Remember to call your parents.

That was the advice of Albert Lea Superintendent Dave Prescott, who retires from a career in education June 30 and celebrated one final graduation ceremony.

More than 200 graduates and one superintendent celebrated the “end of the beginning” at the commencement exercises in the Albert Lea High School gym Friday night.

Prescott said there is a lot excitement in moving on, and he said he hopes the support and lessons of the last 13 years have prepared the seniors for life after high school.

During his opening remarks, Prescott passed along advice to the seniors as they move on to college, the military or the workforce. The first was to learn how to learn. The second was to remain honest.

Third, Prescott told the students always remember to call their moms and dads.

“Call your mom regularly, and your dad, too,” Prescott told the students. “You’ll always be glad you did.”

Prescott was emotional as he recalled his father’s death when Prescott was 20 and away at college; he said his father didn’t see his son begin a career in education.

Prescott’s career in Albert Lea began as principal of Sibley Elementary School in 1986, and he became superintendent in 1995.

The audience acknowledged Prescott’s years of service with a standing ovation.

Prescott said it is not the end for him. He quoted Winston Churchill in saying it’s simply the “end of the beginning.” He said he will continue to serve the young people of Albert Lea in some capacity.

Prescott said this was a transitional period for him, just like it was for the 216 seniors graduating as the class of 2009. Of those students, 32 were in National Honor Society, 26 were in the top 10 percent and six valedictorians had a 4.0 grade-point average.

“Graduations should be about the graduates,” Prescott said after the ceremony. “So I’ve always kind of avoided personal remarks. I did make a few tonight. It’s a very emotional time for seniors, and I guess for me too because we’re both making a transition.”

Before the ceremony, teacher Joe Sczublewski pulled many students aside for pictures as he passed out programs before the ceremony. Many in the audience and even the school board members sitting on stage used those programs as fans in the hot gym.

“It’s great to see the kids reach their goal, and a whole new experience awaits them,” Sczublewski said.

“It’s definitely something that we’ve been working up to for a long time. It feels good to be here with our whole class for one final time,” student Michael Falk said before the ceremony.

School board member Linda Laurie addressed the graduates, and she recalled when her father was a school board member and presented her with a diploma. She said her father was in the audience to watch his granddaughter receive her diploma from her mother.

“Your future isn’t something that happens, it’s something you create,” Laurie said.

Michael Falk and Tara Helgeson were selected by the senior class to speak, and they recalled events dating back to kindergarten.

“We’ve made friends that will never be forgotten and memories that will be cherished throughout our life,” Falk said.

Falk recalled stapling his thumb in kindergarten at Lakeview Elementary School. He also remembered a friend that refused dry clothes and walked home in the cold after falling in the lake one winter.

Helgeson remembered staging a boycott at Hawthorne Elementary School to avoid eating vegetables.

The two talked about how the class came together for the first time at Brookside Middle School, and Helgeson spoke of the bond that formed there and built during high school.

Falk recalled many of the boys standing at the wall at early school dances because they were too timid to ask the girls to dance.

Helgeson mentioned the first pep fest the class of 2009 participated in as freshman. Most of the class didn’t know they were supposed to cheer “0-9” as the cheerleaders pointed to them, Helgeson said. The graduates made up for it by doing one final senior cheer at the end of Helgeson and Falk’s speech by chanting, “0-9, 0-9, 0-0-0-9”.

While Falk described the senior year as challenging, he also said it was very memorable.

“Everyone will make mistakes. It is how we respond to our mistakes that will really show our true character,” Falk said. “If you get knocked down, get right back up and dust yourself off.”

Falk and other seniors celebrated at the After Graduation Party at Brookside Education Center. Falk said he’d miss seeing friends and classmates, a sentiment echoed by many other seniors.

“Not seeing your friends and even the people you don’t like that much everyday is going to be a lot different,” Falk said before the ceremony. “It’s something that you miss.”

Allyssa Sorenson said she was excited to see how her classmates changed in years to come.

“Let’s show this world what we are capable of class of 2009. Step up and be all you can be,” Helgeson said.