A hometown auditorium fills each year for a milestone that never gets old
June 2026
by Margo Oxendine, Contributing Columnist
It’s that time of year again: graduation season.
Do you remember your own graduation? I do, but only vaguely. As a retired reporter who still writes, I volunteer each year to cover graduation at our local high school.
For most of the year, the auditorium feels excessively large. Except for graduation. Then, every one of the more than 800 seats is filled with families and friends. The graduation class may be only about 40 students, but add in moms, dads, siblings, aunts, uncles and friends, and you’ve got a glut of a crowd.
No family member, it seems, is too small to be brought to graduation. I’ve seen babies still in receiving blankets brought into the auditorium. I’m not saying these infants are not a squirming distraction, although many of them are perfectly behaved. But some are scared by the big, noisy crowds and make their displeasure known.
They squawk and squeal, but no one is really bothered by it. It’s graduation!
Traditional graduation gowns being what they are, about the only opportunity for a graduate to show his or her individuality is in footwear.
And, I’ve seen it all: dusty, soil-caked work boots; ubiquitous sneakers; the highest of high heels, which sometimes make for a teetering gait; ballet flats in black or white; silver flip-flops.
Another decoration students display is on their caps. Some are very creative, some humorous, all worthy of smiling scrutiny.
And I must say, I really enjoy being in the audience. Never having had offspring of my own, this is my opportunity to take a part in a rite of passage. I love to sing the national anthem, recite the Pledge of Allegiance and clap appreciatively as each student goes up to grab a diploma that will end his or her time at Bath County High School.
It’s fun to listen to the salutatorian and valedictorian deliver their addresses. They are always respectful, sometimes funny and full of gratitude. The speeches make vague references to certain teachers, students and high school shenanigans that only fellow graduates will understand and probably giggle at.
Something I really like about our local graduation is that there is no special speaker. Don’t we all remember our graduation speakers? No, we do not.
About the only graduation speech I’ve enjoyed is one I read, supposedly delivered by famed writer Kurt Vonnegut Jr. — only I found out later that it was widely misattributed to him, and was actually written by Mary Schmich in a Chicago Tribune column. It began with one of my favorite quips: “Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they’ve faded.”
The speech closed with some of the most valuable advice anyone can receive: “Always wear sunscreen.” What more needs be said?
There’s always a mob scene in the auditorium atrium after the ceremony. It’s one of my favorite parts of the evening: clusters of friends and family gathered close, smiling big and, of course, even a little teary. I know this is where I will take my best pictures for the paper.
And, oh yeah, at the very end of the ceremony — just before the graduates leave the stage — when they spray the principal and classmates with silly string and toss those carefully decorated caps in the air.
It’s over. And it’s just beginning. Congratulations, Class of 2026!
To order a copy of Margo’s “A Party of One,” call 540-468-2147 Mon.-Wed., 9 a.m.-5 p.m., or email [email protected].
