Manchester High School Class of 2012 Encouraged to Adapt [VIDEO]

A sea of crimson took over the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford Monday evening, as more than 370 students from lined up to receive their diplomas as the newly minted graduating class of 2012. 

Although the event largely served as the capper on the seniors' high school careers, many of those who spoke during the ceremony encouraged the graduates to look to the future and all that lay ahead for them in their lives yet to come. 

"Life doesn't usually follow the plans you layout for yourself," said Interim Superintendent Richard Kisiel, who regaled the graduates with his own tale of graduating from high school more than 40 years ago with intentions of going into medicine (and driving a Porsche). "You will experience all kinds of highs and all kinds of lows in life. Very difficult times and some easy times. Your true success will be defined by how you handle both those times." 

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told the class that she didn't know what the future holds for any of them, but that each one of them will have the opportunity to mold their own futures. 

"Being salutatorian does not grant me any special insight or knowledge into what the next years will hold for us. The only things I can share with you today on this topic are my speculations and hopes and dreams for the future," Petkova said. "All of the graduates here will be going on to new and exciting things after today, whether they are going on to higher education, getting a job, or just figuring out what they want to do with their lives. All of us have bright futures ahead of us. We haven’t had a chance to screw them up yet, so let’s try our hardest not to."

Using an analogy of the four different houses at Hogwarts in the Harry Potter series of books, encouraged her fellow graduates to be hardworking and loyal in the future, the trait held by those who reside in the unpopular Hufflepuff house. 

"You shouldn’t be afraid to embrace the sometimes unpopular Hufflepuff traits," Peruccio told the graduates. "As I’ve learned from my high school experiences, hard work is admirable, and loyalty is extraordinary."