For the Rio Vista High School class of 2009, there's not much pomp but plenty of circumstance.
Like most seniors, the 82 graduating in Rio Vista last week face the most desolate economic landscape in generations, with few jobs and rapidly evaporating college aid. Many of their parents are out of work, and no one's quite sure which way the out-of-control economy will flip next.
"I'm scared. Very, very scared," said Chantell Bodle, 18, whose father's job as a natural gas rig swabber has slowed to a crawl, forcing Chantell to opt for the cheapest possible route to her goal of becoming a nurse: live at home, work part time and commute 60 miles round trip to Delta College in Stockton.
"My parents said they're having a hard time with the bills right now," Chantell said last week as she spray-painted on a Rio Vista street as part of a senior art project. "It's going to be hard out there. There's not a lot of jobs."
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