Ecole St. Mary Class of 2024 has faced many challenges

Ecole St. Mary High School celebrated the class of 2024 on Tuesday as they walked across the stage at the Art Hauser Center.

Valedictorian Haley DeBack said the class had a unique experience in their four years in high school. Their first year at the school came in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. Their final year saw challenges due to the ongoing labor dispute between the province and the Saskatchewan Teacher’s Federation (STF).

DeBack said the challenges made the class ready for whatever came their way.

“It was strange,” Deback said. “Every year something different happened to us, like the block system, then semesters and cumulative exams like midterms, and this year with teacher strikes and all that.

“Every year was different. It was weird and hard to adjust to, but at the same time I couldn’t have asked for a more normal experience because it made things interesting. It always kept you on your toes.”

Deback followed in her older brother’s footsteps by being named valedictorian. She said this was a goal she had been aiming for since September.

“I put a lot of work into my studies,” she said. ‘I knew what my grades were. I knew what my competition was like. I had a lot of hope. I planned all year that that would be my goal at the end.

“It feels so great actually, the smile on my face when I found out. I was so happy. Everything just felt worth it.

Most of her best memories came from all the sports she played at Ecole St. Mary. She played Senior A volleyball and basketball, and said she enjoyed the road trips and staying in hotels with her teammates.

She was part of the Marauders volleyball team that won provincial titles in Prince Albert this school year along with their male counterparts.

“Being with your best friends makes so many new friendships every day, that’s where my best memories come from,” she said.

DeBack plans to attend college and hopes to study medicine.

Tuesday’s graduation ceremony also included an awards ceremony. DeBack received the Governor General Scholarship, the Governor General’s Medal and the First Academic Award, among others.

After the diplomas were awarded and before the official part of the ceremony, Bishop Stephen Hero and others performed the Liturgy of the Word, with the spiritual theme of “Encountering Christ: Your Path Awaits.”

Count Dennis Ogrodnick brought greetings from the city. Board Chair Suzanne Stubbs brought greetings from the Education Board.

The presenters for the graduation were Esther Akinjbi and Selena Markos. Nnamdi Ndubuka delivered the salutary speech. In his speech, he said the co-MVPs for the class of 2024 were the COVID-19 pandemic at the start of their high school years and the government at the end for making final exams optional.

The day ended with a speech by director Dwayne Gareau. Gareau also emphasized that the year and class time have been challenging

If DeBack had one message for future graduates, it would be to make it work.

“I put in a lot of work and it paid off. I just feel like if you want something good to happen, you have to work for it. We can’t expect it, and that would be my advice to everyone,” Deback said.

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Michael Oleksyn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Prince Albert Daily Herald