Steve Ray: Diploma means more when you’ve had to wait so long to get it

This is a time of graduation, when high schools and colleges are passing out diplomas and young people are “ending to begin again” a new time in their lives. And there is a not-so-visible class of graduates whose ceremony is just as important. This is the class of “Come Back Kids” who earned their high school diplomas this month at the Stanislaus County Institute of Learning in Ceres. A class of about 70 adults returned to their education after having dropped out when they were younger (for many reasons). But they came back, older, wiser and determined to work hard for their degree and qualify for a better chance of success in life.

There were families of diverse cultures and religions, graduates whose children cheered their parents success, caps and gowns, balloons, the playing of “Pomp and Circumstance,” a heartfelt speech from an eloquent graduate and the county superintendent’s congratulations, too. When it was all done, the tassels moved from right to left. As Langston Hughes said, “I, too, sing America.” Congratulations to the Class of 2017’s “Come Back Kids.”

This story was originally published June 6, 2017 at 5:44 PM with the headline "Steve Ray: Diploma means more when you’ve had to wait so long to get it."