DEH CHO - Four students have beaten the odds in Fort Liard.

When Diane Nelson arrived at the Echo Dene school five years ago to teach, there were 25 students in her Grade 7 class.

Graduates Natasha McLeod, left, Bianca Kotchea, Jonathan McLeod and Trevor McLeod shared their special day with family and friends at the graduation ceremony and dinner. Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photo

A total of four of those students made it through their schooling and took part in the graduation ceremony on June 14.

"Kudos for making it,” Nelson said to the graduands.

Having four graduates in the community should make everyone proud, said principal Alphonse Janvier. Despite the success, Janvier said the community should strive to have 80 per cent of students graduate to match the rate in the rest of Canada.

Having made it this far, many people had advice to share with the four graduands, Bianca Kotchea, Jonathan McLeod, Natasha McLeod and Trevor McLeod, during the ceremony at the Fort Liard community hall.

"It's taken incredible strength and courage for you to get where you are right now,” said Bobbi Smith, the community adult educator with Aurora College.

Smith encouraged the graduands to believe in themselves and their abilities and everything else will fall into place.

"You are strong and you are brave and you are worth it,” said Smith.

Chief Harry Deneron encouraged the students to continue with their education.

"Don't stop here,” said Deneron.

"We need teachers, we need qualified journeymen in everything we do today.”

As valedictorian, Bianca Kotchea thanked the teachers for their dedication, encouragement and support they showed over the years.

"We hope that the youth of Fort Liard follow their dreams and graduate as we and those before us have done,” she said.

Kotchea also encouraged her fellow graduands to continue on with their dreams.

"We have the strength and wisdom inside of us to accomplish the goals we set in life,” said Kotchea.

The following are excerpts from the graduands' biography readings.

Jonathan McLeod

Jonathan's fondest memories in school are of sports. He loves to participate in all team sports when people gather to have fun. Jonathan has shown that he is a talented athlete. He was chosen to represent Fort Liard as an ambassador at the Arctic Winter Games.

Two important people in his life are his mom and dad. They have been relentless in getting him up for school and encouraging him to stick with his studies.

An important lesson he has learned from them is to follow your heart. He knows that they will be proud of whatever he chooses to do in his future. He knows that he has their total faith and trust.

When Jonathan finishes school he has applied to Aurora College in Fort Smith for the recreational leadership program.

Trevor McLeod

Two people who were important in helping Trevor participate in our celebration tonight are his parents Mabel and Floyd. Getting an education is important and Trevor knows that he must be at school every day.

A memorable occasion at school that concerned Trevor was helping one of his teachers decide whether or not to purchase a quad or Ski-doo. This investigation involved several days of online research and many personal chats with his classmates. Finally a decision was made. It was a great decision and we bought our Ski doo.

Trevor wants to enter the workforce after he finishes school.

Bianca Kotchea

Bianca has fond memories of being woken up by her parents for school every day and walking to school with her siblings.

An important lesson she has learned is that the world is full of possibilities and whatever she chooses to do, she knows my family will be proud of her.

She wants to go to college in the fall to study journalism. She wants to explore the world to see what is beyond Fort Liard.

An important part of her culture is her language. She hopes to learn and practise more and keep up with her people's traditions.

Natasha McLeod

Two important people in her life who helped her to reach graduation are her parents. Dad for all the chats, lectures and chats. Mom for waking her up every morning for school.

An important lesson she learned from her dad was the value of education. Natasha wasn't surprised to hear similar sentiments expressed by her teachers as well. They just used different phrases.

Natasha hopes to become a helicopter pilot when she graduates from high school.