Success measured in graduates
John Heim
Saturday, February 10, 2007
“If your success is not on your own terms, if it looks good to the world but does not feel good in your heart, it is not success at all.”
— Anna Quindlen
ALL PARENTS want their children to be successful and achieve to their fullest potential. Many families of seniors are busy this time of year with college applications, campus visits and scholarship applications. Parents of returning high school students hope to steer their children’s pre-enrollment choices to improve their chances for success after high school.
Over the years, our parents and educators have done a good job in this arena because Emporia has no shortage of successful graduates. The Emporia High School Hall of Fame currently honors 14 alumni who excelled as business and civic leaders, as well as some who made personal sacrifices for the good of others. Many other graduates are worthy of Hall of Fame induction.
I also can scan through the EHS alumni directory and read page after page of graduates who have careers as medical professionals, attorneys, engineers, business managers, computer technicians, educators, financial professionals, ranchers, electricians, ministers, soldiers, receptionists, homemakers, machinists, mechanics and public servants. The list of honorable and rewarding careers among our graduates is impressive.
The school district’s Annual Report to the Community, to be published later this month, will feature a few of the graduates who have turned their education into successful, rewarding careers. Our report also highlights graduates who have returned to Emporia classrooms as teachers in hopes of inspiring other young people to do their best. Finally, the report showcases a group of long-time support staff members who work behind the scenes to keep our district operating smoothly. Many of these individuals also are graduates of the Emporia schools and they have made a career of helping students be successful.
We often judge “success” on the basis of grades, athletic achievements, honors and awards, income and lifestyle. The dictionary defines success as, “Turning out well; having the intended result; attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence; or with a record of significant achievements.”
Yet, as I reflect on the stories of Concha Diken, Yvette Sosa and Janice Perez featured in our Annual Report, I sense a different reward in their careers. Each was inspired to continue their education by local teachers and other educators who took a personal interest in their futures. Each of these women took advantage of our hometown university to obtain degrees in social service professions. Now they are inspiring others to pursue their education and find rewarding careers. In their eyes and as writer Anna Quindlen eloquently writes, success isn’t always about the big bucks; success must feel good in the heart.
Two other graduates featured in the report, Tyler and Stephanie Bosiljevac, left Emporia for the city, only to return to their hometown to teach. They are rewarded daily with the opportunity to shape the lives of young men and women from all walks of life and with a range of academic abilities. Other veteran teachers — Shelley Wise, Amber Schroetlin and Michele Wells — have made a career teaching children with special challenges, such as learning a new language or coping with physical disabilities. Graduate Jason Smith, a network engineer, left Emporia after graduation on his way to becoming a pilot. That dream was a little out of reach, but his interest in computers landed him a job that is shaping the aviation industry.
Each of these graduates has a unique story, but all share something in common: they have achieved success by any definition. They have used their education to find a rewarding place in life that feels good in the heart. And, for those of us who make education a career, that is the best reward.