As I near a milestone anniversary of my high school graduation, I am reminded of memories from my senior year. I remember my last day of school, saying goodbye to my favorite teachers and classmates I felt I would lose touch with after summer came and went. I remember the morning of my graduation laying out my dress and sharing breakfast with my family as they doted over the last eighteen years of my life and commenting on how those years came and went in the blink of an eye.

There is a lot I can look back on from my final year of high school. Some of my most memorable moments included spring break, prom, making plans to hang out with friends before we all parted ways, and graduation day. All of these milestone high school memories have a special place in my heart. As much as they continue to make me smile, laugh, and maybe cry a little, the most comforting feeling they gave me was closure. These were special steps that were designed to help me close this chapter of my life and move onto the next.

As the Director of Junior Civitan, the spring and summer months have become a time where I am able to reflect on the past year and rejoice with our Juniors as they excitedly prepare to attend International Convention and, for many, graduate from high school. However, this year is different. My intent here is not to minimize the impact this pandemic has had on families and individuals all of over the world, but to ask that we not forget the toll this will have on our Junior Civitans. For many, they have dedicated the last several years of their lives to Junior Civitan. They have devoted countless hours to organizing and implementing service projects all for the benefit of their communities. They have raised thousands of dollars to support life-changing research at the Civitan International Research Center. They have sacrificed to make the world a better place.

As many of us have used this time at home to reflect, take a moment to reach out to a Junior Civitan. Send a card or encouraging message congratulating them on graduating high school and thank them for all that they did in the name of Civitan. Donate to support their Dance-a-thon fundraising. Share some gesture, whether small or grand, to let them know you are proud to have them as part of our Civitan family. Give them a memory they can look back on and remember that they made the world a better place.