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IT’S MY FAVORITE DAY OF THE WEEK. DAY. THE LAST HALF HOUR YOU SAW KEITH GOLDEN FROM CORNER ALABAMA THROW THE DART FOR US. AND IT LANDED IN GADSDEN AT THE PERFECT TIME. TONIGHT, GRADUATES AT GADSDEN STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE WILL WALK ACROSS THE STAGE WHILE KINDERGARTNERS ARE FINISHING THEIR VERY FIRST YEAR OF SCHOOL. SO MY PHOTOGRAPHER, ANDREW AND I, AS YOU SEE HERE, WE SET UP OUR OWN STAGE AND ASKED BOTH GROUPS SOME OF LIFE’S BIGGEST QUESTIONS. SOME OF LIFE’S BIGGEST QUESTIONS ONLY REQUIRE A CHAIR. WELCOME. HOW OLD ARE YOU? FIVE. FIVE AND A HALF. SO ANDREW AND I SET UP OUR OWN MAKESHIFT SET. SO THEY BUILT THE PYRAMIDS. WIDE LOAD COMING THROUGH. WE CALLED IT THE NEXT CHAPTER CHAIR AT GADSDEN STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE. THEY’RE GRADUATING. GRADS ARE ABOUT TO STEP INTO THE REAL WORLD. YES. WOW. IT’S CRAZY. I FEEL AMAZING. WHOO! YOU MADE IT! I KNOW, I’M EXCITED. AT EURO BROWN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN GADSDEN. THESE KIDS ARE WRAPPING UP THEIR VERY FIRST YEAR. JUST FINISHING KINDERGARTEN. KINDERGARTEN. HOW DOES THAT FEEL? GOOD. YOU KNOW HOW BIG OF A DEAL THAT IS. ARE YOU READY? COME ON DOWN. IT’S LIKE A GAME SHOW. DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS SAYS? WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP? A VET, A GARDENER, RUNNER, A RUNNER. I WOULD LOVE TO BE IN SALES. ESPECIALLY SOME TYPE OF PHARMACEUTICAL SALE. I’D LOVE TO WORK IN THE COURT SYSTEM. A BASKETBALL PLAYER. A SCIENTIST. I DON’T EVEN PLAY BASKETBALL. I WANT TO BE A FORENSIC SCIENCE TECHNICIAN. THAT’S PRETTY COOL. YES. HOW ABOUT THIS QUESTION? WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF SCHOOL? RECESS? RECESS. BECAUSE IT’S SO FUN. IT’S SO FUN. RECESS, RECESS. AND I GO, WHY? I WOULD SAY THE CAFETERIA. MY FRIENDS AND MY TEACHER. MY FAVORITE PART OF SCHOOL HAS TO BE JUST THE COMMUNITY. WHAT IS THE HARDEST PART OF SCHOOL? TEST. TEST IS I’M ALWAYS GET 100/100. HIGH FIVE. TESTING AND EXAMS. AND IT ONLY GETS HARDER AS YOU CONTINUE. SOMETIMES NOT BALANCING SCHOOLWORK, ACADEMICS, FRIENDSHIPS, WORK, ATHLETICS, THINGS LIKE. SO EASY. MAKES SENSE. YOU SEEM LIKE A SMART GUY. WHAT DOES SUCCESS MEAN TO YOU? THE SUCCESS OF SOCCER GAME. YEAH. THAT’S GOOD. BEING MY BEST AT ALL TIMES. BEING A GOOD PERSON AND LIVING MY LIFE. AND I FOUND OUT THIS YEAR WHAT SUCCESS ACTUALLY MEANS IS NOT MAKING AN A, KNOWING THAT I TRIED AS HARD AS I COULD. SUCCESSFUL. LIKE HAVE VICTORY AGAINST LIKE A FIGHT OR SOMETHING. WHAT ARE YOU A LITTLE NERVOUS ABOUT? MEETING NEW PEOPLE. FINANCES. EVERYTHING’S REALLY EXPENSIVE. NOT MUCH. YOU’RE NOT NERVOUS ABOUT ANYTHING? NOPE. YOU KNOW WHAT I LIKE. YOUR CONFIDENCE. WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT TO YOU? MY FAMILY. GOOD ANSWER. IT’S GOTTA BE FAMILY. KEEPING MY DOGS SAFE. KEEPING YOUR DOG SAFE. THAT MAKES SENSE. THE LEGACY I LEAVE BEHIND ME TO BE GOOD. TO BE GOOD. THAT’S A GREAT ANSWER. HIGH FIVE FOR THAT ANSWER. AND WHAT DO YOU WANT PEOPLE TO REMEMBER ABOUT YOU? THAT HE ABSOLUTELY ENJOYED EACH DAY OF HIS LIFE. AND HE TRIED TO MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE. I WOULD LIKE PEOPLE TO REMEMBER ME AS LIKE A RAY OF SUNSHINE. WHEN YOU WALK INTO THE ROOM. IF THEY GIVE ME A PIECE OF PAPER AND I WRITE MY NAME ON IT, THEY’RE SO REMEMBER YOU. EASY. WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE SOMEONE JUST STARTING SCHOOL LIKE A KINDERGARTNER? DON’T LET ANYONE TELL YOU THAT YOU CAN’T DO SOMETHING. CHERISH EVERY MOMENT. IT’S ALL GONNA BE OKAY. WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE SOMEONE GRADUATING COLLEGE? I HOPE YOU HAVE FUN. CONGRATULATIONS. GETTING MY JOB READY. AND GOOD. GOOD LUCK GETTING A JOB. OH, HI. FROM RECESS TO RESUMES. FROM FIRST GRADE TO FIRST JOBS, THE QUESTIONS STAY THE SAME. THE ANSWERS JUST GROW UP. AND IF BENJAMIN HAS IT FIGURED OUT. WHAT IF I GET A JOB IN A FEW DAYS LATER, I JUST RETIRE. SOUNDS LIKE A GOOD PLAN TO ME. AND WITH THAT, HERE’S TO THE NEXT CHAPTER. BENJAMIN HAS THE RIGHT IDEA. I THINK SO. OH, WE HAD SO MUCH FUN. CONGRATULATIONS TO BOTH THE KINDERGARTEN GRADS AND GADSDEN STATE GRADS WITH THE GRADUATION ACTUALLY TODAY. AND OF COURSE, YOU CAN FIND ALL OF OUR STORIES ON THE ROAD ON OUR WEBSITE. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS LOOK UP ON THE ROAD, SELECT A DART THAT YOU SEE AND CLICK ON IT TO FIND THE STORY. AND OF COURSE, NEXT THURSDAY WILL BE ON THE ROAD AGAIN. SO KEEP
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The Next Chapter Chair: Kindergartners and college graduates answer life’s biggest questions
Kindergartners and college grads answered the same life questions, revealing how dreams, fears and values evolve from age 5 to graduation.
At Gadsden State Community College in Alabama, graduates are preparing to walk across the stage and begin a new chapter.Just a few miles away, at Eura Brown Elementary School, kindergartners are finishing their very first year of school.To mark the moment, sister station WVTM anchor Brittany Decker and photographer Andrew Baker set up two chairs and asked students at both schools many of life’s biggest questions. The project, called The Next Chapter Chair, invited students to reflect on what they want to be when they grow up, what success means to them, what matters most and what advice they would give to someone just starting out.The answers were sometimes funny, sometimes heartfelt and often surprisingly similar.Kindergartners dreamed of becoming veterinarians, runners, scientists and basketball players. College graduates shared goals of careers in science, sales, the legal field and forensic work. When asked what mattered most, students of all ages often gave the same answer: family.And when asked what they hoped people would remember about them, both young children and college seniors said they wanted to be known as kind people who made the world better.From recess to resumes, the questions remained the same, even as the answers grew with age.The project served as a reminder that whether someone is taking their first steps into first grade or their first steps into adulthood, every stage of life begins with hope, curiosity and anticipation of what comes next.
At Gadsden State Community College in Alabama, graduates are preparing to walk across the stage and begin a new chapter.
Just a few miles away, at Eura Brown Elementary School, kindergartners are finishing their very first year of school.
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To mark the moment, sister station WVTM anchor Brittany Decker and photographer Andrew Baker set up two chairs and asked students at both schools many of life’s biggest questions.
The project, called The Next Chapter Chair, invited students to reflect on what they want to be when they grow up, what success means to them, what matters most and what advice they would give to someone just starting out.
The answers were sometimes funny, sometimes heartfelt and often surprisingly similar.
Kindergartners dreamed of becoming veterinarians, runners, scientists and basketball players. College graduates shared goals of careers in science, sales, the legal field and forensic work.
When asked what mattered most, students of all ages often gave the same answer: family.
And when asked what they hoped people would remember about them, both young children and college seniors said they wanted to be known as kind people who made the world better.
From recess to resumes, the questions remained the same, even as the answers grew with age.
The project served as a reminder that whether someone is taking their first steps into first grade or their first steps into adulthood, every stage of life begins with hope, curiosity and anticipation of what comes next.
