another graduation

[asakiyume]

The other day I went to a high school graduation, but today was graduation for the people in the special program I help out in. There's some overlap between the two graduations, but a lot of today's graduates were not at the high school graduation.

I was standing near the front to try to take some photos, and who should I find at my left elbow at one point but the young mayor of Holyoke! I blurted out, "You're one of my heroes," and then told him the story of the girl pointing him out with pride to her relative.

He spoke at this graduation, too, said he felt especially close to this program because of his own parents: his mom dropped out of high school because she was pregnant, and his father dropped out too. In her forties, his mother went back to school and got her GED, and then--even though she had never thought it would be possible--she went on to become a nurse.

Two former graduates spoke about what they were doing now (one is in a transition-to-college program and one is in college)--they said that whenever they have something they don't understand, they come back in to get help from the teachers here. Then several of the students spoke. One talked about how he thought he was going to have to drop out of the program because he couldn't find childcare for his son, but the staff wouldn't let him--they had him bring his son along. Another spoke about dropping out of school and then getting in trouble with the law and thinking he wouldn't be allowed back because he had an ankle bracelet police monitor device on, and being welcomed by the teachers. I saw the mayor wiping tears from his eyes.

And this time, I got pictures. I don't feel free to share them, but believe me: they are beautiful.

Comments

[amaebi]

Oh my, oh my, that's so moving.

I don't suppose you might be willing to post this on fb, in a shareable form?

[asakiyume]

Sure, okay!

[amaebi]

Thank you so much!

[sovay]

And this time, I got pictures. I don't feel free to share them, but believe me: they are beautiful.

Thank you for writing this up.

[asakiyume]

Thank you for reading--it's one of those things I felt just bursting to share.

[ivy]

Awww, congratulations to all the recent grads.

[asakiyume]

They surely felt all the love and support in the room that day!

[ckd]

Congratulations to them, and thank you both for working in this program and for sharing this. The small things add up, but more importantly things that are small in the societal perspective are huge in the individual perspective.

You and these teachers change lives for the better, all the time. I'm not Jewish (culturally or religiously) but the concept of tikkun olam is one that strongly resonates for me.

So much love.

[asakiyume]

I'm not Jewish either, but when I learned of tikkun olam, I thought yes. I'd never seen a more beautiful articulation of a mission.

[minoanmiss]

That sounds beautiful through and hrough. :)

[asakiyume]

It really was.

These were people who'd gone through hell and high water to get an education, and the family and teachers who'd supported them.

[gaudior]

That sounds beautiful. They have really good reason to be proud.

[asakiyume]

Amen!

[osprey_archer]

Oh, that does sound wonderful. The pictures must be gorgeous.

[asakiyume]

I'm going to make physical copies of the ones of my students. ♥

[petrichor_pirate]

That sounds so lovely. Thank you for sharing!

[asakiyume]

My pleasure--thank you for reading <3