ALEXANDRIA, Virginia—The lobby of the Rachel M. Schlesinger Performing Arts Center is full of anxious teenagers. While women are underrepresented, in terms of class and ethnicity the crowd seems to be a representative cross-section of 21st century America. This isn’t an unusual scene at a community college auditorium, except that few of the young people here are likely to see the inside of a college again anytime soon. About 70 teenagers are here, just weeks away from their high school graduations. However, they’re here with their families for a different ceremony acknowledging another important rite of passage.
Read more below
