Even though the Class of 2020 hasn't been together in person for the past three months, Timmins High and Vocational School valedictorian Briana Sutherland said she's never felt a stronger sense of community.
“We’ve definitely learned some life lessons though this whole pandemic and I think we’ll come out stronger because of it,” she said, ahead of the school's graduation.
With COVID-19 restrictions changing the traditional ceremonies this year, at District School Board Ontario North East each school chose between a physically distanced or virtual ceremony.
“With COVID we all felt that a virtual grad would not give us the closure that we felt we needed from Timmins High,” said Sutherland, who was also part of the graduation executive planning the ceremony.
Timmins High students opted for a drive-in event. It was held Wednesday, June 24 across the road from the high school in the parking lot of the Archie Dillon Sportsplex. A large screen was set up, and families could tune into the sound system from the radio in their vehicles.
The last couple months of high school has been a roller coaster, said Sutherland.
"The first couple of weeks everyone kind of just felt numb and no one really knew what was going on and so we were all expecting to go back,” she said.
As events got postponed, she said the class changed and she found herself talking to people she had never really spoken to.
"I started connecting with other students, just checking in to see how people are doing,” she said.
“The Class of 2020 was affected emotionally and mentally, but everyone kind of kept in touch with each other and kept a strong sense of moral support."
Watching friends in upper years graduate, she said there have been moments that they expected to happen that were stripped from them.
"But we’re taking it day by day and I feel proud to be a part of this graduating class solely for the fact of what we’ve gone through,” she said.
One of the biggest lessons through COVID-19, she said, is online learning.
Compared to other grades, she said they had "the academic pressure to continue because we were graduating and we had to keep in mind that we are still graduating, we are still going on to post-secondary education so we had to keep going."
Through that virtual work, she's developed online learning and independence skills. She's also devloped her textbook reading skills and time management, as she works a part-time job and also helped her younger sister with schoolwork.
“Given the pandemic, we’ve needed to learn how to adapt and overcome our own personal challenges,” she said.
In writing her valedictorian speech, Sutherland said she she wanted to have an optimistic outlook and acknowledge everybody who's contributed to the Timmins High experience.
The first draft was written months ago, when whey didn't know if they would be able to go back to school.
"It was very hard to write a speech trying to...write for a time where I didn’t know what was going on with the pandemic. I had a lot of trouble with that," she said.
Being in a pandemic also added a little extra pressure.
"This is a moment in history so you have a little bit of added pressure to wonder how do you inspire and reflect on your years at Timmins High while providing an optimistic and positive outlook moving forward. It’s a lot of pressure,” she said.
Next year, Sutherland is attending Western University for a Bachelor of Music.
Watch the TH's full 2020 graduation ceremony here.
