NASHUA – The Academy for Science and Design’s class of 2012 may have been small, but it allowed the four members to become a tight-knit group.

The school celebrated its graduating class – Alexander Bragdon, Robert “Bobby” Glossop, Kyle Haines and Alexander Putnam – on Friday in the Nashua Community College auditorium.

Before presenting the seniors with their diplomas, Director Jennifer Cava called the four seniors “pioneers.”

Fitting in with the theme of travel, at the end of her address, she left them with a quote by Mark Twain: “Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

And the teens plan to use this advice soon.

They will take Glossop’s family minivan on a cross-country road trip to San Francisco before they go their separate ways in the fall.

After the summer, they’ll go on to pursue careers in architecture, computer science and computer technology. During the trip, they hope to visit sites such as the Atlantic Aquarium, the Grand Canyon, Alcatraz and Niagara Falls.

“I figured, ‘Why not?’?” said Haines, who came up with the idea.

Putnam, who was enrolled at the academy for five years, said receiving his diploma from a charter school provided a unique learning experience.

“I’m really ecstatic,” he said. “It’s been a long time coming. I’ve been here since the eighth grade.”

The ceremony was special for the school, as this year’s class was the last to graduate from the Merrimack campus.

The school will move to Route 101A in Nashua this summer.

Other charter schools are reportedly in the works in Nashua, but this move establishes ASD as the first charter school in the city.

The move is meant to accommodate its growing student body and planned school expansions. The school currently serves 285 students from more than 30 districts in grades 6-12.

Charter schools offer students an alternative to the public education system. And although public charter schools have become increasingly popular, there are fewer than a dozen in New Hampshire.

The Academy for Science and Design was the first in the state to emphasize science, math and engineering.

Newsletter