This has been an opportunity one will not forget. Our students are richly a part of the pride of our community.
Recently I, along with others, were invited to interview a number of our high school graduating seniors at Gowanda Central. It was a great opportunity, superbly organized. The interviews, one on one, were compellingly dynamic conversations of highly positive human spontaneity!
What an impressive group of high school seniors we were privileged to interview. One cannot help but be impressed with the storehouse of human giftedness and individual talent possessed by these students. Indeed, a treasure trove of human potential. And, I am sure this is true in our other nearby high schools in the Western New York area. One cannot help but be moved with confidence; our future as a society and as a nation, is and will continue to be, in the best of hands!
Each interviewee exuded positive energy and creative aspiration. It was impressive to see these young men and women eager to enter the work force in a variety of fields, or move into higher education with a major in an array of impressive career options. Still, others plan to enter a branch of the U.S. military,or other non-combatant fields of service. Then too, a number of those interviewed are interested in furthering their family- and home-centered fields of desired interests. What an impressive and dedicated group of seniors ... oriented toward a work ethic, and moved by a spirit of initiative, service, and commitment. Truly, we are surrounded with a wholesome array of human entrepreneurial talent.
Truly, the students and their parents, the English 12 teachers, the guidance department, administrative personnel, and the entire staff at Gowanda Central ... elementary, middle,and high school .. are to be commended. This event is another example of the fulfillment of an enduring story, written for the annals of time, that further assures us that we are a society moving expeditiously forward with success in American Exceptionalism.
Truly, this is a special time of the year and the pride of every school is front and center on our community stage. Graduation is just around the corner for our area public and private schools in the counties of Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, and Erie.
Sincere congratulations to all honored graduates, you have made us distinctly proud! And recognition too, to the parents, relatives, and school personnel ... who contributed in so many ways to this significant accomplishment! Indeed, as the graduates march down the aisle with the dynamic strains of "Pomp and Circumstance," we are reassured with pride, that the splendor of the American Dream is profoundly a part of the "Circumstance" of this American scene!
Dr. Robert L. Heichberger is professor emeritus at the State University of New York at Fredonia and distinguished professor at Capella University in Minneapolis. All of the past columns can be viewed on www.fromourperspective.net/ Send comments to: Rheich@aol.com
