NEWPORT — Friday night’s commencement at Nokomis Regional High School was a bittersweet moment for many in the packed auditorium.

As the 143 graduates said farewell to their classmates and teachers, Regional School Unit 19 said goodbye to Superintendent William P. Braun, who retires June 30 after 18 years in the district. “I came here the year most of these kids were born, and I’ve watched around 3,000 graduate since then,” Braun said.

The common theme of the class of 2012 was to not only think outside the box, but — as valedictorian Brynn Hayden-Sawyer Cardozo of Palmyra put it — “shape your world to fit your ideals. You can change what you have, what you own and who you associate with. By changing your surroundings, you can change your reality. By changing your reality, you change your world.”

Cardozo, who plans to attend Worcester Polytechnic Institute to major in biomedical engineering, said that it’s customary for students to thanks their parents on such an occasion.

“Normally, we roll our eyes and oblige; but rarely do we realize that the words spoken are nothing but the purest form of the truth. Whether we like it or not, our parents are the sole reason we stand here today,” she said.

She also praised what she termed “the crazy ones … the round pegs in the square holes,” citing an advertising campaign by Apple in 1997. “You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them, because they change things. They invent. They imagine. They heal. They explore. They create. They inspire. They push the human race forward.”

Principal Mary Nadeau told the 44th graduating class of Nokomis Regional High School, “You have been willing to take on new challenges. You have had the courage to stand up for yourself, for others and for injustices. You have led by persevering through tough times and demonstrating a ‘can do’ attitude.”

“The quality I see most often, and makes me proud, is your ability to show kindness to others,” Nadeau said. “I see it in the littlest gestures, whether it is holding a door open, a friendly smile or a helping hand; and in more significant ways, like befriending a new student or sharing what you have with someone less fortunate.”

Braun noted that “there are times when our graduates ask what the last 13 or 14 years of education were for, and why did they go through them? Let me suggest that they were not to prepare you to end or conclude a portion of your life, but rather to prepare you for a new beginning.”

He also cautioned them not to let the comforts of life overshadow their goals. “The oyster has a good life and hard shell for protection. Its food it delivered to its mouth by the ocean currents. The oyster, however, is stuck on the bottom.”

Braun asked the class to not play it safe when challenges seem insurmountable.

“Rise up and take charge of your future. You now have the magic formula for achieving success in a positive way. You can take on anything and prove your worth. Dare to be great.”

Rep. Kenneth Fredette, R-Newport, gave a brief speech and presented contratulations from the Legislature to Cardozo and salutatorian Alyssa Ann Taylor, of St. Albans.