WATERVILLE -- Friends Jasmine Bishop, Emily Moody and Michel'le Mendez stood huddled together in Colby College's Alfond Arena on Thursday night, 40 minutes separating them from their Waterville Senior High School commencement.

They shared the arena -- sans the ice and cold of hockey season -- with the rest of the class of 2009, a group 135 strong, many of them young men and women who had been classmates since elementary-school days.

It was a time and day of mixed emotions for many of them.

"It's sad to leave people you grew up with," Moody said, "but it's exciting to know you'll be meeting new people and having new experiences."

Moody, the youngest of three in her family, said graduation is an emotional event for her parents, too.

"It is tough on my mom," she said, "because it's sad for her to see her youngest leave. And it's tough on my dad because he is in Afghanistan."

Moody said her father is serving with the 286th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion in Kandahar.

The three friends all are headed to college: Moody to the University of Maine at Farmington to study early childhood education; Bishop to Newbury College in Brookline, Mass., to major in sports management; and Mendez to the University of Southern Maine to pursue a degree in nursing.

Mike Colella stood a few feet away from the trio.

"I'm ready," he said of graduation. "I was nervous earlier in the day when I first practiced. But, no, I'm ready. It's time."

Colella plans to delay attending college until next spring. In the interim, he said, he's going to continue working at the McDonald's on Kennedy Memorial Drive.

Later during the commencement ceremony Senior Class President Ashton White addressed the Wadsworth Auditorium crowd -- filled with family, friends and other well-wishers -- and introduced keynote speaker state Rep. Henry Beck, D-Waterville.

White's parents, Mike and Laura White, sat among the other parents, listening to their youngest son in his last day as a high school student.

"It has been kind of rewarding for Ashton," Mike White said, "only because of the challenges he had over his four years. But he's had a lot of support from teachers and friends."

Laura White said her son always stayed positive despite challenges, always had a smile on his face and an upbeat approach to each day. She is proud that he is headed to the University of Maine to study business and communication, but there is sorrow, too, about seeing her youngest depart.

"He has been such a joy, such a pleasure to have in the home," she said. "I think (knowing he's leaving) is the hardest part for me."

Waterville High's guidance department estimates that as many as 76 percent of the graduating class will pursue either a four-year or two-year college degree. Director of Counseling and Career Preparation Thomas McNeil said about 53 percent of those college-bound graduates are headed to four-year schools.

McNeil said the 23 percent who intend to go to two-year colleges are less certain about that plan.

"A bunch of them may choose to delay (their college plans) and work due to the economy," he said.

Of the remaining graduates, McNeil said 4 percent indicate they are entering the military, 5 percent intend to seek some form of post-graduate education and 13 to 14 percent intend to enter the work force directly.

Waterville Senior High

School's Class of 2009:

Benjamin Adams Allen, Michael Seamus Allen, Katherine Lois Smith Batten**, Maximilian K. Beal, William G. Bernhardt*, Cameron Arthur Bishop**, Jasmine M. Bishop*, Ryan E. Bolduc, Jessica Hart Boucher**, Cholage N. Boudreau, Michael Leroy Boudreau, Charles McGowan Boyle**, Julianne Bradford**, Nathan Joseph Breton*, Madisun Mary Bunker**, Kiera M. Burnell, Tiffany Megan Buzzell*, Brett G. Campbell, Curtis Paul Chaput*, James A. Chouinard*, Nicholas E. Christensen, Michael A. Colella, Whitney Marie Coleman, Rebecca Ann Cook**, Ariel M. Cookson*, Corianna Stacy Cote, Lance E. Cote, Julia Patrice Courtney, Megan Leigh Courtney, Ashley Rene Crappell, Kayla Marie Cummings*, Brooke D. Dahl, Brody A. Dunn, Nicole Danielle Duperry*, Ethan E. Dutram. Kevin Darwin Easler, Brandon M. Ervin, James Forrest Fairservice, Jr., Felicia Ann Ferreira*, Danielle Jo Fossa**, Morgan Elizabeth Frame*, Stacey Marie Francoeur**, Amber L. D. Frost. Bethany E. Gagnon**, Angelena L. Gallant*, Monica E. Garcia, Paige Marie Gardiner**, Melissa Suzanne Gatz, Brandon M. Gauvin*, Jared A. Genest*, Stacey Lynn Genest**, Matthew R. Graham, J. Daniel T. Gurski, Hillary Andrea Haase*, Jennifer Rose Hale**, Alexander J. Hallenbeck**, Deune R. Hardy, Taylor Marie Hart**, Jessica J. Hassen, Nicole Carolyn Heath, Krystle N. Herard, Alexander Hicks, Alice Effie Hofgren*, Jesse Rico Hurtado. Nicole Marie Isbell, George Michael Jabar, III**, Katherine Charlotte Jacobs**, Anthony Joseph Jolicoeur, Elizabeth Anne Keane**, Christopher L. Kilsby, Carin Palmer King**, Tamara Ann King, Thomas P. King, Susan Kiralis, Karl Kiralis, Jr., Elizabeth Ann Kowalik*. Tricia Marie Labbe**, Donald Joseph Lahneman, Tyler A. LeClair, Bryant Robert Lee, Shawn H. Lee**, Elise Laura Levesque*, Brittany Dawn Locke**, Timothy D. Lonergan, Bradley Fox Loomis, Jessica LePage MacDonald*, Nolan Paul MacDonnell*, Kevin James Macksoud*, Dylan Norie Marsh, Benjamin Mathieu, Weston G. Matranga*, Taijae L. Mayhew**, Elizabeth Simm Mazzeo**, Alexandra Kingman McAuliff**, Charlotte Jean McKinnis*, J. Michel'le Mendez**, Stavroula F. Menoudarakos*, Emily Suzanne Moody**, Shawn A. Morey*, Lana Morgan**, Benjamin Alan Moseley, Jessica Rae Murray. Matthew J. Nale, Heather A. Newsome, Brittany R. Parent, Nathan Michael Pooler, Danielle M. Poulin, Thomas Ryan Quinn, Halona S. Rancourt, Katelyn M. Rancourt, Katie Lynn Raven, Ian Michael Rowe, Randy A. Ruest. Anna Elizabeth Sagaser**, Evelyn Jacqueline Schultz**, Christine Marie Serbent**, Joseph Paul Sirois, Benjamin Edward Spaulding, Matthew D. Spaulding, Cody Edward Matthew Stamey, Kelsie Elizabeth Stevens*, Nicholas A. Stinson. Nathaniel Lee Theriault, Corey Jason Thibodeau, Evan M. Thomas**, Anna Elizabeth Thurston**, Michael Price Tozier**, Maxim Andrew Turmelle, Shelby Lee Tuttle, Jake Alan Ward, Isaac D. Webb**, Ashton Colby White*, Christian Alexander Whitney, Stephanie Marie Whitten* and Timothy Jay Williams, Jr.

** Designates National Honor Society member

* Designates average of 85 or better