Graduation surprises

Another round of high school graduates has taken flight. Good night, and good luck. This isn't exactly the same environment I was lucky enough to graduate into in 1993.

Graduation ceremonies are, for the most part, exactly the same in many ways. The kids are happy, the parents are happy, and it’s usually hot and humid. I’m pretty sure the two hottest, and most humid days last year were the two graduations I covered as a freelancer. This year, while not as hot, was just as humid, but I was saved by having all of them either indoors, or under a pavilion.

Nevertheless, the interesting parts of the graduations ceremonies have always been the wide discrepancy of the featured speakers. I saw a former congressman, a former student (and recent valedictorian of the Coast Guard Academy), and a staffer from VA Gov. Kaine’s office.

The speeches were brief and long-winded, funny and serious. And generally spoke mostly about personal responsibility. Of them all, there was a particular speaker who impressed me. Josh Tetrick, a lawyer who specializes in bringing clean energy to impoverished countries spoke repeatedly to the Stonewall Jackson graduates about giving back. Particularly emphasizing that goodwill is not only the right thing to do, but can also be profitable.

In his speech he mentioned a quick anecdote about Thomas Edison, where a student once asked him why he invented the light bulb. Edison’s response: “I find out what the world needs, and proceed to invent”. Here's a link to an article he wrote in UNC's university paper.

What made the rest of his speech interesting was not just his delivery (which was spot on), but that Tetrick did not talk about the opportunity to create better iPods, or neater gadgets to occupy our time. He proceeded to cite startling statistics about the world’s need for potable water or arable land. He made references to malaria, HIV/AIDS and TB’s grip on the impoverished.

He wasn’t calling for better and “cooler” technology. He was calling on the graduates to save the world. The dot-com boomed and busted. Real estate topped off, then bottomed out. There are real issues to solve out there and with a little ingenuity, real solutions.

And I started to think about my own role in all of this. I always viewed the profession of photojournalism with a benevolent eye. I’ve always felt the best photographer is an aware and concerned photographer.

So I thought about the ways I could possibly turn my talent to help someone else. And I can’t say that I have answers, other than the obvious idea of shooting for non-profits. But I’m thinking. When I attend these assignments that, on the surface, can appear to be the same event you’ve always shot, something unexpected can happen. Even the umpteenth graduation ceremony can provide a pleasant surprise.