In 2006, the editor of the Voice section asked if I’d like to interview a future high school graduate.
“It’s for the grad tab,” he said. “You just interview the kid and keep it short. If you like it, I’ll have you do a couple more.”
Even though I’m a lifelong subscriber to The Spokesman-Review, I had no idea what the grad tab was. Maybe it was a new annual feature. Maybe I just ignored it because my kids were fairly young, but as a fledgling freelancer, I needed the work, so I agreed.
I interviewed Tim, a Ferris student who was earning his pilot’s wings. Tyrel, a Liberty High School footballer, who taught vacation Bible school and volunteered at the Spangle food bank. And Samson, a Mead student who used a wheelchair for six years, underwent a risky brain surgery and was able to walk down the aisle when he was crowned homecoming king.
The stories hooked me, and I’ve been writing them ever since.
My four kids grew to dread my seasonal graduation grumpiness. The extra work didn’t make me grouchy, but writing about students who overcame debilitating loss, physical impairments, mental health issues and trauma led me to compare them to my healthy, well-loved sons.
Not fair, I know, but certainly understandable.
After all, they’d heard me interview teens on the phone and watched the tears roll down my cheeks as I spoke with kids whose mom or dad had died and wouldn’t be there to snap a photo of their cap and gown-clad grad.
They’d watched me lace up my shoes and head out to walk off the rage that I felt after hearing about the abuse inflicted on boys and girls by adults who were supposed to care for them.
Of course, not every student profile is about young people overcoming hardship. Some teens are bright, high achievers, looking toward their futures with purpose; those stories are equally relevant and inspiring.
They also inspired me to check my kids’ grades online, which none of them appreciated. Let’s just say we all breathed a sigh of relief once all four of them successfully graduated.
This year’s graduation section runs on June 3, and I hope you’ll take the time to read about the wonderful teens poised to vault into their futures.
Of the 10 students I interviewed, two dealt with dyslexia, two have cerebral palsy, one is visually impaired, one has a connective tissue disorder, one lost a sibling to addiction, and one has a sibling with ongoing mental health issues.
All shared a singular commonality – each one looks to the future with excitement and optimism.
Conducting these interviews made me feel nostalgic and curious about what happened to the three young men I profiled in 2006.
They’re now in their late 30s, which made me feel ancient. I did a little internet digging and am happy to share the rest of their stories.
Tim did indeed become a commercial airline pilot. Tyrel pursued his dream job and is a project engineer at a local construction company. Homecoming King Samson was a Fulbright Scholar, a graduate of UC Berkley School of Law and served as editor-in-chief of the California Law Review.
Over the years, I’ve written anywhere from three to 12 grad profiles each issue, resulting in close to 200 features. I’ve found a double-stranded thread that weaves through every story.
One strand is the incredible resilience of these teens, and the other is that an adult, whether family member, teacher, coach or counselor, saw value in them.
Twenty years after writing my first student feature, these stories still leave me humbled and hopeful.
The kids are all right – and so, we will be, too.
Cindy Hval 