GUYSBOROUGH — One by one, the graduates of Guysborough Academy crossed the stage of the Miles MacDonald Performance Centre on June 26 – heads high, backs straight, smiles as wide as the horizon – to embrace a future that had been 13 years in the making. But, when the last diploma was handed out, it was clear that they earned something harder to measure and even more durable than their collective $99,605 in scholarships, bursaries and awards.
“You have grown, persevered, and now stand ready for the exciting journey ahead,” Principal Barbara Avery told them and the crowd of nearly 200 moms, dads, grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends, neighbours, faculty and staff who came to cheer them on. “Carry with you not just the knowledge and skills you’ve gained, but also the compassion, resilience, and kindness that you have demonstrated throughout your time here.”
And there seemed little doubt that they would.
Liberty Raftus – valedictorian, one of the top three scholars, and future StFX nutrition student – spoke next, summing up more than a dozen years in a single breath. “Let’s carry with us the strength of our shared journey and the knowledge that we will always have one another to lean on,” she said. Rows of mortarboards tilted forward; parents wiped away tears.
More affirmations followed. Tera Dorrington, speaking on behalf of the Strait Regional Centre for Education, offered congratulations to the graduates for their accomplishments, character and perseverance. Then MODG Warden Paul Long took the stage and brought the moment home. “In the word community is the word unity,” he said. “And I think you folks can play a very big role in how we move forward as a community.”
A slideshow assembled by graduates Josie LaPage and Shaylen Reddick played against the backdrop of a hushed audience: snapshots of early school days, science fairs, court-side smiles, prom-night poses. The room warmed with laughter, then quieted again.
The heart of the evening, however, belonged to Alicia Mills. A veteran educator of 11 years at the school and the night’s guest speaker, Mills spoke with quiet authority about the group she had first taught in Grade 7, and again in Math 12. “Those days from March until June of 2020 were some tough ones,” she said, recalling the pandemic’s interruption of classroom life, “but we learned through them together.”
In the style of the classroom talking circles that had become her trademark, she called each graduate by name, pairing every one of them with a memory, a trait, or a quality that had stayed with her. She remembered confidence, kindness, humour, focus, generosity. She remembered one student who brought her homemade chocolate cake, another who sent email updates while home sick, and another who once threw a paper airplane the size of a bristol board. No one was left out. At the end of it, she quoted Dr. Seuss – “Congratulations. Today is your day. You’re off to great places. You’re off and away.” – then stepped back as the room rose in applause.
The awards came quickly – one name after another, one handshake after another – as students collected cheques, certificates, envelopes, and nods from community sponsors, memorial committees, local businesses and family foundations.
Charlotte Emery Collings, who graduated with honours with distinction, earned top honours and was awarded the Governor General’s Academic Medal, presented to the student with the highest academic standing in their class. Headed to Queen’s University to study science and education, she also received a Queen’s University principal’s scholarship, along with subject prizes in English,Science, and Social Studies.
Derek Lumsden, second, will study integrative arts at York University. His awards included the Justin Avery Memorial Bursary and a York University entrance scholarship.
Liberty Raftus, third, received the Matthew Welch Scholarship, and a StFX entrance scholarship.
Bianca Beverly Surette received the Queen Elizabeth II Medal, awarded to a student who excels academically and demonstrates outstanding community service.
Nevaeh Byard received the Henry Marshall James M. Tory Prize, awarded to the graduate who, in the judgement of the school’s principal, excels in scholarship, athletics, leadership, and extracurricular involvement. Michaela Lefler accepted the Jill Brymer Special Olympics Spirit Award, presented in recognition of her outstanding spirit, empathy and sportsmanship.
And then, as if cued by the rhythm of the evening, each student – all 26 of them – crossed the stage once more. Future carpenters, welders, dancers, engineers, nurses and artists, they looked out over a room that had held them from the beginning and threw their caps into the air.
When it was done, families gathered at the foot of the stage. A few lingered in the aisles. The lights dimmed. The crowd thinned. The Class of 2025 walked out into the night – quieter now, but no less surefooted – and didn’t look back.
