, the air in the cafeteria was stifling as Kennebunk High School seniors milled about, waiting for the June 8 graduation ceremony to commence.
Girls fanned themselves with their caps and the boys wiped perspiration from their brows.
Despite the heat, the class of 2008 huddled together for group photos, hugged one another and talked about their plans for the future.
Chris Dube said it “feels great” to graduate.
“This is a new chapter,” he said.
He said his best memories of Kennebunk High School revolved around sports including football, basketball and track. Dube’s words of wisdom for incoming freshmen are simple – “Don’t slack off.”
He said he planned to major in physical therapy at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn.
Tori Palmer, who received her diploma in January and has been attending Empire Cosmetology School in Portsmouth, returned to participate in the graduation ceremonies.
She said freshmen should make the best of their high school years and have fun, but also study hard.
Nick Lyden, struggled to pin the white carnation on his gown. He paused with a straight pin in one hand and a flower in the other.
“This is going to be an endless summer,” he said with a laugh.
He said freshmen should remember, “Not everything matters.”
“Pick your battles,” he said.
Kristin King described the day as “surreal.”
She said her plans for the future include attending Saint Michael’s College in Vermont where she will study political science.
“Hanging out with friends” was cited as her cherished memory at Kennebunk High School.
She said incoming freshmen should seize every opportunity.
“It really makes a big difference,” she said. “I felt connected because I was involved with everything.”
Family and friends rose to their feet as the 208 seniors filed into the gym and took their seats on the multi-tiered platform.
Valedictorian Hannah Hussey said while she is happy to be leaving Kennebunk High School, she will miss friends and teachers who helped all the students become who they are.
She said her generation grew up watching Sesame Street and Disney and were “taught to believe the underdog always comes out on top.”
“For some, reality made its first hit home when they didn’t make a team after years of loyalty to the sport,” she said. “For others it was failing a test after hours of studying.”
She said her “more or less feel-good generation” prompted some to label them “Generation Me,” a reflection of their “supposed self-centered natures.”
She said although her generation is considered narcissist, she believes her classmates will prove the label wrong.
“Intolerance of other lifestyles, political believes and religious convictions continues to be, for many, a way of life,” Hussey said. “Ironically, perhaps, the responsibility for correcting these problems – and they are correctable – rests with us, the so-called ‘Generation Me.’”
She said it was up to the class of 2008 to look outside of themselves and their communities to see where they could make a difference.
“Ten years from now, what I said today won’t matter,” she said. “What will matter is how we are living our lives. Changing the world, even a small piece of it, is not an easy task to undertake.  Here, though, is where Sesame Street made a good point – each of us really is valuable.”
She said the class of 2008 could be the solution to many of the problems plaguing the world.
Kennebunk High School Principal Nelson Beaudoin said he and other staff members witnessed the growth and development of the students during their four years at Kennebunk High School.
“It feels like it all happened too quickly,” he said.
He told the class they still had much to learn, but “patience will reveal success.”
The ceremony ended when the graduates flipped their tassels and tossed blue and white streamers into the air as family and friends cheered.