AUGUSTA -- Stephen Lerette's message to Gardiner Area High School's graduating class was a simple one: "These are not your glory days."

Yes, Lerette said, there was much for the 154 graduates to celebrate: Athletic victories, $80,000 in awarded scholarships, and close friendships. Still, he said, "These are not your glory days. At least, I sincerely hope not."

Lerette, a Gardiner English teacher and the 2009 commencement speaker, urged the graduating class to treasure what they had accomplished in their four years of high school, and use it to continue building a bright and successful future.

"From this point on, you are responsible for your own happiness," Lerette said. "I hope you look fondly on your days at Gardiner Area High School and remember the people who made a difference in your life. This is a great day, and it's the beginning of some new future for you."

Despite an excited and anxious atmosphere in the Augusta Civic Center Saturday night, the familiarity of high school and the uncertainty of the future were on the minds of the valedictorian and salutatorian. Both women -- valedictorian Mary Trahan and salutatorian Kayla Marks -- quoted Ralph Waldo Emerson, focusing on paths less traveled and the unfamiliar.

And while feeling a sense of trepidation about the next phase in one's life is normal, both women said, they were confident their classmates would be able to rise to the new challenges.

"We are starting a new phase in our lives: College, full-time jobs, or service in the military. That is what lies before us," Marks, who will attend Northeasten University, said. "However, what lies within us will stay with us and play a vital role in the rest of our lives."

"Upon graduating, we are leaving the paths that we know," Trahan, who will attend Saint Anselm College, said. "We are leaving the paths with which we are comfortable, and heading into unfamiliar territory. There is no way to overcome fear other than walking into exactly what it is you're scared of, so don't be afraid to walk down that path that you have never seen before."

Thirty scholarships and four awards were bestowed upon the graduating seniors. The awards were:

Jim Church Rotary Club Service Award -- Katherine N. Collins; Maine Principals Association Award -- Mary E. Trahan; Alice M. Richards Award -- Clayton Fisk; Cathy Verhille Spurling Award -- Nikole Robbins.

Meghan V. Malloy -- 623-3811, ext. 431

mmalloy@centralmaine.com