They laughed and joked and mugged for their phone cameras as they prepared to accept their high school diplomas and go their separate ways in the years ahead. Seven plan to go to different colleges and universities, and Early is headed to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. They said they plan to keep in touch and get together when they return home.

Tight bonds define Middletown, in school and outside its walls, several commencement speakers said.

Stephanie Letourneau, the class speaker, described her perspective on Middletown’s close-knit quality.

She entered the Middletown community as a freshman. She credited people with welcoming newcomers into their familiar circles.

“I did not go to middle school with everyone else,” she said. “Although no one knew me, I was welcomed by everyone.”

When illness took her out of school for an extended period early in her freshman year, her new friends did not forget her. Classmates and teachers sent cards to cheer her and offered her tutoring. They welcomed her back into the fold when she returned.

“Middletown continued to impress me,” she said. “I was amazed by these actions.”

In her subsequent high school years, she flourished in honor societies and in Future Business Leaders of America. She was named a Distinguished Young Woman of Frederick County.

She will carry the effects of Middletown with her through life, she said. The community’s actions encouraged her more than people might realize, and she urged her classmates to remember that taking action matters.

“Do not be afraid to take actions,” she said. “Any action can make a difference.”

“I challenge you to take action,” Letourneau said. “I challenge you to positively impact our world. I challenge you to do something remarkable.”

An affirming musical selection came from Bethany Elliott, a member of several honor societies who plans to study environmental biology and serve in the Peace Corps. She sang Avril Lavigne’s “Fly,” its words echoing Letourneau’s encouragement.

“It’s your time to fly,” Elliott sang. “There’s a light inside of all of us. ... It’s like a diamond; you just have to find it.”

Principal Lee Jeffrey expected as much from the Class of 2016, which she described as a group of independent thinkers.

“This class is high-performing,” Jeffrey said. “The Class of 2016 set itself apart early in high school. ... The Class of 2016 likes to do things differently. They have the courage to try new things and challenge themselves.”