Prairie Hope grads mark resilience, new beginnings

For many of the 54 graduates crossing the stage at the Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium on Friday afternoon, the journey to graduation was anything but conventional.

Some arrived in Canada as refugees, carrying dreams alongside the challenges of adapting to a new country. Others battled personal struggles, mental health challenges, difficult experiences in previous schools or simply the daily challenge of showing up.

Yet, despite the obstacles, each graduate from Prairie Hope High School walked across the stage with a story of perseverance and hope.

The Prairie Hope High School Class of 2026 celebrated its graduation ceremony before family, friends, staff and community supporters, marking not only the completion of high school, but also the triumph of resilience.

Among the graduates was Yonas Feseha, who arrived in Canada from Eritrea on July 15, 2024. The transition was overwhelming.

“When I was coming for the first time, it was very difficult,” Feseha told the Sun before the ceremony. “To understand people, communicate, make friends and study — when you’re new, you don’t know anything about Canada. You come from a different culture, and learning a new culture was hard.”

Feseha said there were moments when the challenges felt daunting, but he refused to give up.

“If you don’t give up, you get what you want, and you can be successful in your life,” he said. “Now I’m so happy because I did what I wanted.”

A key source of support during his journey was one of his teachers, Kelly, whom he credits with helping him believe in himself.

“She helped me very, very much,” he said.

Graduating from high school, Feseha said, represents the completion of an important milestone and the beginning of another. He now hopes to pursue studies as a health-care aide before continuing into nursing.

For graduate Alexa Tacan, finishing high school once seemed unlikely.

“I never thought I would graduate because I always thought I’d give up on school,” she told the Sun.

Tacan described having a difficult relationship with school and acknowledged that personal struggles and challenges with fellow students often made the experience harder.

“Prairie Hope, how they do school, it really helped me, honestly,” she said.

Walking across the stage on graduation day marked the beginning of what she called “a new chapter.”

“Today means finding myself, really,” Tacan said. “I’m excited and nervous.”

Graduate Kayla Hornibro said one of her greatest challenges was simply getting out of bed and making it to school consistently.

“I like to stay up late, but I soon learned that you’ve got to get up, go to school and get stuff done,” she said. “Don’t skip school, because I ended up in Grade 13. But here I am graduating today.”

Hornibro said the experience taught her an important lesson.

“If you want to succeed in life, you’ve got to get up in the morning, start your day, get things done and succeed,” she said.

Prairie Hope principal Ashley Dyson, who is celebrating his first graduation as principal, described the Class of 2026 as one of the school’s most diverse groups.

“We’ve got students who have newly moved to Brandon, students who came as refugees and students who have seen success and are moving on to jobs and post-secondary education,” Dyson told the Sun.

He said many graduates had struggled to complete their studies in other schools before finding success at Prairie Hope.

“As many students have been able to finish off programs they struggled to complete in other schools and other areas, and they’ve returned and been successful,” she said. “That’s a great moment to celebrate.”

Addressing graduates during the ceremony, Dyson praised their determination.

“You’ve learned how to adapt when plans change, how to keep going when things get hard,” he said. “Being here today, you’ve proven that you’re resilient, resourceful and ready for the next challenge.”

Graduates should remain curious, informed and connected to those who supported them along the way, he said.

“Take a good look around at the people in the audience,” Dyson told the graduates. “These are the people who defended you, supported you and were there in your time of need. Keep them close on the road ahead.”

Brandon School Division Supt. Matthew Gustafson tasked graduates to focus not only on what they accomplish in life, but on how they impact others.

“Over your lifetime, you will be judged by your actions and decisions, but you’ll be remembered by your interactions and your values,” Gustafson said. “I hope moving forward, you focus on the positive impact that you leave on others.”

The ceremony also featured an inspiring message from 2024 Prairie Hope graduate Jessica Land, whose own educational journey included dropping out of high school twice before eventually graduating and becoming an honours student in history and anthropology at Brandon University.

Land told graduates that success is often rooted not in talent, but in persistence.

“The key to success isn’t smarts or tricks,” she said. “It’s stubbornness. It’s being so defiantly hopeful that you refuse to give up.”

» aodutola@brandonsun.com

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