Graduates celebrate ‘a good journey’

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 30/05/2025 (308 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Brandon University graduate Morgan Dutchak said she was feeling a mix of stage fright and anticipation as she stood next to two of her classmates making last-minute adjustments to her cap and gown Thursday morning — right before convocation.

“I’m excited but a little bit nervous. I don’t want to trip,” Dutchak said as she laughed.

“But I’m proud of how I got here today with a bachelor of science in environmental science, because it was a lot of work with a lot of late-night studying,” she said.

“And it’s funny, because we graduated in 2020 from high school, so now it’s our first actual convocation,” Dutchak added, nodding to her two friends.

“That’s right,” said Danielle Isfeld. “We were in high school together during the pandemic, so no grad from high school in 2020.”

Isfeld graduated after five years with a double major in chemistry and biomedical sciences.

“And I’m going on to do my master’s, and then hopefully medical school,” she said.

Rounding out the trio of friends in the Faculty of Science was Alexa Bennet, who graduated after four years and received the university’s gold medal, which was awarded for the highest standing in the degree program.

“I took biology, biomedical science and my next step is medical school,” said Bennet.

“So I’m taking a year off to work at the Westman Lab, and after that, I’ll apply and see what happens from there. So, a lot more school after that,” she said.

The university split this year’s convocation into four ceremonies, with almost 600 new graduates getting their certificates.

On Thursday morning, graduates from the Faculty of Science and School of Music received their degrees. Thursday afternoon was reserved for graduates in the Faculty of Education.

Today’s programs will feature the Faculty of Healthy Studies at 10 a.m. and the Faculty of Arts at 2 p.m., with all ceremonies held at BU’s Healthy Living Centre.

There was a fantastic crop of students this year, said Chris LeMoine, dean of the Faculty of Science.

“I’ve been on many campuses, and I’d say that BU has some of the best undergraduate students I’ve seen in my career. They are fantastic and will go on to do great things like graduate degrees, professional degrees and medical school,” said LeMoine.

Oluwagbemisola Ogutoye was 16 years old when she came to Brandon from Nigeria. She enrolled at BU in 2019 as an international student. On Thursday, she graduated with a bachelor of science with a psychology major.

“I was very happy when I got here — I felt very welcome,” said Ogutoye. “Brandon people are amazing, so kind and so friendly. And honestly I was so in love with my professors. They were great, just awesome.

“So, I’ve been waiting for this day since I started university, but I’m going to take a year off school and then go for my master’s in social work or clinical psychology. I want to be a therapist,” she said.

Ian Hornick finished a three-year degree in computer science with distinction for having a grade point average of 3.7.

“I know guys who have a lot higher GPA,” Hornick said as he laughed. “I started out in physics, but it was really hard, so I switched to computer science. You’d think the last year would be the hardest, but it was fine.

“I’m hoping to get into software development. It seems like it would be really fun, because you’re basically just solving puzzles all day, which is just kind of a fun pastime for me,” said Hornick.

The university’s gold medal in the bachelor of music and bachelor of education program went to Kendra Martinussen, who stood with the rest of her classmates as one of them helped her with her Métis sash.

Martinussen also graduated from high school the year the COVID-19 pandemic started.

“It was hard coming out of school at that time, and then we dealt with those next two years,” she said.

“But we have incredible faculty in the School of Music — so supportive,” she said. “We really banded together and became super close; it’s just been wonderful,” Martinussen said.

Martinussen is going to be a music teacher to pass on her experiences to a younger generation.

“I have a summer job, so I’ll be working, but in August, I’m moving to Calgary, as I’ve secured employment there to be a Grade 7, 8 and 9 band teacher,” she said with a big grin on her face.

Martinussen was one of 25 graduates in the School of Music. Its dean, Greg Gatien, said the success of the students can be traced back to the “dedicated faculty.”

“It’s really getting to know the students — who they are, what it is that they aspire to do, and working with them on that,” Gatien said.

“The other thing that is somewhat unique about our school is how we stay in touch with our students after they graduate.

“Whether they go into public schools to teach or move to cities like Winnipeg or Toronto to become part of a music scene, we keep in touch and invite them back. It’s an ongoing support system,” Gatien said.

As the graduates were called into the ceremony, the three friends Dutchak, Isfeld and Bennet took the last of the keepsake photos with each other’s phones.

When asked if they are allowing themselves to feel proud today, they answered in unison, “Oh yeah, this is great.”

Isfeld said, “It’s been a good journey.”

» mmcdougall@brandonsun.com

» enviromichele.bsky.social