Congrats to local grads; celebrate responsibly

We drove them to Girl Scout meetings and to the emergency room for stitches after they cut an eye open at cheerleading practice. We helped them with their homework, made sure they had lunch money, proofread their reports — whether they wanted us to or not — and urged them on toward their dreams every step of the way.

Now they are moving on — some from pre-school, some from eighth grade and others from high school, college and university. Combined, there are thousands of Valley residents graduating this month. Just from Mat-Su Borough School District, there are 1,300 graduating seniors. Another 200 or so graduate from UAA today and another 130 or so will graduate from Mat-Su College next Friday.

University of Alaska Anchorage 2011 Commencement Ceremony kicks off today at 3 p.m., at the George M. Sullivan Arena in Anchorage. And if you don’t want to make the drive and negotiate parking, the ceremony will be broadcast live on GCI Channel 1.

Next up is Mat-Su College’s graduation at 7:30 p.m., Friday at the Mat-Su Career and Technical High School.

For Mat-Su Borough School District seniors, May 12 is their final day of classes before a dozen graduation ceremonies stretching from May 16 to May 23.

Here are the times, dates and places for those graduations:

• American Charter Academy at 6 p.m., May 16 at Wasilla Bible Church.

• Colony High, 7 p.m., May 17, Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center.

• Houston High, 7 p.m., May 18, Menard center.

• Palmer High, 7 p.m., May 18, Palmer High School.

• Su Valley High, 7 p.m., May 19, Su Valley High.

• Twindly Bridge Charter, 7 p.m., May 19, Wasilla High theatre.

• Wasilla High, 7 p.m., May 19, Menard center.

• Glacier View, 7 p.m., May 20, Glacier View.

• Mat Su Career and Tech High, 7 p.m., May 20, Mat Su Career and Technical High.

• Valley Pathways, 7 p.m., May 20, Menard center.

• Burchell High, 7 p.m., May 23, Menard center.

• Mat Su Central, 7 p.m., May 23, Mat Su Career and Technical High.

We congratulate all of the Valley’s graduates for their years of hard work and sacrifice. And we thank their parents, teachers and other adults in their lives who have helped them set and reach their goals.

However, there is a second — and sometimes more anticipated — component to this annual graduation season: the after party.

This is a special occasion. It is a time to celebrate accomplishments. And thus, we see nothing wrong with marking it with a toast. But we do worry about the potential for excess.

Already, one local family will mark this commencement season with sadness, tears and mourning as their beloved son Eric J. Zehnder graduates from UAA posthumously with a bachelor’s degree in economics.

We empathize with this family’s loss and pray Valley adults and teenagers will work together to be sure the only tears shed this commencement season are tears of joy.