Off the I-15

The last name has been called; the last diploma given, and the Desert Dispatch has written its last graduation story — until next year.

At the end of it all, we wrote about six different graduations and watched nearly 1,000 students walk across stages, take next steps in life and hug family members. We met people off to college, joining the military, sticking around in town and looking for any way to get out of Barstow.

But at the end of it all, after the six ceremonies, the diplomas and the hugs (I think Desert Dispatch staffers even got a few during the course of our coverage), we wrote about the class of 2008.

Graduation coverage is not easy. Chances are any good idea a reporter comes up with when assigned a graduation story is old news, played out and on the verge of becoming cliché. People have been graduating for centuries, and while that does not diminish the accomplishments of each individual graduate each year, it does make the desire for fresh graduation coverage more difficult to satisfy.

Before the first graduation this year, the staff at the Desert Dispatch talked about how to cover them. We considered writing in depth stories about the characters in each class, the hardships they will face stepping into a real world of $5 a gallon gas and a sinking economy, and the memories they will take with them. We considered not covering them at all or maybe just taking a photo and letting our readers write their own stories of graduation this year as they looked through the paper.

Finally we decided to cover the each class a whole. We focused on themes and tried to talk to as many members of the class as possible. We covered the speeches, a mainstay of graduation, but discarded the congratulations and thanks-yous in favor of advice and prospects for the future.

Yes, we missed some of the great individual stories from the pool of graduates, but I think we gained a good perspective. We learned that more Barstow High graduates are going onto college than usual. We learned the more Central High graduates graduated than usual. We learned that each Silver Valley graduate, whether from the high school or the alternative education programs, has got a unique story behind them and all you have to do is ask and be amazed. And we learned, from the Barstow adult graduation and the Barstow Community College graduation, that it is never too late.

So at the end of it all, I think we covered graduation for what it is: the accomplishments of nearly 1,000 people around Barstow.

Congratulations class of 2008 and best of luck.

Aaron Aupperlee | city editor

For a look back at photos from this year’s 2008 graduations, visit the Desert Dispatch’s graduation and prom gallery. Have a photo of your own, sign up and share it with the community.