AUBURN – High school was officially behind him Friday night and Vincent St. Jean was absolutely guaranteed to reach new heights. Immediately after graduating from St. Dominic Academy, the 18-year-old was off to New Hampshire for some time on a zip line.

“It’s going to be a late night, but hey,” St. Jean said. “It’s graduation.”

There is a lot to be said about the 44 who graduated Friday night and their ability to plan is high at the top of the list. Every one of the graduates intends to go to college, school officials said, and some of them have their futures charted out to the finest detail.

Mia Comis, for example, will be studying biology at the University of Maine at Farmington. The goal? She intends to be an emergency room doctor, just like her dad. She already works on an ambulance as an emergency medical technician and she knows exactly what steps have to be taken to get where she wants to be.

But first, the 18-year-old is off to South Korea to see her boyfriend, a trip that begins early Saturday morning.

“I have a lot of packing to do,” Comis said.

St. Jean is also off to UMF in pursuit of a teaching career. After transferring to St. Dom’s from a private school in Lewiston, he said he found inspiration for that goal in the classroom.

“The teachers here are pretty serious,” St. Jean said, “but they have a lot of fun, too.”

Lexi Tremblay also has a plan. She intends to study psychology with an aim to begin a career in the field.

“For the last few years, I’ve known that this is what I want to do,” she said.

But first, a little break – on Monday, Tremblay is heading to Europe for two weeks of fun and leisure.

“It’s a graduation present to myself,” she said.

In her salutatory address, Gyeongeun Krystal Lee told her classmates to try thinking back to August of 2012 when most of them began their high school career at St. Dom’s. Back then, she said, they were mostly nervous kids who weren’t altogether clear on what their futures would bring. But hard work and perseverance got them through.

“We struggled and accomplished,” Lee said. “Cried, laughed; overslept, underslept and then stayed up all night to do it all over again.”

In his address, school President Donald Fournier also noted the focus and determination of his students throughout their high school careers.

“Most of them have been at St. Dom’s for the past six years and I have been able to watch them grow and become young adults through all of their classes, special events and athletic contests,” Fournier said. “I have been proud to see them handle adversity as well as accomplishments and they will always have a very special place in my heart.”

As has been the tradition, Fournier also shared observations about each student, including their personal talents, quirks and unique characteristics. This year’s list included a student who “really knows his way around glass cleaner,” another who collects Happy Meal toys from the track team and one who “seems to like astronauts and aliens.”

Not everybody in the audience understood the references, but the students got it and a few minutes later, they were done. The ceremony was over and they had officially departed high school.

“It’s exciting,” St. Jean said.

And then he was off for the zip line.

44: Graduates in the Class of 2016

44: Number going to college

School song:

Class speech theme: Senior Superlatives, a bit about each individual graduate

How the class will be remembered: “The class is very energetic, always willing to help others as is evident by their community service to more than 25 non-profit organizations this spring,” said Principal Jolene Girouard. “They have volunteered in excess of 5,300 hours. They are dedicated, talented, full of spirit.”