Restoring opportunity and hope

Some 56 years ago, during the early Spring of my senior year at Clinton High School, just weeks before my high school graduation, in late May 1968, I was anxiously awaiting a response from my college admissions application to North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro. Let me just say that my acceptance to N.C. A&T was one of the most important milestones in my early life, something that has impacted me every since.

At this point in my life, I felt a sense of hope and optimism with a desire to excel and achieve at the highest possible level due to the lessons I had learned in the home and from experiences at school. This was my opportunity to better myself through my own hard work and striving, something I did not want to squander. I was about to change the trajectory of my life and hopefully have an impact on making the world a better place.

With the current school year winding down, students in the 2024 senior classes throughout Sampson County have spent much time thinking about their options following high school graduation, making career and educational decisions, with some students transitioning from high school to work, others transitioning from school to college, and even some transitioning into the arm forces. And of course, there will be those who are undecided.

Even though our school systems’ goal is to prepare all students to be college or career ready, unfortunately, there will be far too many young who will experience great difficulty transitioning into adulthood for myriad reasons. Some will feel trapped in a cycle of despair, living in a place they can’t get seem to get out of, coming from an environment where too few people model success. Additionally, too many home environments do not promote positive reinforcement where young people can gain the confidence to know that they can rise in spite of their circumstances.

These are the students who were “allowed” to slip through the cracks year after year. And at this point, what should be society’s response to this dilemma, in helping everyone life up to his/her potential, while preparing young people for the future.

In finding solutions that work, it has to be a collaborative effort, involving all community stakeholders, including local government and business community. The challenges of the 21st century workplace make it imperative that we teach young people to feel empowered and help them acquire the skills they will need to become employed, meeting their career development needs. This will be an important first step in restoring opportunity and hope to our most vulnerable young people, bringing out the best in them.

Further, we will have to help our youth realize that learning is a lifelong process, a continuous means to enhance and improve one’s skills and knowledge. And having a willingness and desire to work is the key to personal success. Learning about the world of work must start early.