Vivian Delgado: Native college graduates mark a rite of passage

Among the diverse nations of indigenous people you will find different periods and/or stages of life that signal the coming of age that marks adulthood. Naturally, many adolescents are intuitively ready to accept more adult responsibilities usually this stage is met with Indigenous intentions to remember values, practice good works, and integrate spirituality with even the most mundane day-to-day activities. Our young adults need to be skilled, efficient, energetic, earnest, and learned in whatever profession one has; to conscientiously protect one's income and family means of support; to have virtuous, trustworthy, and faithful friends and spiritual aspirations; to be content and to live within one's means. This rite of passage is very critical because young people bring with them the teachings, experiences and understanding of self that they learned as adolescents. They begin to see the different ways that others live and believe; and when instructed with strong, core values our young adults begin their own foundations with secure footings.

On May 8, BSU held its commencement ceremony for graduating students. For many of our students, this too represents a rite of passage; a time where growth and change is inevitable and where possibilities are endless. It is so humbling to see young adults destined to do life's work. I have witnessed some of my students who find wisdom in the most ordinary matters of everyday life. It is always a great moment to see when students not only demonstrate that they have listened but that they have also internalized what they learned.

In a western sense, many of our students will go on to marry and start families. thus the rites of passage continue and splinter off in many directions. With life's rites of passages, we become more centered, balanced, straightforward, calm, and clear; we learn to stand on our own, needing nothing to lean on. We learn to stand up for ourselves and loved ones, our beliefs, and stand behind our words and deeds. In cultures around the world, we human beings will find that we have more similarities than differences and that it is our core values that make us who we are.