Heritage Eagles soared into the real world May 16, but the real eagle had to stay grounded.

A man held a stately bald eagle that proudly spread its wings for the class of 2012, setting the tone for Heritage High School’s graduation ceremony.

Commencement speaker Bennett McIntosh said he and his classmates are some of the world’s first “digital natives.”

“Around the world, dictators are shaking in their designer combat boots because of what we can do with our cell-phone cameras,” he told his classmates, urging them to use their unlimited broadband to figure out what needs to be done in the world and then do it.

“But drink this cup of power responsibly,” he said. “It’s OK if you don’t cure cancer, as long as you’re not spreading it.”

Samantha Vidal recalled her first day at Heritage, feeling lost and awkward. Trying to find her way through the cavernous hallways, she tripped over a boy who said he was tying his shoe (though he was wearing flip-flops).

“Fear of the future prevented me from seeing what was right in front of me,” is the lesson she took away from that cautionary tale.

Principal Stacy Riendeau had such a tale of her own, about a boss who decided to find his own replacement by giving all of his employees seeds to plant. A year later, all but one brought back beautiful plants, trees and flowers for his review. The man with the empty pot had tended to his seed dutifully, yet nothing grew. The boss chose this man. Why? He had given them all bad seeds, and only one had the courage to admit failure.

“The beauty of life is that we never really know when or how we are being tested,” she told her graduates.

Littleton Public Schools Superintendent Scott Murphy congratulated them on having the highest achieving grades in the district, and urged them to put back into life as much as they gain from it.

“Some things aren’t for sale, and your reputation is one of them,” he said. “Protect it.”