Pierson grads a close-knit group

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This article was published 29/06/2020 (2136 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

PIERSON — Pierson School hosted a short and sweet graduation ceremony on Saturday afternoon, which is probably for the best since their 2020 class only consisted of four people.

While intimate high school celebrations are standard for the small rural community, this year’s ceremony was still slightly different due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Instead of being held indoors at the school, Saturday’s festivities took place outside the nearby Edward Sports Centre, where spectators were asked to stay in their vehicles to help maintain physical distancing.

Because of the outdoor venue, Pierson graduates also had to contend with sweltering heat and strong winds that risked derailing the already truncated event.

Despite all these obstacles, class valedictorian Kyler Jacob Horrigan still managed to squeeze in a short speech that touched on the time he spent at Pierson School and the people he got to know along the way.

Because of the institution’s small class sizes, Horrigan gave a shoutout to each of his fellow graduates and highlighted their individual quirks.

Horrigan described Travis Pohanayko as a “high-octane guy” whose spirit never wavered. When it comes to Erica Mae McNish, the valedictorian said her stories of life on the farm always left a big impression.

Meanwhile, Horrigan said he always appreciated Devin Anna Fayle’s back-and-forth with their teachers, since those exchanges would drag out conversations “as much as possible so we would have to do the least amount of work possible.”

“As a cohesive class, our dynamic is hard to put into words,” he said. “But as individuals, I feel we all have good work ethic and are now moving into the future with our paths set to a new chapter of life, whether that’s post-secondary, the workforce or anything in between.”

Horrigan also took a moment to reflect on the unique experience he had coming of age at Pierson, which provided a much more laid-back, easy-going approach to education compared to larger schools in the Westman region.

“I will reminisce on the time I did an English assignment on an anime I watched or a Canadian history project on a plane long forgotten to time,” he said. “The flexibility of how we did our school work at Pierson would never be found in a city or online school.”

Following a quick diploma and awards presentation, all four students took part in a grad parade that traversed the entirety of the small farming community.

The final leg of the tour involved a trip past Pierson School itself, where the graduates surprised their friends, family members and teachers by pelting them with water balloons.

Once they arrived back at the Edward Sports Centre, the group told the Sun that this ceremony was everything they could have hoped for under the circumstances, since having a grad at all was an open question once schools were shut down in mid-March due to the coronavirus.

Even with all the physical distancing measures and less-than-ideal weather, McNish said the ceremony managed to retain the cosy, small-town atmosphere that was indicative of her time at Pierson.

“I’m just really happy that the community could come,” McNish said.

“They’re the ones who got us here. So I really enjoyed it.”

Even after all this celebrating, these graduates still have a busy couple months ahead of them.

Fayle, for example, said she is heading to Lloydminster in August to enrol in Lakeland College’s hairstyling program.

“I’m nervous to move eight hours away, but adventure awaits,” she said. “So I’m going to get out of here and see how I do by myself.”

Horrigan revealed that he’s moving to Winnipeg to study cyber defence and cloud administration at the Manitoba Institute of Trades and Technology, which is a big deal since he has lived in Pierson all this live.

“It’s going to be interesting moving to the city and everything,” he said. “I’ll be completely out of my element because I’ve always lived in a small town. But it should be all right.”

Meanwhile, McNish is planning to study physiology and anatomy at Brandon University, whereas Pohanayko will be returning to Pierson School for at least a year to help better transition himself into the workforce.

Even though these students are facing a lot of uncertainty because of the COVID-19 outbreak, Pierson School principal Debra McCallum was at least happy that local community members could give the group a proper sendoff.

“As you leave here today, you should remember all these people and hold them close to your heart,” McCallum told the graduates directly during Saturday’s ceremony.

“You never know when you might need them as you pursue your future endeavours.”

Pierson is located within the Municipality of Two Borders, which is situated in the southwest corner of the province.

Pierson’s population currently sits at 200 residents.

» kdarbyson@brandonsun.com

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