Area searches for secret to retaining youth

Waynesboro High School senior Elizabeth Spicuzza will enter Old Dominion University in the fall with plans to become an athletic trainer.
She is open to the idea of returning to the Shenandoah Valley after college if “there is something in Waynesboro I could do with my degree.”
But Spicuzza believes many of her classmates may move to other areas because of the lack of things to do here.
“Getting a Kohl’s and a Target is a good start to attracting young people,” she said of Waynesboro’s new shopping offerings. “A movie theater would help.”
As hundreds of area high school seniors graduate this week, many will head off to the military, community colleges and four-year colleges and universities.
Spicuzza’s concern about the lack of local lifestyle offerings is one heard often, and Augusta County is working on an economic strategic plan designed to keep more of the pool of young residents here so they can work and live in their home area.
A series of meetings in the county next week will solicit input from young people on the type of jobs they want in order to stay here.
Some educators say the area will lose a portion of the graduates no matter what, but they also believe more would stay if there were jobs suited to their interests and training.
R.E. Lee High senior and Central Shenandoah Valley Regional Governor’s School student Phillip Chodrow has plans to become a math professor at an Ivy League university.
He will study math at Swarthmore College near Philadelphia in the fall. And while he’s not ruling out a return to the Valley, Chodrow said, “I would like to go to New England. There’s a richer intellectual tradition in that area.”
Chodrow also thinks some of his Governor’s School classmates who are studying arts and humanities are more likely to opt for a more vibrant arts scene such as one found in New York.
“Despite the presence of the Blackfriars Playhouse, there’s a lot of artistic interaction you can’t get in this area,” Chodrow said. “You can only find it in big places like New York or Philadelphia and other cultural hubs.”
Augusta County Schools Superintendent Gary McQuain said a portion of that system’s graduates will want to remain in the area because of their family and social ties.
But McQuain said others will be drawn to larger population centers, such as Northern Virginia, Richmond and Hampton Roads.
“There are so many more young people in those areas,” he said.
While manufacturing jobs are mentioned as being needed, McQuain said he believes technology and jobs related to technology are the most likely to keep young people here in the future.
Waynesboro senior Oscar Moreno has already interned with a couple of local companies related to his interest in engineering.
Moreno, a Mexico native, will attend Piedmont Community College in Charlottesville, and plans to get a four-year degree in electrical or mechanical engineering.
He is flexible about remaining in the area, depending on what job comes his way.
“It depends on the opportunities,” he said. “If the company says there is an opening in the area, or if they want to send me where they need engineers, I’m open.”
Waynesboro High Principal Sue Wright said more partnerships with area industries would help, and also thinks students need to look more seriously at college.
“We have smart students here who don’t see themselves as college material,” Wright said.
But Wright said students also can benefit from living in different places than their home area.
“I encourage young people to go to different places. Try a different city and a different country. Get to know different types of people,” she said. “One of the job skills will be relationships with others. To compete creatively, you must understand different types of people.”

Graduation week
Wilson Memorial High School will hold its graduation tonight at 7 at the JMU Convocation Center, kicking off a week of high school graduations. Three will be held Tuesday night – Riverheads High, Buffalo Gap High and Fort Defiance High – and both Waynesboro High and R.E. Lee will graduate on Saturday.