The best gift society can get..

“Oh boy, I’ll be here for several hours.”

I was dreading the thought of sitting in one place for several hours at my son’s high school graduation. I was excited about the occasion, but I knew it was going to be long and monotonous with nearly 2000 high school students having to receive their diploma, one by one.

They say everything in Texas is big. So is my son’s high school. It holds 8000 students. Their football stadium, Eagle Stadium, notable for its size with a capacity of 18,000 spectators, is the largest high school stadium in the country. Their marching band, The Allen Eagle Escadrille, is claimed to be the world’s largest with 800 members. When Eagle Escadrille performs their halftime show, the professional game shows look pale in comparison.

In line with the theme of big, the graduation ceremony was grand, too. Held in Eagle Stadium, the venue was meticulously prepared. As people were walking in, a large screen was displaying the name and picture of each student in alphabetical order. The ceremony started on time and after a few speeches students were being called on the stage to receive their high school diploma.

As I was waiting for my son’s turn my mind started wondering. Thinking back to my school days, I never heard of a graduation ceremony at a high school level. For us graduation was only associated with the completion of college, which I believe to still be true in many places.

I started questioning the whole extravaganza. This event is going to cost a lot and it is city residents like me who will foot the bill through our property taxes. I kept wondering, across the globe, millions of kids complete their high school. What’s the big deal about it?  Why spend resources on high school graduation ceremonies? Are we allocating resources wisely?

As the dilemma was swirling in my mind, I was getting bored. I decided to climb up to the mezzanine terrace, an open area where I could stand and stretch. Since the air was cooler up top, I decided to watch the rest of the ceremony from there.

Standing there, I noticed the front area of the terrace was reserved for people in wheelchairs and senior citizens. I saw many elderly people sitting there, which I figured to be grandparents. Some were in wheelchairs, and some even had oxygen support with them. It made me feel embarrassed for dreading the thought of sitting in one place for a few hours while these elderly grandparents were overcoming physical challenges to be a part of their grandkid’s life event.

Just then, a thought crossed my mind – my parents; what if they were alive and able to be here? The image of my parents sitting in the stands to be a part of my son’s graduation ceremony overpowered me. I could see their faces brimmed with joy, their eyes brightened with pride, and their smiles conveying a sense of fulfillment. I felt a sudden void. It struck me that some of the grandparents sitting in front of me might not live long enough to be a part of their grandkid’s next milestone. This thought forced me to reexamine questions I thought of earlier, regarding the purpose of high school graduations. 

Granted, it is important to recognize students for their hard work, build their confidence and inspire them for their next life journey.  Somehow, I felt there was more in the moment than I was witnessing. This led me to a different set of questions.

When and where would I ever see three family generations – from different races, religions, classes and creeds – coming together to create a lifelong memory? This is a yearly event; what will it look like when I aggregate these events over a span of decades?

These questions gave me a very different perspective. I realized this is a simple yet powerful idea. Recognizing milestones is good but doing it in a way to create societal involvement is very enriching. It is a great giveback to society. I was able to be a part of such an engagement thanks to – school leadership, staff and volunteers – who put great efforts to make this idea a reality. Their efforts, their giveback to society is a gift – especially to those grandparents. For them partaking in an event and watching their grandkid being recognized is a gratuitous fulfillment of their life. It’s priceless. It is the best gift they might ever receive.

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