My classes drew to a close for the semester today, it was an emotional day. The kids brought cake, donuts, cookies and beverages to celebrate many things. It was a really good day, a celebration of what they have accomplished.

Half of the class will return in the spring to complete the visual journalism emphasis. But for the other half, today was their last day in the Photo Cave.

The starts and ends of things are always fraught with emotions. This class of 20 women was particularly close, the dynamic different. The sadness some felt had little to do with the completion of the program and more to do with a bit of unknowing about what comes next.

But what comes next is way cooler than what came before. Sure, the comfort of friends and an understanding of a daily ritual is wonderful and these kids have only known an educational cycle for the last 17 years of their lives.

They are headed off to big cities and small towns, to be reporters and photojournalists and editors. To be agents of change.

They are prepared and their voices are needed outside of the campus. The concern they feel today will, hopefully, be converted into a thrill centered on what comes next.

Next week, I’ll read their names as they walk across the stage at the college’s convocation ceremony. I’ll meet their parents and grandparents, wish them well and ask them to do one simple thing – make their communities better.

Ed’s note: You may catch that the category for today’s post ticked over. This is day one of the eighth year of this photo-a-day project. This is just getting silly.