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Kathy He, Stelly’s Secondary

Since they were unable to make their speeches in front of all of their classmates, friends and family, we asked valedictorians — and one class historian — from south Island schools to share them with us.
Kathy He
Kathy He

Since they were unable to make their speeches in front of all of their classmates, friends and family, we asked valedictorians — and one class historian — from south Island schools to share them with us. This is an excerpt from one of the submissions.

Kathy He, valedictorian, Stelly’s Secondary, Saanichton

Next year: Studying biology, biomedicine and life sciences at McGill University, with a goal of pursuing a career in medicine.

If I were to ask my fellow grads what graduation looked like to them four years ago walking into Stelly’s, all of us would describe a June day, endless family and friends, dressed to the nines, ready to celebrate by walking across the stage. Graduation day was not quite what we all envisioned as we celebrated our graduation virtually and physically distanced from those we want to thank and hug, still in denial that this is how we would end this chapter of our lives.

I do not believe that the reality of this pandemic hit until days before spring break, as school trips and sports tournaments were cancelled. We thought that this was the most we would be affected. Little did we know, this was just the beginning.

Friday, March 13, the day when we realized that we were living though a future history lesson, was also the last day we would all ever be together as Stelly’s graduating class of 2020. Memories of the best four months of high school were stripped from us, and graduation traditions such as water fights and ceremonies crumbled one by one.

We spent the next few months overwhelmed not only with the grief over these losses, but also with the stress of our futures, and the overall anxiety of being a teen living through a worldwide pandemic.

But the class of 2020 is not defined by COVID-19, as these recent months do not invalidate the last 13 years of hard work.