Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, June 8, 1995                   TAG: 9506100008
SECTION: NEIGHBORS                    PAGE: S-54   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: STEWART MacINNIS SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

CAVE SPRING GRADUATES WILL HEAR THEIR PEERS

The three seniors who will make remarks during the 7:30 p.m. ceremony competed for the opportunity. Two of the speeches will be based on ideals in children's literature.

Two of the school's 11 valedictorians -Gina Nasca and Jennifer Miller - will speak. The third speaker is Alexi Sadjadi.

Nasca will base her speech on the children's book "The Little Prince." In the story, a child enters the world of grown-ups and seeks to discover the secrets of adult life.

"It's my favorite book," said Nasca. "I've read it over and over. It's about deciding what are matters of consequence. I just saw a lesson in it. It illustrates something I think is important."

In addition to attending classes at Cave Spring, Nasca took classes at the Governor's School for Science and Math during her sophomore and junior years, and at Hollins College and Virginia Western Community College this year.

She plans to attend Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah in the fall.

Miller plans to incorporate passages from the Dr. Seuss book "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" into her speech. One of the last books written by Dr. Seuss, it follows a child through a number of adventures with advice on how to deal with the high and low points of life.

"I read it, and it really struck me what it says," Miller said.

She looks on the chance to speak at the graduation as a "unique experience."

"There'll be a lot of people there, and I'll probably be saying to myself, 'Oh my gosh, why did I do this?' But it's something I wanted to do."

Miller, who attended classes at the Governor's School as well as at Cave Spring, plans to attend the University of Virginia this fall as an Echols Scholar.

Sadjadi said he'll talk about the negativism he's heard about his generation and the future.

"People are saying that America is in decline," he said. "People are saying Generation X won't get the job done. But I believe we can get the job done as a generation if we stick together."

Sadjadi plans to attend the University of Virginia in the fall, pursuing a double major in government and economics.

Speaking at graduation "is a good opportunity to talk to my classmates and tell them what I think and feel about our time in high school and what I think and feel about the future," he said.

Nasca, Miller, and Sadjadi are among the half of the graduating class planning to attend four-year colleges this fall. Between 25 percent and 30 percent of the seniors plan to enter two-year colleges. The remainding students plan to begin working or join the military after graduation.