LEWISTON — You can tell a lot about a person by what he wears on his graduation cap.

Kyle Bourget, sports a Ninja Turtles logo because, he said, “I just like them.”

Mikayla Yanez is rocking the Nike swoosh because she works for the company.

Sean Ball is wearing the West Virginia University logo because, come fall, that’s where he’ll be.

It wasn’t a decision he rushed into.

“I decided back in middle school, honestly,” Ball said. “I just grew up loving that school. I’m ready to get out of here and start the next chapter of my life.”

Here, in this case, is Lisbon High School, which graduated 85 students Friday night. At the Lewiston Armory, they gathered with their friends one last time as classmates. They prepared for the next phase and wore symbols of their lives on their heads.

That symbolism was particularly profound for Kasey Russell, whose cap was adorned by a photo of a young woman embracing a toddler.

“That’s me,” Russell said, “and my son. They said I couldn’t walk with him tonight so I put him on my cap, instead.”

With her son, Jace, being cared for by his grandmother, Russell prepared to get her diploma along with her friends. A year ago, there were doubts that it would happen.

“They said I couldn’t do it,” Russell said. “But I proved them wrong.”

The photo of mother and son was prepared at Staples, Russell said. It was meant to symbolize her love for her child and also her commitment to the future — she plans to study to become a nursing assistant, Russell said.

“She did it,” said Missy Acleaves, Russell’s mother. “I’m a very proud mother tonight.”

Of the 85 graduating Friday, 61 said they plan to go on to college. More than a dozen were going straight to work, while three were joining the military.

“Today, we start our transition,” class President Draven Walker reminded his peers in his address. “The Class of 2015 is ready to get out and experience the world.”

Class speaker Cosette Holmes took a lighter approach, quoting SpongeBob SquarePants and sharing stories that only a member of the class could possibly understand. But ultimately, Holmes expressed appreciation for her classmates and her teachers in graduating “the best class Lisbon High has seen thus far.”

“Our futures are bright,” Holmes said. “I’ll be proud to say I graduated with all of you.”

Speaker Jeffrey Wiley, too, started with humor before turning wistful. For Wiley, what stands out is the blazing speed with which his senior year went by.

“Faster than I ever could envision,” he said. “It all seemed to slip by without pause.”

Then the speeches were over, diplomas were in hand and that part of their lives was behind them, too. With the spooky speed that Wiley described, the ceremony was over and wide-open futures awaited.

“We did it,” Walker said.

He liked the sound of it so much, he said it again.

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Class facts of Lisbon High

85: Graduates in the Class of 2015

61: Going to college

15: Going into the workforce

3: Joining the military

6: Undecided

Principal Nicholas Gannon: “The Class of 2015 worked hard with a positive attitude and a good sense of humor. I wish them luck in their future plans, as I know many are primed to be highly successful members of society.”