Families and friends straggled into Lehigh University's Packer Memorial Chapel at the last minute June 17, passing rows of faculty and students waiting patiently outside the front door. As they finally streamed in, the huge sanctuary thrummed with the warm strains of an orchestral arrangement of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'."

One hundred-six seniors from the Lehigh Valley Charter HS for the Arts were, as usual, the center of attention. But this time they weren't performing, they were graduating.

"You're going to hear a lot of advice today," said Principal Sharon Fehlinger-Ricker, but some lessons are indelibly linked with the Charter Arts school. "The value of an arts education is invaluable. Arts are not expendable. Our differences are to be embraced and nurtured. Everyone fails from time to time. And Change is inevitable."

Fehlinger-Ricker said small, self-contained schools typically have a hard time growing and prospering, but in its 10th year, the student's regional and even national accomplishments and accolades speak for themselves. "Our students proved that not only can they grow, but they can thrive."

Charter Arts president Diane LaBelle said she was proud to announce that for the second year the school graduated its entire class. She lauded the students' courage, persistence and generosity, and said their amazing creativity is based on a tremendous discipline to work and practice endlessly.

LaBelle said with their graduation, she's forced to examine what she's learned from them. "Thank you for being my teachers, and congratulations."

Student speaker Matthew Bailey stressed the camaraderie of his class in finding and thriving in their home away from home.

"I knew I was different," Bailey said of life before Charter Arts, "Other kids, well, they played sports." Asking for a show of hands, he showed the audience he was hardly alone among his classmates, and while alone they were adrift, together they've become something much more. "We have a family that will stay with us forever."

Speaker Tristan Shuler said they've learned the strength of their voices, and that they must use them to overcome adversity and setbacks. "We are stronger than we know," Shuler said explaining Walt Disney, Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey all failed before hauling themselves into massive success, he encouraged his classmates to make each failure a source of strength.

Failures are a dare and a challenge, Shuler said, and, "It's me and you saying 'challenge accepted.'"