ROME TOWNSHIP — Nichole Lynne Carper was weighed down under numerous cords and medals signifying her many accomplishments as a student of Fairland High School.

But her feelings of excitement, knowing she was ready to fly the dragon’s den and move on, made her regalia weightless.

Carper joined more than 100 of her classmates in taking their first step post-high school Friday in the Carl York Center at Fairland High School. Carper said she will miss those left behind or those moving in different directions, but she is excited to turn the page and start the next chapter of her life.

“It’s been a busy four years,” Carper said. “I’ve been involved in band, in choir and in many other organizations. Community service has also been a big part of my life here. It’s sad to think of moving on, but I’m excited too.”

Carper will be attending Capital University as a clarinet performance major. Her father is the band director at Fairland, so music has always been a part of who she is and she looks forward to furthering her knowledge at Capital.

While some graduates have known what their goals were for years, some figured it out a little later. Jesse McComas is planning on staying close to home to study to be an X-ray technician, but that was not his first choice of careers.

“I’ve played the guitar for about 11 years and studied mass media engineering at Collins,” McComas said. “But, then I realized that’s not really something good to get in around here because there aren’t a lot of jobs. There are always jobs in the medical field though, so I decided to do that.”

McComas said he’s nervous to be graduating, but is glad he can study to become an X-ray technician and still stay near his family and friends.