Yellowknife (May 16/03) - Decked out in flowing satin robes of blue and red, the 2002-2003 Aurora Campus graduating class showed their "true colours" at last Friday's graduation ceremony.

Class valedictorian Loretta Laviolette said the class should be proud that they complete their studies amid the sacrifices of hard work and also praised the students who left behind the comforts of home and family to attend school.

"The hardships and sacrifices have paid off, because we are here together to celebrate our new future," Laviolette said.

Aurora College president Maurice Evans said graduated has enormous opportunity in the North and the students are better prepared to fill high-paying skilled jobs.

"We have one of the strongest economies in Canada, if not the world and I'm proud to say that Aurora College has worked hard to meet the employment development requirements of all these sectors," Evans said. "Aurora College has provided you a strong foundation for success, but it's now up to you that you're ready to take on the challenges of the world of employment."

Acting campus director Lloyd Hyatt said there were 42 graduates this year, up dramatically from the 27 grads last year.

Included in the graduation were three students from Paulatuk who'd completed the early childcare development program.

"This is the first graduating class from a distance learning program," Hyatt said.

Keynote speaker Rosie Albert told the class of her many occupations through life. Albert trained for two years to be a nurse and had a tough time at her new vocation, beginning on the first day, when she had to help deliver a baby.

"I don't remember what happened," Albert said. "When I woke up, my patient was gone and I was lying in the bed."

Another nurse told Albert that she'd fainted and later she had the same experience when assisting a patient who required a skin graft.

"So that was no more nursing for me," she said.

A cooking course in Norman Wells led her to a stint working as a camp cook and later she took work as an interpreter translator for CBC. Albert was also the Inuvialuktun translator for the Berger inquiry.

She worked part time at the hospital and when the school needed Inuvialuktun teachers, she went back to school at Arctic College at the age of 48.

"Because I knew my own language, the instructor was teaching me German," Albert said, adding she also learned some Japanese.

She taught Inuvialuktun until retirement at 65, but still works as a translator today for the self-government office.

In closing, she reminded the class of the importance of preserving culture and the persevering at new challenges.