Goodbye high school, hello world. Kern County's Class of 2001 is heading off in many different directions to continue their education.

For stories on this year's graduations, visit ww2.bakersfield.com/ 2001/graduation/

Filed: June 19, 2001

By MARYLEE SHRIDER
Californian staff writer
e-mail: mshrider@bakersfield.com

They've made the grade. They've graduated from high school. Now, the day they've spent their academic lives gearing up for is just weeks away.

It's the day they climb into the car or board the plane that will take them to college. For the college-bound kid, it's a day of independence and the start of a new adventure. But, for parents, it's the bittersweet moment they've anticipated with pride -- and heartache -- for 18 years.

Preoccupied with high school graduation, college applications and the search for financial aid, many parents manage to keep thoughts of goodbyes at arm's length. But graduations are over and students and colleges have made their choices.

It's a choice Raymond Pierson isn't sure he's ready for. A single father of three children, Pierson, a geologist with Aera Energy LLC, is set to send his son off to college in August. Preston Pierson, an honor student and 2001 graduate of Valley High School, will attend the University of Northern Colorado. With Preston's impending departure, his father is wrestling with thoughts of an empty nest.

"I don't know if I've got the guts to live here by myself, but I haven't reviewed that yet," said Pierson, 51. "It's tough, but on the upside, Preston knows that he was created for a purpose. Now he gets to go prepare for his purpose."

Pierson may be a bit unsure of his own future, but clearly has no doubts about his son's. Preston, who plans to major in education, will join older sister Keely at the university, situated about 25 miles from his mother's home in Fort Collins, Colo..

Financing two college careers at the same time is no easy feat, said Pierson, who, over the years, saved enough to finance at least two years of tuition, room and board for both his students. Grants, he said, will finance the rest.

Finding enough money to support a college education is probably parents' biggest concern. Robert and Connie Sparks started a college account for their daughter Tiffany shortly after she was born. The Sparkses estimate those savings, plus the $23,000 in scholarships Tiffany earned as a straight-A student, will finance her education at the University of California, Santa Barbara. But, before UCSB, her mother said, comes Bakersfield College.

"Going to BC is a decision she made herself," Sparks said. "She said she felt she just isn't ready to leave home just now. Which is fine with us."

Financial planning and college aid resources are numerous, but there are resources that prepare parents for the day their child leaves home for the first time.

John and Katherine Banales will say goodbye to their daughter Katherine, the oldest of their three children and a South High School honors graduate, when she leaves for Florida State University on Aug. 19. As her younger brothers wrestle for her soon-to-be-vacant room, Katherine's parents are steeling themselves for her departure. They are, Banales said, focused on the pros and not the cons.

"You prepare for it as best you can," she said. "Part of me is sad she's leaving, but another part is glad she's getting her education. "Then there's the other part of me that says 'one down and two to go.' "