SALEM TOWNSHIP — In a steady drizzle, a young woman in a red spaghetti-strap dress and heels clutched a bouquet of roses and sprinted the quarter of a mile from her parked car to Mt. Abram High School.

Moments later, she joined the Friday evening throngs packing the auditorium to the top rows of bleachers. They cheered loudly and often as the 52 graduating seniors accepted honors and recognition for their hard work.

Valedictorian Holland Corson spoke about a movie that gave her inspiration and strength. “Fitzcarraldo” is the story of a European living in a small Peruvian city in the early part of the 20th century. He is a spirited optimist who has done poorly in business. He loves opera and admires the famous tenor Enrico Caruso. He dreams of building an opera house, but needs to find the money. As the most profitable industry in Peru at the time is rubber, he decides to take a three-story boat up the Amazon River to make his fortune. He doesn’t have the happy ending viewers might expect.

The important lesson in the movie, Corson said, is that he never gave up and he always celebrated his small victories.

“We all have our opera houses, some distant and crazy goal,” she said. “High school was a lot like dragging a free riverboat over a mountain in order to get closer to these goals.”

Corson is the daughter of Felecia Pease and Terry Corson, both of Kingfield.

She plans to attend Central Maine Community College in Auburn in September and complete her studies at the University of Maine at Farmington. She wnats to pursue a master’s degree in library science.

Co-salutatorian Briannah James is the daughter of Tarra Bernaiche of Madrid Township and John James of Lewiston. She plans to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to study pre-law and psychology.

Co-salutatorian Jennifer Rowland is the daughter of Michael and Cheryl Rowland of Wyman Township. In the fall of 2014, she’ll enter Connell School of Nursing at Boston College.

The two shared the open greetings and spoke to their classmates about the next steps they might take. They noted that four years in high school had challenged them to become more mature and responsible, but they could not imagine all that their futures might demand of them. They offered a memorable quote from a past U.S. president to summarize the simplest of life’s lessons:

“In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing,” Teddy Roosevelt said.

Forty-six students plan to pursue further education in two- and four-year colleges, technical schools and military service.