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Graduates prepare for next step
Different plans for different folks

Samantha Stokell
Northern News Services
Published Thursday, June 2, 2011

INUVIK - The end of high school is always an interesting time in life, whether students move on to work or continue on with their education.

NNSL photo/graphic

Grads from left: Molly McLeod, Brittany Lucas-Cockney, Baruch Watters, Corey Baetz, Katelynn Storr and Rebecca Baxter will celebrate their graduation with a ceremony, banquet, grand march and prom on June 4 at the Midnight Sun Recreation Complex. The community is welcome to attend the ceremony at 2 p.m. and the Grand March at 8:30 p.m. - Samantha Stokell/NNSL photo

For students in the Northwest Territories, earning a high school diploma is quite an accomplishment. According to Statistics Canada, dropout rates remain persistently higher than in other provinces. In the NWT, the percentage of 20 to 24 year olds without a high school diploma is 30.1 per cent in 2007/2010 compared to 28.4 per cent in 2001/2004.

For some graduates, they are the first people in their families to complete high school.

"It's a huge milestone for the families," said Angela Young, Grade 12 teacher at Samuel Hearne Secondary School. "A lot of work has been done by the grads, teachers and community to be successful in their courses."

SHSS has 35 graduands – students who are expected to graduate upon completion of their exams. Thirty of those students will participate in the graduation ceremony on June 4 at the Midnight Sun Recreation Complex. The five other students will not participate and have the option of travelling to different Beaufort Delta communities for a graduation ceremony.

The ceremony will start at 2 p.m. and will be followed by an invitation-only banquet before the Grand March at 8:30. Following the march, the entire school is invited to the prom. The community is welcome to attend the ceremony and Grand March.

For the graduates, a sense of freedom and excitement fills the halls. They've finally finished 13 years of schooling and can choose where to go next.

"I'm happy, but a bit scared because I have to move away from home," said Rebecca Baxter, who has plans to work for a bit before attending nursing school in British Columbia. "I want to travel overseas and work on projects abroad. This way, I'd get to help people and travel."

Baxter isn't the only SHSS graduate with big plans. Corey Baetz will head south to Calgary to try out for the Junior A hockey team in Calgary, the Calgary Canucks. Baruch Watters will travel to Dallas, Texas to attend the Masters Commission USA, a Christian discipleship program that offers students a wide range of ministry training, from outreach to son. He will also pursue a bachelor's degree.

"It was a gradual decision, I was going to church for a while and it was something that I wanted to do," Watters said. "My parents always say do what's best for me and support me in what I do."

For Baetz, hockey just happened. He went to Calgary in April and made it to the Top 40 AllStars and participated on Team NWT National Aboriginal Hockey Championships in 2009 and the Arctic Winter Games this past winter. Continuing on with the sport just seemed natural.

"I'm going to go as far as I can take myself," he said. "Lots of practice and playing with the older guys has helped a lot."

Other graduates have plans to work for a few months before pursuing further education. Molly McLeod wants to eventually open a spa and salon in Inuvik, while Brittany Lucas-Cockney hopes to attend culinary school and open a restaurant in a city.

"I'll have a whole bunch of my kind of food," Lucas-Cockney said. "Homemade meals, but not greasy and different backgrounds of food."

For McLeod, finishing high school has been a long work in progress, but she's happy to have earned this diploma. She's learned more than just book lessons, but life lessons, too.

"It's not all about partying. I went through that stage," she said. "Take it all day by day and always remember what you want because when you run into obstacles, you still have the hope to reach your goal."

After graduation, the students will have to complete exams until June 29 and then ... "It's such a great feeling, a big breath of fresh air," Lucas-Cockney said. "My parents keep telling me I'm an adult now and I can do what I want. It's freedom, knowing that there's freedom at the end of the road."

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