Congratulations to this year’s graduates

I wanted to take time this week to extend my personal congratulations to all of the students in Mountain Home, Glenns Ferry and other local communities who represent the Class of 2025. Regardless of where you received your diploma, each of you reached a major milestone in your lives and have earned something no one can take away from you.

During a speech held July 12, 1880, former President James Garfield emphasized that “next in importance to freedom and justice is popular education, without which neither freedom nor justice can be permanently maintained.”

He makes a very important point, especially given how far mankind has progressed over the past 145 years. In the past 50 years alone, humanity made tremendous strides in medicine along with monumental advances in technology that has electronically connected the entire globe.

Also consider that we are no longer bound to the confines of the Earth. We conquered the mysteries of flight that allow us to span the globe in hours versus the months it took just to cross the Atlantic Ocean by ship.

In addition to reaching to the skies, mankind extended its reach to the Moon and the planets within our solar system while we peered into the farthest depths of the universe. Looking at today’s generation, I remain confident they will be the ones to unlock the mysteries of the universe we have yet to answer.

Locally, we will see society’s collective soul pass on to hundreds of today’s youth who were granted the keys to what the future has to offer. Some will go on to college or a technical school in hopes of becoming doctors, lawyers or scientists.

Other graduates will go straight into the world of business to gain invaluable experience that will lead them to greater avenues in years to come. A few more indicated to me their plans to enter the ranks of the U.S. armed forces to carry on a proud tradition of selfless service to their country.

Wherever fate takes them, this year’s graduates deserve to feel extremely proud of this accomplishment. Not everyone who starts school actually makes it to graduation day.

In short, our students beat the odds and persevered, despite the ever-increasing amount of education they need simply to graduate. It’s a daunting workload that previous generations never had to deal with when they were in school.

I sincerely hope that today’s graduates take a moment this week and reflect on what they achieved. It’s a significant accomplishment and something that no one can ever take away from them.

But after this week passes, the “real life” begins for these graduates when they join a world where there are few opportunities for second chances or time to correct mistakes. The protective, sheltered environment that school offered them is gone. A sometimes unforgiving world awaits them.

Some of these graduates will stumble and fall before picking themselves up and continuing on this journey. It’s nothing personal. It’s simply how life really happens.

Those of us who made the same academic journey will likely remember how we all looked forward to graduation day. From my perspective, it represented a chance to gain total independence – a chance to make and follow my own rules.

As I quickly found out, that perspective changes drastically when you realize those freedoms come with a lot of strings attached. These graduates will quickly learn that after this week, the amount of “fun” they experienced will get drastically cut back if they want to succeed.

From now on, they won’t have parents or teachers pushing them to work and study hard or to pick themselves up when they stumble and fall. It’s up to each of these graduates to motivate themselves to succeed and to learn from their own mistakes.

Is it scary? You bet! However, that diploma means they’ve received the basic tools they need to succeed on their own. How they use those tools will determine their chances of success.

To the students representing the Class of 2025, know that you are ready for these challenges. Congratulations, and good luck.

– Brian S. Orban