At the Picayune Memorial High School’s Career and Technology Center, things are being made from scratch; things that have the potential to make someone’s life a little bit better. This fact is reassuring for our future.

During several tours of the facility, one stop always seems a bit more interesting to me than the others.

It might be because of the shiny electronic devices, or it might be because, if you put your mind to it, anything could theoretically be created through the use of the devices stored within.

The devices in this class that show the most versatility are the 3D printers and what young people are doing with them.

Not only can a plastic model of a bolt and nut be printed in a joined fashion by these machines, the nut and bolt will twist from one another when the job’s complete.

That’s neat and all, and some people may be inclined just to print useless trinkets and move on with life.

But when people can print a prosthetic hand for a young girl, that’s a project worth completing.

That’s exactly what two students and a teacher teamed up to do last month.

As I watched the students present the result of their hard work to the Bogalusa girl, I found a renewed sense of hope for future generations.

It happens with each generation, those who have lived longer typically focus on the negative aspects of those younger than themselves.

I’m sure that’s not a modern trait. In light of that observation, it’s rewarding to report a steady stream of stories about young people graduating from high school focused on more than their grade point average or sports record.

It’s reassuring to know that not every young person fits into the negative viewpoints held by older people against a particular generation.

Because when young people get older, there’s always another generation right behind them.