The applause in Brandywine Senior High School’s gymnasium had already been strong when the Class of 2019 walked onto the court to “Pomp and Circumstance.” It grew louder, longer and into a standing ovation, when senior Searra Inman, normally seated in a wheelchair, walked across the stage with a walker to receive her diploma.

Inman was one of about 60 Brandywine seniors that graduated inside the nearly full gym during Sunday’s commencement ceremony.

After the band’s rendition of “Whale Warriors” by Brian Balmages and the concert choir’s rendition of “Hold Fast to Dreams” by Langston Hughes and Susan Labarr, superintendent Karen Weimer gave the introduction at the stage’s podium. The Brandywine alumna began a thematic trend that other speakers during the hour commencement ceremony also talked about: recognizing supportive people.

“Remember, you did not get here alone,” Weimer said. “No one ever does. The people in your life — family, friends, teachers, school staff, coaches and more — are the greatest gifts you’ll ever receive. Be thankful to and for those who have helped you reach this day.”

Weimer also reminded the senior class that most people do not live life by the year or the month, but by the day. Focusing on how to live each day will make the days after better.

“How you live each day will mold and shape you into the person you will be the next day,” Weimer said. “I hope each day of your life’s journey is better than the day before, and you continue to meet your life goals in the direction you have chosen.”

Weimer was followed by Board of Education President Janis Exner, who gave remarks, and Digger Phelps, a former Notre Dame University basketball coach, ESPN commentator and Office of National Drug Control Policy staff member. He spoke on the power of networking and taking the lead when opportunities arose.

The Class of 2019 was represented on the podium by two senior speakers, salutatorian Emily Burge and valedictorian Brycen Duffield. Both took time to recognize and thank those who helped them and other members of their class through high school and personal struggles.

In fact, taking time to thank others was the core message of Burge’s speech. She shaped her speech around a quote from Fred Rogers, who is most well-known as the longtime host of the children’s Public Broadcasting Service program, “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.”

“I’d like to give you all an invisible gift,” she said, quoting Rogers. “A gift of a silent moment to think about those who have helped you become who you are today. … Wherever they are, if they’ve loved you, and encouraged you, and wanted what was best in life for you, they’re right inside yourself.”

After Burge allowed for a moment of silence for those who helped each Class of 2019 member, Burge then began to list some people and things that helped her.

Some were comedic, like Quizlet, an online studying program, for getting her through high school. She also thanked Stanley Hudson, a character from the comedy show, “The Office” for teaching her the best day is Pretzel Day.

Others were more personal, like her sister Grace for being her best friend, and chemistry teacher James Derucki, for always believing in her.

Most of all, she said, she wanted to thank her fellow graduates for the experiences she shared with them. Burge left her classmates with some final advice.

“I ask you, my classmates, to not forget to acknowledge the people that have helped mold the person that you have become, because life moves fast, and it is OK to slow down for a second and thank them,” she said.

Duffield also took time to thank those that supported him in his senior speech. He recognized his teachers Andrea Hauck, Derucki and Terry Borr; his mother and his sister; and his group of friends who he loves as if they were his “own brothers.”

The valedictorian centered his speech around another, Admiral William McRaven’s speech given to the University of Texas.

Duffield said McRaven told a story of a Navy Seal instructor who would perform uniform inspections. No matter how straight and clean the Seals’ uniforms were, the instructor would always find something wrong with it. He would punish them by making them go in the ocean, then roll in the sand until they each looked like a “sugar cookie.”

“The point of the drill was to not let you succeed — the instructors weren’t going to allow it,” Duffield said. “No matter how well you prepare or how well you perform, you still end up like a sugar cookie. It’s just the way life is sometimes.”

Despite the obstacles one faces in life, Duffield said, one has to get over being a “sugar cookie” and move forward.

“I challenge you all to set goals,” he said to his classmates. “Tune in and focus on them, and take steps every day to bring you closer to reaching them. I challenge you to break your goals and then to create even greater ones.”