By Renee Worthing
Staff Writer
A sea of red and white caps and gowns filled the downstairs cafeteria of the Memorial Gym June 6 as the Sanford High School class of 2008 prepared to graduate.
Groups of seniors clustered together for photos. Others stood with their friends and held their digital cameras out at arms-length for self-portraits.
Many seniors sat at the long cafeteria tables, talking about the future.
“I’m nervous,” Ashley Howard said. “I’m going to miss it [high school].”
She said she plans to attend college to study early childhood education and stay “close to home.”
Classmate Amanda Michaud said she will attend York County Community College to earn a degree as a dental assistant, while Springvale resident Heather Sidebotham said she will attend Pierre’s School of Cosmetology and hopes to eventually start her own business.
“When you’re a freshman and sophomore, you don’t think about the future. When you’re a junior, you really have to plan for the future because it won’t just come to you,” she said.
Lacey Sapp said she hopes to attend a Christian college and participate in a mission trip to Peru.
Sapp’s advice to incoming freshmen – “Keep your integrity and don’t let others influence you.”
Timothy Jenkel said he will head to Boston College to study finance, biology or both.
 “Work hard and have fun,” Jenkel advised incoming freshman.
Ngan Tam Lam said she will attend Suffolk University in Boston for a pharmaceutical degree.
She said her years at Sanford High School were “good.”
“I made new friends,” she said. “It was a fun experience.”
Her advice to incoming freshmen, “Be yourself and follow your dreams.”
Charlene Plante, who will join the Air Force, said her best advice is to “just do your work.”
When the seniors filed into Memorial Gym, led by class president Sunil Patel, the audience erupted in cheers.
History teacher and football coach Michael Fallon offered the “charge to graduates.”
“I often hear people ask, ‘What will happen when these kids run our country?’” Fallon said. “I say to heck with the negative notions.” 
He said the graduates are stepping into the world in a time that has seen the “demise of the nuclear family” and they are seeing a nation that has outsourced its work force overseas.
“Tom Brokaw wrote a book called ‘The Greatest Generation,’” Fallon said. “I know you can be a part of our next greatest generation.”
He encouragedthe graduates to be lifelong learners, innovators, environmentally aware and “good people.”
Salutatorian Danielle Marquis described the life of graduates as a “bumpy road” with many obstacles in the way, including curves, slow drivers, speed bumps, dips and roadblocks.
“Everything little thing gonna be all right,” she said, quoting a line from the senior class’ song, “Three Little Birds” by Bob Marley.
Valedictorian Amy Rivard said her class was warned about entering the “real world,” but she said they are already in the real world.
 “Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. Every morning a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. It doesn’t matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle, when the sun comes up, we better start running,” Rivard said.
Friends and family cheered as the seniors filed onstage to receive their diplomas from school board Chairman Marguerite Herlihy, have their photo taken with Principal Alan Young and receive congratulations from outgoing Superintendent Jack Turcotte.
  After receiving their diploma, the seniors stood on their chairs, faced the audience and sang  “Three Little Birds,” before flipping their tassels from the left side of their caps to the right.
  Following the ceremony, the seniors gathered outside to chant “oh-eight” before tossing their caps into the air.