It is graduation season, and the air is filled with the aroma’s of diplomas!  From Grade School to Graduate School students everywhere and their families and friends are celebrating “Commencement.”  I have always marveled at how clever it is to honor the completion of school with a word that means “beginning.”  While we celebrate our kids’ graduation from all stages of their school careers, I think there is no more pure example of a true “commencement” than the graduation from college and the entry into the job market… from living as a student, to earning a living as a responsible adult.  Truly, a new beginning for the graduate, and their family.

Degrees Of Happiness

Yesterday my oldest son graduated from Johnson & Wales University and I could not be more proud of him.  Anyone who has ever worked in the restaurant, food service or hospitality industries knows how much hard work is involved and a BS from JWU is no BS, as the students are put through a rigorous academic and practical training program over four grueling years.  Proof of the proverbial pudding is JWU’s 97% job placement rate for graduates, and my Zach is already working at the popular Brio Tuscan Grill (please visit the next time you are in South Florida!)

A Family Affair

In addition to my own warm and fuzzy feelings, joining all the other parents and families at the Graduation Ceremony was a joy.  It is a wonderful feeling to look around a crowded venue and know that everyone present shares a common sense of pride and accomplishment. Seeing the smiles and tears, hearing the applause and cheers, knowing the many hard choices and sacrifices often made by both students and families to support a college education and seeing it all come together for such a happy conclusion is both humbling and inspiring. As Parents, we have no choice but to hand off our world to our children, and college graduation is arguably the commencement of that process.  Seeing all the smart, happy, hard working, accomplished young men and women proudly wearing their caps and gowns, clutching their diplomas like the treasured prize it is, and one that they have worked so hard to finally possess, I know we are placing our collective futures in wonderful and capable hands.

CONGRATULATIONS to ALL the graduates everywhere, and to their families and friends who have supported them throughout the school years!

As for me, I get to enjoy this once again in two weeks when my daughter graduates from High School!

Jeff Sass is the proud dad of ZEO (Zach, 21, Ethan, 19 and Olivia, 18).  He is also a seasoned entertainment and technology exec and active social media enthusiast.  You can see more of Jeff’s writing at Sassholes! and Social Networking Rehab and you can listen to Jeff on the Cast of Dads podcast.