SACO — U.S. Sen. Angus King told Thornton Academy graduating seniors not to be afraid to make mistakes.

King addressed the 391 graduates – the biggest class in the school’s history – Sunday afternoon at Linnell Gymnasium, where graduation was held due to rainy weather. King later went on stage again to shake every graduating senior’s hand after they received their diploma.

King told the students to take more risks.

“Reach further than you think you can, take that extra step,” he said. “If you’re not making mistakes, that means you’re not trying hard enough.”

The independent senator told students he didn’t want them to look back at their lives later and regret not trying something.

King told students to treat every job as the most important and do the best they can. He told students they were building a resume with every job. He described how his son, a week after graduating high school, went to work for Michael Dukakis’ campaign office and distinguished himself by making copies, coming in early, staying late, and doing whatever he was asked. Upon graduating from college, he received a call from someone in President Bill Clinton’s office who had worked with him four years earlier, landing him a job in the White House. Two years later, he became the personal assistant to the president’s chief of staff.

“All because he was a great Xeroxer,” said King.

King also told students to always carry an extra $20 because they’ll never know when they might need it, and to never type something in cyberspace that they wouldn’t want their grandmother to read on the front page of a newspaper.

Valedictorian Taylor Lamarre said that while genetically, everyone is 99.5 percent alike, everyone has their unique qualities. She told the rest of the graduating class to use their unique qualities to make positive change.

Class Speaker Abby Runnells told fellow graduates to always take time to celebrate their victories and to remember the ones they have shared together that have helped shape their lives and make them the people they are.

History teacher and faculty speaker Eric Marston told students that changing the world was not all about eliminating diseases and discovering ways to combat climate change, but also about smaller scale acts like those of his mother, who was a role model as a teacher and a children’s choir director. He told students to focus their energy on being the best they can be every day.

Marston told students to find their passion and to work in a career they love, as work takes up so much of everyone’s lives. “Do not settle. Keep searching for what it is that drives you,” he said.

Marston talked about his wife Nancy’s battle against breast cancer and how her persistence led her to become a stronger person.

“Facing adversity like cancer is very humbling,” he said. “It forces you to reprioritize and to appreciate what is truly important in life.”

Marston talked about his wife’s optimism and how it has inspired others. “Her positivity is a lifestyle. She chooses to be happy regardless of the circumstances,” he said .

He likened her to a solar-powered dancing flower. “Except her happy dance never stops. The sun is always shining on her,” he said. “Confront your challenges with a positive attitude and keep right on dancing.”

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 325 or [email protected].