{"id":103321,"date":"2025-07-08T09:09:30","date_gmt":"2025-07-08T13:09:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=103321"},"modified":"2025-07-08T09:09:52","modified_gmt":"2025-07-08T13:09:52","slug":"genealogy-tips-heres-to-the-graduates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/genealogy-tips-heres-to-the-graduates.html","title":{"rendered":"Genealogy Tips: Here\u2019s to the Graduates!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction:<\/em><\/strong> In this article, Gena Philibert-Ortega gives tips for making high school memories part of the family history you\u2019re compiling. Gena is a genealogist and author of the book \u201cFrom the Family Kitchen.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Recently I had the honor of watching my nephew graduate from high school. As the youngest member of our family, my nephew\u2019s graduation marked a milestone for him as well as us. And of course, this graduation brought back memories of previous family high school graduations.<\/p>\n

Our family discussed what we wore in high school, how our graduation accomplishment was celebrated, and what family members attended or didn\u2019t attend our graduations. We even broke out yearbooks to laugh at how high school has changed from the time my brother (my nephew\u2019s father) attended high school to 2025. Yearbook technologies, our schoolmates\u2019 photos, and inscriptions from friends were all pored over and discussed.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:
Photo: graduation cap and book.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Photo credit: https:\/\/depositphotos.com\/home.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Researching and writing about family high school experiences can lead to genealogically rich information including identifying FAN clubs (Friends, Acquaintances, and Neighbors).<\/p>\n

What do you know about your parents\u2019 and grandparents\u2019 high school careers? Learning more can help you uncover information about them and better understand their lives.<\/p>\n

Start with You<\/strong><\/p>\n

Just like with any genealogy project, start with yourself and then work backward. Starting with yourself can also help you decide what you want to learn about your parents\u2019 and grandparents\u2019 school days.<\/p>\n

As my family reminisced about our high school days, I realized that I\u2019ve not documented my own. Yes, I have a scrapbook and a yearbook, but I was thinking that annotating my yearbook and indicating who my friends and teachers were might be meaningful. (I could also scan relevant pages, annotate those, and then donate my yearbooks to a library or archive, something I\u2019m considering.)<\/p>\n

Writing a few pages about my experiences and adding relevant photos would be a good addition to my family history records. Some things I could write about include:<\/p>\n