May 28, 1968

     For many of the graduating seniors, this was a time of  new beginnings.  The baby boomers of the class of 1968 were off and running.  Some were preparing to travel to colleges hundreds of mile from home; others were drafted and others volunteered to serve in the armed services; others were moving away for employment opportunities offered by far away places and yet others would remain in Roanoke and start their lives.   For those who were leaving, their comfort zone or security blanket which had served them for the last seventeen or eighteen years would be forever lost.  They would search to find an another to replace what had served as their security token.

      All in all, each of the students took the part of the Lucy Addison experience which inspired them to seek new opportunities and challenges with them.  The desire to succeed  was rooted in the center of their hearts and had found a permanent place in their psyche.  It did not matter whether you left the area or stayed in the area because we were all on the inevitable trip through life.  We were a generation of workers who were willing to sacrifice to move our personal agendas forward.  We prioritized and shifted our expectations as life dictated and sought the tools which would assist in obtaining our share of the American Dream.  We magically transformed our mere existence to accommodate the demands of life.  Our mentors taught us to work hard to achieve the successes that life offered and we did!