For the next several weeks, millions of high school seniors across the country will receive their diplomas and step into their uncertain future.

I certainly remember my 1969 graduation from Niles Senior High School when 419 Niles seniors received their diplomas. Most of us are now 65 and instead of stepping into the future, we can be found looking for our keys and trying to remember passwords.

Today’s graduating seniors have as many challenges ahead of them as we did back in 1969.

In 1969, the male students feared the Selective Service System — “The Draft” — and the prospects of fighting in the Vietnam War.

Today’s students fear amassing huge student loan debt in an economy that is short on creating good-paying jobs with benefits. Too many people with huge student loan debt are fighting to stay above water, even if they are making lots of money. Be sure you can find a field that will allow you to pay down your student debt.

Speaking from experience, there are a few things you need to think about over the next several months.

1. Pick a major or a field of study or a trade that will allow you to earn a decent living. The advice “find a job you love” is harder to follow then when I was in college, so be prepared to be flexible. Find a field you love is better advice.

After you have made that decision, find a path that connects your career path with your personal dreams path. This will be your greatest challenge. By paying attention to the world around you — and not a “reality” world or a YouTube world — you will pick up new ideas and future prospects, but you must look for them yourself to be successful.

2. Always look ahead and don’t dwell too much in the past, but still keep track of everyone you know now, and whom you meet in the future. Get their digits because you may need them in the future. Our technology makes this easy, and believe me you will be grateful that you got into the habit of keeping track of family, friends and acquaintances.

3. Expand your intellectual horizons. Read newspapers and magazines. Read books that challenge your thoughts and make you mad. Don’t just turn to material that reinforces your ideas. Ask questions of others whose way of thinking differs from your own, and find out why.

High school graduation is a major moment in everyone’s lives. A Niles High School graduation is even more special. Our teachers and schools have provided us with the tools and skills we needed to find our personal dreams path. They have done the same for today’s graduates. Now go build your dream path!

We are all grateful to a community that supports public education and the students it serves. And we cannot forget the parents and families. That is the support than counts most!

 

A native of Niles, Jack Strayer moved back home in 2009 after living and working in Washington DC since 1976.