DURHAM — With exhortations to be like the school's mascot, the maverick, and to be slow and deliberate about making a choice of life's work, 50 students graduated Friday from Durham Technical Community College's Middle College High School.

Senior Justin Clark, vice president of the student council, urged his fellow graduates not to be just another face in the crowd. "I challenge us to follow the example of our mascot the maverick and blaze a new trail," Clark said to graduates and their families in a ceremony in Weaver Auditorium at Durham School of the Arts.

Ashley Anderson, the other senior speaker, spoke on "Being a Maverick." Part of being a maverick, she said, is being passionate and committed to what you choose to do in life. As a student at Middle College High School, Anderson said she developed an interest in working with special-needs children.

"As a graduating class, it is up to us to make changes for the future," Anderson said. "I've learned so much about myself and others. ... Everyone has done a great job, and you should cherish your position."

Middle College High School, a program of Durham Technical Community College and several public school systems, allows juniors and seniors to earn college credits for courses. Students attend a campus at Durham Tech. They may take Durham Tech courses as electives. Others who are already advanced in basic high school courses may take higher level courses at Durham Tech. The program puts students through a rigorous course of study.

Of the 2009 graduating class, 16 students earned either National Honor Society awards, North Carolina Scholars awards, or both.

The program began when Phail Wynn, now vice president of Durham and Regional Affairs at Duke University, was president of Durham Tech.

Wynn spoke to the graduates and gave them some advice on "Designing Your Future." Above all, he told those graduates who were not yet certain about a career path not to worry.

"It is alright to be slow and deliberate in this process," Wynn said. "Don't be afraid to reconsider your career choice decision in light of new information that may come to you."

He told the graduates that they all have untapped potential, and urged them to commit themselves to lifelong learning.

"You will not begin to understand the beauty and power of your youth, until they begin to fade," he said.

Charles Nolan, the principal of Middle College High School, presided over Friday's ceremony. Members of the Hillside High School JROTC did the posting and retiring of the colors, the ceremony in which the station and national flags are placed on the stage.