High school students throughout the southeast area are preparing for graduation ceremonies, and are looking ahead to the opportunities that are in front of them on the paths of their lives.
This week, the students of the Weyburn Comprehensive School will hold their Grand March and accept their scrolls, and will afterwards celebrate with friends and family as their journey of education has in a sense reached a major milestone: the divide between childhood and adulthood, between playtime and learning, and responsibility and achievement.
This is a milestone worth celebrating, as it ends the first stage of a person's educational journey - but then the serious part of one's life begins, as each person determines what direction their life is going to take, and what post-secondary education is appropriate for one's career choice.
There are those who will take a year or so to figure out what they want to do, and this is a smart way to handle it rather than jumping right when one doesn't really know what they want to do. Many will enrol in a college, training or vocational school or university, depending what their interests are, or where their talents lie, and what goals they have for their lives.
Often the thoughts of young people as they look to further their careers go beyond just attending college or university elsewhere, but also to permanently leaving the city they grew up in to live and work elsewhere.
As Weyburn's economy grows and expands, however, they need to consider that possibly their best opportunities are right here; the local community can only benefit by having the youth, enthusiasm and brains of our young people staying in the community to achieve their life milestones and raise their families, helping the area to continue its growth in a natural way.
Many times employers and owners of companies in all sectors have to look elsewhere for suitable people to work for them, people who are knowledgable about the local area and local economy, and who can bring a great deal of benefit with fresh blood, new ideas and enthusiasm as the young people seek to make their lives here, their homes in the area, and to raise a family. They can take ownership in different ways as they consider their options, and sometimes the same opportunities one has to find by living in a large urban centre with its crime and congestion can be had right here at home - something to consider.
