Eighteen-year-old Jeff Myers might be ready to go to Salisbury University in the fall, but he is still basking in the good memories of his years at Damascus High School.
‘‘I’m going to miss all of the fun times that I had,” Myers said after the Friday morning commencement ceremony at his alma mater.
He said he would play soccer at Salisbury and study either medicine or education.
Graduation ceremonies are difficult for parents, too, who have their own happy memories of their children’s school years.
‘‘I’m very proud of him,” Shirley Myers said of her son. ‘‘It is very sad to be leaving the whole Damascus school system.”
Steven Kachadorian, the Class of 2008 sponsor, said during the graduation ceremony that the senior class ‘‘played hard and laughed even harder.”
‘‘Never in my career have I met a group of individuals that committed more time and energy to a diverse range of activities,” he said.
The ceremony featured a commencement address from Miss Maryland USA 2008 Casandra Tressler, who graduated from the school in 2003. She told the graduates not to be afraid to have a dream and follow it passionately.
‘‘That diploma signifies more than anything an opportunity — an opportunity to learn more, work more and accomplish more,” Tressler said. ‘‘Graduation is not an ending. It is a beginning.”
The sun beamed down on the graduates and their families during the ceremony in the school football stadium. Damascus is the only high school in the county to hold its graduation on the football field.
The students entered the stadium during the processional — girls dresses in white gowns, boys in green gowns — as the Damascus High School Band played the traditional ‘‘Pomp and Circumstance.”
Megan Krenzke, the senior class president, said this year’s seniors had a lot of school spirit. She remembered how members of the class tailgated and cheered for the school’s football team on Friday nights even when it rained. The entire class came together during Homecoming week, she said.
‘‘It is not only the memories that we take with us as we leave Damascus High School, but the many lessons and skills we have learned in and out of the classroom,” Krenzke said.
David Kreider, 17, of Gaithersburg said he was excited to graduate and will become a history major at Virginia Tech University in the fall. He was also excited that Damascus held its gradation ceremony outside to keep up the tradition.
‘‘It is kind of like a last farewell as opposed to going to some random place you have never been before,” Kreider said. ‘‘It is nice having it here.”
After receiving their diplomas, the graduates collected a green and a yellow roses. The green rose was to wish the students good luck in the future, and they were supposed to give the yellow rose to someone that has been instrumental in their success.
The entire stadium exploded in cheers and a round of applause after all of the students received their diplomas. Krenzke led the students in the turning of their tassels from the left side to the right side of their caps before some of the students threw their mortarboards in the air.
Most of the parents waited until all of the students left the stadium during the recessional before catching up to the graduates to take pictures and exchange hugs.
Kelsey Kunkle, 17, of Gaithersburg will major in communications at Virginia Tech this fall. She said she would miss the smaller class sizes in high school because she knows she will have some large classes in college.
Kunkle said she is also ready for what the future has in store for her.
‘‘I’m really excited,” she said. ‘‘I’ve been waiting a long time. I’m ready to move on.”
