Under the traditional strains of Pomp and Circumstance, the last graduating class of Niverville Collegiate Institute marched toward the future at this year’s graduation ceremony on Wednesday, June 26. These 55 students said goodbye to NCI, and so did all the rest of us. While next summer will produce another crop of promising graduates, they will be products of Niverville High.
“Whatever this day may mean to you, one thing stands clear: it’s a special and unforgettable day on which you will look back with cheerful memories and happy tears,” said Principal Michael Koester. “A high school diploma is a significant beginning to a twenty-first-century education.”
Koester went on to issue advice and offer his perspective on what it takes to thrive in today’s workforce.
“When I was your age a long time ago, we defined the illiterate as those who couldn’t read and write, but now there’s a new twist,” he said. “The illiterate of today are those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn. With globalization and the rate of information flow in this day and age, one must be prepared to shed outdated information and relearn to stay relevant. Therefore, continuous learning is necessary in the rapidly changing world we live in.”
In presenting an award on behalf of the Town of Niverville, Mayor Myron Dyck also took the opportunity to speak.
“As the hockey fan that I am, there are hockey drafts they say are deep,” Mayor Dyck aid. “This means there are many more talented players available in a given year… I’ve been told this graduating class would be considered a deep draft class, a class of many exceptionally smart and talented individuals, a class of world-changers, a class of overachievers, and a class that has by far the best-looking parents.”
He earned a few well-deserved laughs from the audience for that one.
“The Town of Niverville is growing and there is a great need for people of your drive and your intellect,” Mayor Dyck continued. “We need professionals, engineers, lawyers, entrepreneurs, teachers, and a host of other professions… To those who are staying in town, I say thank you. To the others, I invite you to have your gap year, learn your trade, achieve your degree, but when that is done I am personally inviting you to come back. Please consider my invitation to help to keep Niverville a place where people want to belong. We need you.”
Mayor Dyck also extended words of appreciation to the various teachers and educators who are retiring from the community’s schools this year, including Helen Schapansky, Pat Fast, Mary Klassen, Shari Davey, and Suzanne Church.
The Highway of Life
“Life is like a highway,” announced valedictorian Stefan Bardal to his classmates to a chorus of good-natured chuckles. “You can’t turn around or even slow down, because you’re stuck with everyone else in the gridlock of time, constantly edging on until the end of the line. Grad, and all of high school, is just another milestone along the highway—a sign showing that we are all just a bit closer to the end of the road.”
Bardal continued the metaphor, relaying a story of travelling with his aunt along the highway when they were suddenly confronted with a wall of rain that almost stopped them in their tracks. Other vehicles had pulled over, waiting out the storm.
His aunt, he said, kept on driving, believing that even slow progress was better than no progress. Soon they emerged on the other side of the storm.
“What I’m getting at is that even when your life gets stormy, when things get gloomy or hopeless, you’ve just got to push through,” Bardal said. “You can’t wait for problems to leave you or you’ll be stuck on the side of the highway, getting nowhere. Even when you can’t see three feet in front of you and you have no idea what lies ahead, just keep trudging on.”
Bardal, who has attended school in Niverville since the second grade, sat on student council, served on the yearbook committee, and graduated with an average of 95 percent in his classes. Outside school, he found ways to invest in the community by volunteering with the Junior Gardeners Club. He’ll be attending the University of Manitoba in fall, with a plan to study microbiology or virology.
“I’ve always found biology, in general, very interesting,” Bardal says. “I want to go into the medical field, not like a general practitioner but I want to work in a lab.”