Why We Do What We Do
This past Saturday as I was driving to a special meeting at EMU (which I will discuss later), I was struck by how many teenagers I saw volunteering in the Harrisonburg community. I am not even sure if they were all Harrisonburg students but that doesn’t really matter. I saw many teenagers wearing brightly-colored vests picking up litter along the roads and cleaning up the trash that has taken residence on some of our undeveloped commercial space. As one who loves to walk around our great city, I find it shameful how much garbage is scattered throughout the city. In addition, on three separate occasions I saw students leading car washes to help fund either a school activity or a nonprofit event. The young people I saw during my three-mile drive are exceptional examples of the positive energy that youth can bring to a community. Educators know that the vast majority of teenagers do the right thing every day and contribute greatly to our community. I am sure there are many examples among all the schools that highlight the way our youth contribute to making the Harrisonburg/Rockingham area a better place for all.
The highlight of my day and what gave me the greatest satisfaction about the young people in our community is what I saw at EMU. College students traveled from the University of Richmond to talk to our middle and high school students about the importance of attending college. These were not just any students. These were Latino college students talking to our Latino students about never giving up on their dreams and not allowing barriers to prevent them from pursuing the careers and interests they may have. Many, if not all, of the college students at the meeting were first-generation college students in their family and that was also true for the middle and high school students who were in attendance. This was another great example, on a beautiful Saturday morning, of young people getting together to make a positive difference for themselves and their community. I do want to thank Sandy Mercer who is leading the Scholarship Latino Initiative in our community; I am confident that, with her energy and passion, we will be as successful as other communities. I also want to thank all of the adults who took the time on a sunny Saturday to support our students. I guess as adults we see such great possibilities for our young people and that is “Why We Do What We Do.”
You can reach the Superintendent at skizner@harrisonburg.k12.va.us or 540-434-9916.