DIXFIELD — Upward of 2,000 people watched 85 Dirigo High School seniors graduate Friday evening in the school gym.

After the seniors marched into the gym, led by ushers Ellen Wainwright and Tyler Frost, and were seated on a stage, senior Lindsy Crutchfield gave her “Dirigo Magic” speech.

“Each individual sitting behind me has one aspect in common, something that will always be a part of them,” Crutchfield said. “Something that no other graduating student can write about and that is something we like to call ‘Dirigo Magic.'”

She said it can only be defined by actions.

“The magic is not just something that is only throughout the school, but it is in our community,” she said. “Being a part of Dirigo, we have as strong sense of community. We support each other or lend a hand to anyone who may need it.

“In the 18 years that we have lived, we have experienced so much together,” Crutchfield said. “In 18 years, we have lost four students in our school, two of which were a part of our class. While affecting all of us deeply, it was without a thought to be there for those it affected the most.”

She told her classmates that as they step into the next chapter of their lives, Dirigo Magic will follow them, no matter which direction they choose to go. And she knows, she said, that they will pay that magic forward.

The Senior Chorus performed Kenny Chesney’s song, “Don’t Blink” to loud applause. Samantha Cote and Britney Ellis took turns reciting the class history.

“We made it to the end of the long journey we thought would last forever,” Ellis said. “Where we go next is up to us.”

Cote said the Class of 2014 started in three different schools: Peru Elementary, Dixfield Elementary and Canton Elementary.

On Oct. 2, 2006, they lost classmate Lucas Dolloff, “the kid who would always put a smile on your face,” Ellis said.

“After years of waiting for what we thought would be ‘the best days of our lives,’ we finally entered the place we had been wishing for in 2010, quickly realizing it wasn’t all we thought it was cracked up to be,” she said of high school.

“On Oct. 16, 2011, we were faced with another tragic loss of a loving and caring friend,” Cote said. “Danielle Ranger was taken far too soon, leaving us at a loss for words. She was an active member of the community and a dedicated member of the field hockey team.”

“Eight months later, we were struck with another loss on June 5, 2012, when Dylan Sattler, the kid who always had a smile for everyone and could always make any situation lighter was taken too soon,” Ellis said.

They acknowledged their athletic prowess next, Ellis told them to “remember to learn from their mistakes, cherish the memories you’ve made, and always follow your dreams.”

Valedictorian Kelsey Wilson likened herself and classmates to rivers “that have cut through difficult and stressful times in our lives, and it is our persistence, our determination to make it, that brought us through to the other side.”

She said they finally made it.

“With our persistence, we forged a path through every rock placed in front of us, and in so doing, we opened the path to the rest of the world,” Wilson said.

Acoustic guitarist and vocalist Jeremy Grignon brought the house down and garnered a standing ovation from everyone with a rousing rendering of “Home” by Phillip Phillips.

Following a slide show of photographs of the Class of 2014 set initially to theme music for Harry Potter movies, Principal Michael Poulin and other school officials presented the graduates their diplomas.

For Project Graduation, they were headed to Scarborough to ride go-carts, and participate in other activities at St. Joseph’s College in Standish.

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