There’s plenty of discouraging news about young people today. But while the negative always seems to grab the attention, there’s also plenty of good news around. And, this time of year, you don’t have to look far for an example.

Just spend an hour or two at a high school graduation, and we defy you to walk away feeling anything other than immense pride and hope for the future.

It doesn’t come as much of a surprise to us here at the Gazette-Journal. We’ve been fortunate to have followed these young men and women as they worked their way through their school years.

For instance, there are the hundreds of community service projects that are carried out in Gloucester each year as a condition of graduation. Then there are the homeschool teams reaching great heights in robotics competition; seniors in both counties signing scholarships to continue their education while taking part in college athletics; and full academic scholarships offered to a handful ...