Tonight, I had the pleasure of being the guest speaker at the MCED Career Center's fall graduation ceremony.  MCED is a private vocational college with about 500 students - see www.mced.com.  The students had finished their courses and were moving on to jobs in pharmacies, law firms, businesses, and health care organizations.  As the graduation speaker, I was supposed to come up with some really inspirational words to mark the occasion and to encourage them as they transition from school to career.  However, instead of being the inspirational one, the students were the ones who ended up inspiring me.  The stories from the graduates were pretty incredible.  Many were single parents who had worked their way through school while taking care of their families.  They had overcome steep obstacles to finish their programs.  Most already had jobs lined up and were working in their chosen field. 
 
I have spent a lot of time over the last fifteen years on economic development in Fresno and figuring out what to do to lower our unemployment and poverty rates.  I've learned that there is no silver bullet, but if you could pick just one thing that would make the most difference, it is job training and education.  Anyone who has made sacrifices to learn a new skill, finish school, or do what it takes to make a better way for their family is a hero.  These graduates from MCED are heroes in my book.