RALEIGH — “Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty, we are free at last,” 2009 class president Secorya Williams said, quoting Martin Luther King Jr., as Knightdale High School confirmed diplomas on 341 seniors in Saturday afternoon’s graduation at the Raleigh Convention Center.

Student body president Zenab Keita described the ceremony as a cure for the illness many of the seniors had come down with over the course of the past school year — senioritis.

“We should be thankful of the times we’ve had here with each other and that we made it this far,” Keita said.

After Keita welcomed guests to the once-in-a-lifetime event, Wake County Board of Education member Lori Millberg offered some advice to the Class of 2009, noting the graduation marked a remarkable acheivement. She left the group with one simple tip for the future.

“If at first you don’t succeed, do it like your mother told you,” Millberg said.

Before the presentation of diplomas, Valedictorian Kayla Ann McCommons challenged her classmates as they turn to a new page in life. She spoke of the future, reminding her peers that it’s something they need to grab onto.

“The best is yet to come,” she said. “We all have a future. The questions remains what will you do with yours?”

McCommons concluded by reiterating to the graduates they should pursue their futures with all of their hearts. She challenged them to pursue their dreams and grab hold of the future.

After the turning of the tassels, dreams, to many, became reality. For others that reality hadn’t quite sunk in as the graduates poured out the back of the convention center and into the streets.

“I’m happy, but nostalgic right now,” Ever Martell said as he sifted through the mass of graduates and family members.

“Everything I did with my friends is right here. It’s over now, but a new chapter is coming up,” he said.