Graduation is a memory jogger. I don’t know how many of these ceremonies I have attended: those of my own, my children, my grandchildren and at least 19 in which I marched as a university faculty member.

Sitting in the Martin Luther King Jr. Arena in Savannah, Georgia, I had plenty of time to remember. Each ceremony had been special as I watched family members and students march proudly across the stage to receive their well-earned diplomas. Daniel, the one who graduated this year and Warren, who just finished his freshman year in college and now sat beside me, are my youngest grandchildren. Although they represent a generation in which a college education is expected, as I watched and heard people in the multi-cultural audience I knew that this was a new experience for many of them.

The aftermath of the graduation was fascinating. Leaving the auditorium and congregating in the nearby park, the students were exuberant – the young women struggling in their high-heeled shoes (another memory jogger), the men loosening their ties, families smiling and aiming their cameras toward the graduates. It was a marvelous celebration! I heard shouts of “Hurray, it’s over!” and I wanted to say “No, baby, it’s just beginning. What do you think Commencement means?” And then I heard:

“I got a job in California!”
“I’m headed for New York!”

Daniel took me to see the house in which he and his friends had lived and out on the porch to sit on the sofa where he went to play his guitar and sing. He pointed out the beautiful trees, the wonderful old houses, and I knew he would miss this captivating city. But he is ready to move on.

It was such a joy to be around these beautiful people. They are fresh, intelligent, full of hope and expecting great things to happen. World, be kind to them; we need them.