Wahconah Regional High School graduates celebrate on Sunday afternoon at the school's gymnasium.

DALTON, Mass. — The 124 Wahconah Regional High School graduates will take a "leap of faith" into the rest of their lives.

 

At their graduation ceremony on Sunday, valedictorian Alexandra Keator recalled taking another leap of faith when she launched herself from a tall height holding onto just a rope at an aerial adventure park her freshman year.

 

"When I got to the leap of faith I was paralyzed," Keator said overlooking her classmates in the school's gymnasium. "I stood at the obstacle and looked down at my destination."

 

As she looked down at the platform below, a long line of her classmates stood behind her. But they didn't berate her; instead they rallied for her.

 

"They gave me the courage to jump," Keator said.

 

Keator said the class of 2013 has already taken many leaps of faith, including "mustering up the courage to perform on stage last year at senior assembly or to do the Napoleon Dynamite dance at Turkey Fest."

 

"Most recently, we had to take the biggest leap of all, the leap for our future," Keator said of future life decisions such as examining college, work and service choices.

 

She also explained the confusion of being considered "Generation Y," and proposed to rather be "Generation Why Not?"

 

Principal James Conro praised the Class of 2013 for their fundraising efforts after Hurricane Sandy.

"We have the opportunity to define ourselves," Keator said. "Maybe 50 years from now we will be the generation that ends hunger or the generation that cured [amyotrophic lateral sclerosis]... It is our duty to make a name for ourselves by becoming something no generation has ever been."

 

Class President Timothy Wagner reminded his fellow graduates that they already possess the tools to make the transition into the real world possible — namely hard work and discipline — but will still continue to grow in the future.

 

"Behind me sits 123 men and women who have a lot to learn, but for now we learned all we can at Wahconah," Wagner said. "The only thing left to do is graduate."

 

Principal James Conro applauded the class for its efforts, telling them their legacy is "near perfect."

 

"This is the smallest class to ever graduate [from Wahconah Regional High School] but collectively they have an amazingly huge heart," Conro said.

 

Conro continued to explain the diligent work the students did in fundraising efforts after Hurricane Sandy devastated New Jersey. 

 

"I was very, very emotionally moved as I walked in every morning," Conro said of when he saw students entering the school with clothes, food, diapers, cleaning supplies and even dog food to donate to the distribution centers in New York City.

 

"I think that says a lot about the Class of 2013, they have great hearts," Conro said.

 

Conro some graduates will continue their education in 39 different colleges, ranging from Berkshire Community College to University of Vermont to Cornell University. Three graduates who will enter military service stood up in recognition and received a 20 second applause from the packed gymnasium.

 

After the graduates received their diplomas and turned their tassels, they launched silly string, fired off poppers and sounded off the airhorns before exiting to the band's performance — under the guidance of Band Director Brian Rabuse — of "Eclipse," the final song on Pink Floyd's 1972 album "Dark Side of the Moon."