The 2013 graduating class of Chemainus Secondary School may be small, but over the past years, they have come together to form a tight-knit group that is always there for one another, say this year’s valedictorians.
Fifty-one students came together Friday, June 21 to graduate from Chemainus Secondary School. Though the group was small, they were lacking neither energy nor enthusiasm when each of them was called to accept their certificate of graduation.
Georgia Bennett and Donovan Stoochnoff were picked to be this year’s valedictorians. They don’t give much validation to why they were selected — the two young adults were being quite modest.
“We were the only pair that ran together, so that was a benefit to both of us,” says Bennett.
“We are friends with all the demographics of the school,” Stoochnoff added. “We have such a small grade, and we are close with all of the people in it.”
Both students were nervous to give their speech, but once they were behind the microphone, their worries seemed to slip away.
“We focus a lot on how small our school is, how close we are, and how close we are with the teachers,” says Bennett. “The theme of our speech is sort of technology.”
Technology is something that has brought major changes to education, and both valedictorians believed it to be something worth mentioning in their speech.
“[Technology’s] just something to tie our generation in,” says Stoochnoff. “We are one of the few generations that have grown up with the computer, so it’s something that sets us apart.”
Bennett and Stoochnoff are both moving on to post-secondary education in September, but they have chosen very different paths.
Bennett will be moving to Ontario to attend Sheridan College, where she will be studying musical theater performance. She believes her family, which has always been very musical, is a driving force behind the decision.
Stoochnoff is staying closer to home. He will be attending the University of Victoria this fall to take environmental studies and geography.