Emma Ayer, Katlin Wicks, Ryan Antille, Hailey Ayotte, Jaden Banks, Kieran Bazinet, Hannah Biemond, Alissa Bowman, Natalie Brousseau, Alissa Buttivant, Emma Carkner, Isabelle Clarke, Sophie Colwill, Aaron Coughlan, Thomas Dean, Lily Jane Deschenes, Julia Dings, Jacob Douglas, Maddux England, Andrew Finlay, Aidan Firlotte, Ashton Flake, Grace Flannagan, Jason Garcia, Brandon Gibson, Madi Giles, Nicholas Guy, Shannon Harper, Cameron Hawkins, Jordan Heuff, Kasper Hewetson, Kelsie Hicks, Hailey HOdge, Paige Holmes, Grace Hynes, Wyatt Itterman, Nick Jacques, Sebastien LaFrance, Mason Link, Kate Link-Horvath, Kristian Lynch, Bryce MacNeil-Pope, Kailey Marshall, Breanna McIntosh, Alicia McNaughton, Nathan Milne-Servage, Haniyyah Osman, Regan Page, Olivia Pereira, Josphua Puddy, Austin Reeve, Emma Rennick, Ben Roberts, Katie Sharpley, Alexandria sheppard, Reese Snelson, Myles Smith, Logan Thomas, Austyn Toll, Thomas Van Bridger, Jenny Van Stralen, Destiny Wicks, William Wicks, Noah Wilson, Ethan Yenson, Chloee Young.  Tinkess Photo

CHESTERVILLE – High school graduation is a day of mixed emotions. There is the joy and satisfaction of having completed a significant stage in your life. You have a piece of paper that states clearly that you have achieved a specific level of learning, and for all intents and purposes you are also now on the cusp of becoming an adult.

At the same time, however, there is a feeling of melancholy. The structure you followed, the people you spent time with will change. This is that fork in the road where each follows their own path, not quite sure of what lies ahead, but knowing that it will be at least a little different than anything you have experienced so far.

You could see these mixed emotions in the faces of the graduates at North Dundas District High School as they waited for their moment to step forward and be recognized. And it didn’t matter if you left the stage with all sorts of awards and bursaries or not, the sense of pride was palpable.

And about those awards, there were many, totalling nearly $37,000. They say it takes a village to raise a child, and the many individuals, service clubs and businesses who see the value in supporting educational achievement certainly showed their support in a very tangible way.

A lot of complimentary things were said about the graduates and many references were made to all that they had gone through while Covid 19 interrupted their education. On this day however, it wasn’t a cry from the grads about what we had to deal with, but rather a cheer for what they had dealt with, and how they dealt with it together.

Fittingly, no one said it better than Austin Reeve, Valedictorian for the class of 2023.

“Thanks to the people that we have met, and the wonderful memories that we have made,” said Reeve. “Years ago, I heard someone say, the goal and meaning of life is to live a life that you are happy to have lived. So, live your life without regrets. Tell your loved ones that you love them. Do what makes you happy and work hard to reach your goals and dreams.

“Each and every one of you in here today is more than capable of getting to where you want to be in life. And I wish you the best of success in all your future endeavours. I’ve watched so many of us grow since kindergarten, so it’s going to be a massive change, not seeing or being around the same people that I’ve seen the past couple of years. I’m so thrilled for the things to come. Our futures hold so much promise, and I’m so excited to be sharing this next step in life with all of you. Congratulations to everyone graduating alongside me today. We finally made it!”