In Calgary, Syrian refugee Sara Al Aqal sat at a graduation banquet during Ramadan, two years after arriving in Canada. At the Opaskwayak Cree Nation in Manitoba, Desirae Constant’s parents, brothers, uncles, aunts and cousins accompanied her to her grad supper at the local arena. And in Port Hope, Ont., dozens of teens arrived in vintage cars, an ATV and even a boat on a trailer to celebrate their final year of high school.
These are just some of the scenes that have played out over the last few weeks across the country, as high-school graduates – most of them 17 or 18 – celebrated the end of their adolescence and marked their first steps into adulthood.
“It’s kind of like a milestone of all the four years leading up to this very moment,” one said.
Some have only a few months before they go back to school, entering college or university programs. Others will work or take a year off.
The Globe and Mail visited this coming-of-age ritual – grad night to some, prom to others – and spoke with students about their thoughts and hopes for the night, and the future.
The days all started with preening and posing. Then came the evening of stunning gowns and suits. It was a celebration of achievements and it was an evening the Class of 2018 said they would always remember.
– Caroline Alphonso
Auburn Drive High School
Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia
Student population: 763 | Grad class population: 244 | Prom theme: Glitz and Glamour
Tyrece Paris, 18, played point guard for the Auburn Eagles, his school’s varsity basketball team, which won the provincial championship this year.
What does prom mean to you?
It’s kind of the last group gathering and occasion that you get to spend with the people you’ve spent the last three years of your life with. Kind of like the last moment that you might see some of these people ever again in your life. And, it’s just something you want to cherish, that you want to remember and you want to mean something.
What will you miss about high school?
The thing I’ll miss most is waking up every day and seeing the people that I enjoy spending time with – going there to be with my friends.
What are you doing next year?
I’m going to St. F.X. [Nova Scotia’s St. Francis Xavier University] to pursue a bachelor of kinesiology and possibly take some business electives and just go from there. Maybe follow it with physiotherapy or something. It’s what I plan to do, but I might change it up. I’m not 100 per cent sure yet.
Port Hope High School
Port Hope, Ontario
Student population: 300 | Grad class population: 81 | Prom theme: Starry Night
Hannah Larsen, 18, was president of her high school’s student council and also served on the prom committee organizing an event that included the ‘drive-up,’ where students arrived in various modes of transportation, including limos, tractors and vintage cars.
What does prom mean to you?
It’s kind of like a milestone of all the four years leading up to this very moment … I want to see everyone dressed up, so that’s really exciting, but mostly just spending time with my friends one last time, kind of before we all go off and graduate and do separate things.
What will you miss about high school?
I think I’ll actually miss the teachers the most. Because being in a small town and small school, your teachers really get to interact with you, and get to know you, so I’ve known all these teachers since Grade 9, some of them since Grade 7 or 8. The support you get from them is just insane. Like more than you’d get in a city or bigger school. I’ll miss them.
What are you doing after high school?
I accepted my offer to Queen’s in Kingston – arts program ... I want to be a web or graphic designer. Maybe self-employed if I get that far.
Oscar Lathlin Collegiate
Opaskwayak Cree Nation, Manitoba
School population: Around 450 | Grad class population: 29 | Celebration: A grad supper and dance
Desirae Constant, 18, was class valedictorian and won several awards at graduation, including the Governor-General’s Medal for highest academic average and top student in the Cree language.
What does grad mean to you?
I don’t want to sound cliché, but I think it’s like the beginning of an end. All the hard work that you put in during the year, it’s kind of all paying off right now. But then after that, you’re not done – we all have goals, I guess you could say, or dreams, that we have to do after. And we incorporated our culture into the grad ceremony – we did a sort of round dance with the grads around the gym while the drum group sang.
What are you going to miss most about high school?
The most I’m going to miss is probably the friends I made. Even though I was only here for one year, I made friends with everyone. [Desirae attended school in Saskatoon before enrolling in Oscar Lathlin for her Grade 12 year.] Well, I guess you can’t really say just friends since I’m related to most of them. But I didn’t know them before, so I’d call them friends.
What will you do after high school?
I’m here [on Opaskwayak] for at least two years and I’m going to the University College of the North, then I’ll go off and do my own thing. I plan to go to the University of Saskatchewan, but I don’t know if I want to be a teacher or a veterinarian. I wanted to be a veterinarian my whole life, and just recently moving back home, I wasn’t really around my aunties before [who are on staff at the schools] and seeing them work hard for all these kids – to make sure they finish – even though they may be graduating late they still encourage them any way they can, and that kind of inspired me. So I thought of being a teacher as I was applying to UCN.
James Fowler High School
Calgary
School Population: Just over 700 | Grad class: 210 | Theme of grad banquet: Midnight
Sara Al Aqal, 18, left Syria with her family in 2013, and lived in Jordan until they arrived in Canada on Feb. 12, 2016. Sara’s graduation banquet took place during Ramadan; she was fasting.
What does prom mean to you?
It’s a huge step for me. It’s a big step for me in preparing for my future. I prepared very carefully for this day.
What will you miss about high school?
My friends, my teachers. It was hard to make new friends at first, but they accepted me for who I am. We laughed together, cried together and supported each other. I will really miss my friends.
What are you doing next after high school?
Because I came later, I have to do upgrading in English. I want to study medicine.
Prince of Wales Secondary School
Vancouver
Student Population: 1,040 | Grad class population: 217
Duncan Bain, 18, gets dressed for a grad dance organized by students. Another, more casual, celebration about two weeks later was organized by the school and followed the graduation ceremony. Duncan received the Michael Schultz Drama Award at graduation for his contributions to the school’s theatre community.
What does prom mean to you?
It means we can finally all stop panicking. It means we’re almost done. The race has been run. It’s almost finished. It’s obviously an exciting moment for everyone. I think we’re all pretty happy to be here.
What will you miss about high school?
Probably getting to see the people that I like every day. You build these relationships and then it’s all over pretty suddenly, so that’s probably going to be an adjustment.
What are you doing after high school?
Immediately after, I’m taking a gap year and travelling to Europe with my friend Callum. And then, after, I’ll go to university, something in the arts but I’m not entirely sure what or where yet.
