Vincent Massey High School teachers praised for helping graduates excel

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This article was published 25/06/2016 (3605 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Roughly 220 young people crossed the threshold into “real life” on Friday afternoon during the 2016 Vincent Massey High School convocation ceremony.

Graduates in purple robes filled the floor of Westman Place while hundreds of friends and family looked on from the arena stands — periodically erupting in hoots and hollers when each grad collected their diploma.

This year, more than 100 students donned a golden sash signifying they had made it on the school’s honour roll.

During his valedictory address, Hashim Abidullah recognized his peers’ success and attributed it to the quality of the high school’s teachers.

“The way our students in our graduating class turned out is a great reflection of how we were brought up at Vincent Massey,” Abidullah said, throwing some playful digs at Brandon’s other high schools. “It’s hard to imagine why anyone would want to go to Neelin or Crocus.”

In between jokes about the potholes in Massey’s parking lot and his classmates’ poor showing at the school’s annual grade wars, Abidullah offered some sage advice for the grads and their future educational endeavours.

“The ability to reason and think critically, apply what you’ve learned in school to the world around you and being able to synthesize your own thoughts into a writing piece of your own are much more important than a perfect GPA,” he said. “And don’t forget to laugh once in a while.”

During the ceremony, roughly 60 graduates received more than $25,000 in scholarships and awards.

This year’s Governor General’s Academic Medal went to Demiana Ekladious, who maintained an average grade of 98.7 per cent — every grade in her transcript since Grade 9 was above 90 per cent.

In addition to her academic success, Ekladious volunteers in the community and was a member of Massey’s Youth in Philanthropy group, school choir and engineering club.

The 18-year-old says she had no idea she was in the running for the medal.

“It was a great honour … I was kind of surprised because I honestly thought there were a lot of deserving students,” Ekladious said, adding that she attributes her success to her faith, family, friends and teachers.

This fall, Ekladious will be heading to the University of Calgary to study engineering — a move she’s both excited and nervous about.

“I really love the fields of math and physics, and I’ve always been interested in problem solving and in making the world a better place, so it seemed like a perfect fit,” she said.

Massey principal Bruce Shamray is leaving the school to take on a new role as the chairperson for the Council of School Leaders of the Manitoba Teachers’ Society.

“I feel a certain kinship to this graduating class as they have the feeling of both being excited about the future and nostalgic about the past few years,” Shamray said during his closing remarks. “I know I’m biased, but I believe Vincent Massey is one of the best high schools anywhere … these young ladies and men have matured into a group we can all be proud of.”

» ewasney@brandonsun.com

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