‘The rightthing to do’

This year’s graduation of the Western Nevada College and the Churchill County Adult Education Diploma Program has provided us into an insight of what awaits the most recent graduates. In less than 72 hours, high school seniors who receive their diplomas also face an uncertain mixed bag of opportunities waiting for them.

Needless to say, the adults in the room keep tinkering with the state of government and opportunities for graduates, thus making the process harder to achieve than what grads encountered a decade — if not a generation — ago.

WNC Art Professor Gil Martin revealed a story of how he dropped out of college near graduation time. The reason: He was not happy with his chosen field of study and wanted to pursue anther course of action in the arts. Through additional coursework in the arts and hard work on his own part, Martin finally succeeded in earning his diploma in an area of which he loved.

His story parallels the many tales that transform WNC folklore into fact, such as the working mother with three children trying to better herself in the nursing program, the commuting father who must learn more about the trades in which he is employed.

Likewise, Bus Scharmann, interim CCSD superintendent tied in his mother’s history in eventually achieving her adult education diploma almost 50 years after she had attended high school in California’s Central Valley. The connection of her story and the adversities faced by this year’s 19 students centers on one theme: “It’s the right thing to do.”

Now, within 72 hours one more graduation nears when hundreds of students from Churchill County High School ‘s Class of 2013 receive recognition for their achievement and then accept their diplomas at the ceremony’s end.

While many students burned the midnight oil and rolled up their sleeves to finish their projects and writing assignments or study for major exams, others struggled to complete those assignments or to retain pertinent information needed to pass a test.

These students also endured and stuck it out because it was the right thing to do.

Unfortunately, though, the world’s fragility does not lend itself to a healthy planet. Ills prevail, and this year’s graduation classes appear ready to right the “Mother Ship.” If there was a class or generation that could make a difference, it would be this year’s three local classes and their counterparts across the country from the Golden Gate to the craggy shores of Maine. To work hard to make this country great again carries a common theme that Scharmann kept extolling ... “Stick with it, it’s the right thing to do.”

Editorials written by the LVN Editorial Board appear on Wednesdays.