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We believe the children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way.
Yep, we went there. But a classic line is a classic line, and the famous opening words from “The Greatest Love of All,” written by Michael Masser and Linda Creed and immortalized by Whitney Houston, will always ring true.
They certainly rang true on Tuesday during Junior Achievement’s Inspire Live event at Mohegan Sun Convention Center.
As seen in a story on today’s front page, the convention center was filled with informative, interactive booths from more than 60 local businesses that represented a wide range of career clusters, from education to culinary management.
Students turned out in droves, with an estimated 2,000 expected.
Junior Achievement of NEPA President Susan Magnotta said what we were thinking: “I have hope for the future of our region because these kids are amazing.”
Magnotta noted how no one was distracted by their phones. Instead, the students were focused on making genuine connections with each other and getting the most out of the experience.
And that is exactly what the event was all about.
Generation after generation we hear the same tired old tropes about “these kids today.” Sure, there are always going to be some differences across the years, and life poses a learning curve for all — work culture included.
But we owe it to those who come after us to prepare them as well as we can for the challenges of life and work, and to carry the mantle of leadership in society. Grousing about how things have always been done, or about “how no one wants to work anymore” simply aren’t helpful.
Events like Tuesday’s gathering are a perfect example of a good way to engage and guide young people as they move from school into higher education or the workforce, or both.
The event gave high school juniors and seniors, across 13 school districts, the opportunity to connect with local businesses and explore future careers available in the area.
That’s helpful for everyone concerned, including those who may be reading this but no longer in the workforce themselves.
We need a strong local workforce to help support the region, including its tax base. The more working people we have paying taxes here, the more money there is to fund schools and infrastructure, helping reduce the burden for those already paying into the system.
And as we have frequently discussed in this space, we need to give young adults more reasons to stay in our region after graduation. The brain drain may not be fair, but it is very real. There’s probably not a family in the greater Wyoming Valley who hasn’t seen some of their best and brightest lured away by opportunities elsewhere.
What Tuesday’s event helped underscore is that there are jobs here — good jobs, in a diverse range of fields, which offer fulfilling work and family-sustaining wages — and the employers behind those jobs very much want to hire local talent.
As the story by reporter Margaret Roarty notes, Geisinger showed students how to suture by stitching up the peels of bananas, while the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport had an actual flight simulator.
We saw students eagerly asking questions and participating in demonstrations ranging from flying airplanes to working in the media, to scoping the ground for underground hazards as part of utility work.
So, a hearty congratulations to the folks at Junior Achievement of NEPA, to the participating businesses, and to the schools who brought their students. We need more events like this.
To the students and their families: We wish you the best, and hope that you see this truly remains a great place to live and work.
— Times Leader