We tip our graduation cap to college and high school graduates who have or soon will take that momentous walk during commencement exercises this graduation season. They have good reason to be looking forward.
Looking back, perhaps no graduating class in our lifetimes has lived through so much as this one has. Their formative years were shaped by a nation coming to terms with the War on Terror and the terror of school shootings. Today’s graduates lived through political, economic, technological and cultural tsunamis, the Great Recession, and had their academic and school social lives locked down by COVID. They’ve also grown up realizing the implications that climate change will have in their lifetimes.
Through it all, they persevered, certainly changed by momentous events, but no less determined to make their way in this world. And perhaps because of all they have lived through at an early age, many of this year’s graduates carry forward a profound commitment to making our world a better place.
Congratulations to the Class of 2022. You have been tested by more than just class work, and we’re especially proud — and hopeful for the future.
Hail Columbus’ 500 Festival royalty
We tip our tiara to Columbus’ Melissa Aceves, who was named 500 Festival Queen Scholar. She has reigned over the pomp and circumstance surrounding The Greatest Spectacle in Racing, tomorrow’s Indianapolis 500. Look for her in Victory Circle on Sunday along with the race winner, and she will continue to represent the festival at events throughout the year.
“My cheeks are swollen because I’ve been smiling so much,” Aceves told The Republic’s Jana Wiersema.
Aceves, a Columbus North graduate who this year earned a bachelor’s degree in public health with a concentration in community health from IUPUI, has much to smile about. She was chosen in this year’s 500 Festival Princess Program from among 33 Indiana collegians who excelled academically and contributed selflessly to make their communities better.
For Aceves, much of her volunteer work has been with Brooke’s Place, an Indianapolis nonprofit that provides grief support to people who have lost loved ones. She lost her father and a close friend within months.
“A key message I have learned … is that although being vulnerable is difficult, that is how we can connect and transform our pain into hope and love for our community,” she said.
That’s a winning spirit we can be proud of.
Day of Caring tackles worthy projects
We tip our hard hat to the 265 volunteers who worked to complete 12 projects on May 20 in the United Way of Bartholomew County’s 2022 Day of Caring.
Though COVID has reduced the number of volunteers on these service days that were inaugurated in 2015, the impact of these good works in our community remains significant.
This year, as The Republic’s Mark Webber reported, volunteers from Forvia (formerly Faurecia) built their ninth wheelchair ramp in four years, this time for a disabled woman living in a mobile home in Candlelight Village.
Elsewhere, volunteers from Cummins, Centra Credit Union, Toyota Material Handling and other corporate partners pitched in, as did individual volunteers. They spruced up inside and outside the Foundation for Youth, overhauled the San Souci thrift store and helped out on many other projects benefitting nonprofits and people in need in our community.
The Day of Caring helps directly, but it also highlights the many organizations in our community where volunteer help is needed and deeply appreciated. Any day can be a day of caring for those who answer the call.
