Graduation projects come in many sizes and shapes– some students job shadow a professional and some perform community service.

For senior Alan Mendez, his graduation project took on a new twist.

He chose to compose and conduct a performance of music written to celebrate graduation.

According to Director Rachel Reinecke, Mendez worked on "Valedictory" for approximately a year. "Alan wanted to write a piece of music for his graduation project, but wanted to challenge himself to write something that could be performed by the combined band and chorus at this evening's concert," Reinecke said while introducing the piece at the spring concert at Salisbury High School May 14.

Mendez found inspiration in a poster that hung in Cheryl Criscuolo's biology classroom that read, "I will not merely survive, I will excel." It is these words that formed the backbone of the lyrics of the song and served as a starting point for the development of the music. He decided to write music that represented his time growing up.

When asked to describe the piece, Mendez said it is "meant to convey the reconciliation between the awe and wonder of childhood with the wearied reality of adolescence and young adulthood." He thought of all those things that helped define childhood: crayons and walking in lines and "now (that we are in high school) we're growing up and maturing into what we will be for the rest of our lives."

Mendez presented his graduation project in December 2012, however, the piece continued to be revised for optimal performance over the past few months.