Grads can keep us connected

To the Editor,

Notices in the Swarthmorean soliciting reflections from graduating high school seniors have made me look forward to the graduation issue. 

I was disappointed not to see an invitation to share future plans included among the suggested questions that graduates might address in their profiles.

I applaud the broadening of the graduation feature to affirm a wider range of graduates and their interests, and the opportunity to decline specifying plans for their immediate future is entirely appropriate.  

However, graduates who do choose to share what they will be doing next year provide an important connection for their neighbors to stay invested in the community and the generation transitioning out of district schools. The graduation issue keeps empty-nesters and retirees in touch with younger families in the community and invested in how successfully our schools are preparing young people for their next steps. Broadening the prompts presented to graduates for this special annual issue, much anticipated in many households, also broadens ways that older Swarthmoreans can stay engaged with the lives of their neighbors. 

Lauren Shohet 
Swarthmore