It’s grad season.
High school seniors across the North Okanagan, and B.C., are in the final days of their formative education before moving on to post secondary studies, perhaps travel or maybe the work world.
Okanagan College and UBC-Okanagan are holding grand ceremonies to bestow degrees and diplomas.
It’s a time of transition for students, as they emerge from the schools, teachers and friends they’ve known for so many years and step into new worlds, with new challenges, new demands.
It’s a time for them to reflect on what they’ve accomplished and to begin charting the path for the next phase of their lives.
The only thing certain is the uncertainty of what lies ahead.
Economies in North America and Europe are sputtering.
The booms in China and India have quieted.
Unemployment is up, wages are down, the social safety net is slowly unraveling as governments around the world can no longer sustain the cost of helping their citizens through tough times, or into retirement.
Some experts say we’re on the brink of a global recession.
But none of that will dull the gleaming smiles of those grads as they march up the aisle to receive their parchment, or diminish their pride of accomplishment.
After all, every generation of grads seems to have challenges to face, whether it’s the rising cost of education, changing technology, diminishing job markets, inflation, deflation, debt, sometimes even war.
Somehow, they persevere. Many thrive.
Most will become upstanding citizens, carving out their little corner of the world.
– New West NewsLeader
