By Mike Finney

Memorial Day is a time to honor U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the armed forces.

It also marks the unofficial beginning of summer and leads into graduation season for high school seniors.

Over the next couple of weeks, diplomas will be handed out to graduates, mortarboard tassels will be switched from side to side, and students will embark on their futures.

Plus, many inspirational words will be spoken at the ceremonies, like those of TV journalist Tom Brokaw, who once told a class: “You are educated. Your certification is in your degree. You may think of it as the ticket to the good life. Let me ask you to think of an alternative. Think of it as your ticket to change the world.”

Then, there was this nugget, once shared by British author C.S. Lewis: “There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.”

Graduation dates for high schools in Kent and Sussex counties are as follows:
TUESDAY
Sussex Central High School, 7 p.m.
WEDNESDAY
Indian River High School, 7 p.m.
THURSDAY
Howard T. Ennis School, 1 p.m.
Positive Outcomes Charter School, 5:30 p.m.
First State Military Academy, 6 p.m.
Sussex Technical High School, 6 p.m.
Milford High School, 6:15 p.m.
Laurel High School, 7:30 p.m.
FRIDAY
Sussex Academy, 5 p.m.
Woodbridge High School, 6 p.m.
Lake Forest High School, 6 p.m.
Seaford High School, 6 p.m.
SATURDAY
Smyrna High School, 9 a.m.
Caesar Rodney High School, 9 a.m.
JUNE 6
Cape Henlopen High School, 6:30 p.m.
JUNE 8
Delmar High School, 7 p.m.
JUNE 9
Dover High School, 4 p.m.
Polytech High School, 7 p.m.

Staff writer Mike Finney can be reached at 302-741-8230 or mfinney@iniusa.org. Follow @MikeFinneyDSN on Twitter.