TIMMINS - Five years ago Briana Sutherland was getting ready to graduate high school.
The milestone wasn’t what she’d envisioned, though.
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Days later, the world shut down.
“When I went to university the following year, my peers and I discussed the differences between what our high schools did for our graduations. Many of them spoke about how their graduations were held virtually on Zoom or recorded video,” she said. “They were quite surprised when I spoke about Timmins High's drive-in graduation.”
Sutherland was the valedictorian of the Timmins High and Vocational Class of 2020 and cherishes the memories of her graduation in person rather than virtually.
“I am so grateful to the Timmins High staff and graduate executive who went above and beyond to provide students with a sincere graduation that also complied with COVID-19 safety guidelines,” she said.
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The graduating class of 2020 faced some unique challenges during their celebrations. District School Board Ontario North East (DSB1) director of education Lesleigh Dye said the creativity of the staff and students during that time still stands out.
“We were just in awe of how our schools were celebrating students in Grade 12 who were graduating, and Timmins High was one of those examples,” she said. “Our staff throughout our district went above and beyond.”
Through those experiences, the ability to share those moments with families in Timmins and friends and family far and wide.
“The streaming of our graduations and our ceremonies is the biggest shift, so now the aunt, the grandparent, the best friend who isn’t able to attend now has access to it in a virtual format,” said Dye.
Since graduating, Sutherland has completed a bachelor’s degree at the University of Western Ontario and is pursuing a master of music in opera performance at the University of British Columbia.
The pandemic also shaped her journey.
“As you can imagine, making music during the pandemic required resilience in the changing times, research, and COVID-19 guidelines,” said Sutherland.
Living on campus was a unique experience.
“I had classes with some in-person components with ventilation periods, PPE, and daily screenings along with other parts of courses delivered online,” she said. “Although this may have been different than the 'average university experience’, I felt very lucky to have experienced what I did during that time, as simply being able to make music felt like a privilege.”
Sutherland has crafted a promising career as a mezzo-soprano, participating in emerging artist programs such as Opera Nuova in Edmonton and the Breno Italy International Music Academy (BIIMA). During breaks, she still comes back to Timmins when she can to teach music.
The most significant change she's seen is the increased awareness people have about safety regarding the spread of diseases like COVID-19.
“As a musician, it is pertinent that I prevent illness as much as I can. I regularly sanitize common spaces, wear a mask, wash my hands frequently, and take vitamins to boost my immune system,” she said. “I have always done most of these things, but I certainly now prioritize it in my everyday life.”
Dye said the lessons learned were not always easy, but she’s proud of how the students and staff came through those early days.
“Perhaps we could have been a little more effective when I think about the mental health of our students,” she said. “Because of the pandemic and because of the important confidentiality of the work, it was a slower transition to how do we support a child and youth worker’s expertise in the early days of the pandemic.”
DSB1 has focused on this since 2020. Currently, 21 mental health staff members work for the board, and all secondary schools have a full-time mental health worker on staff.
Starting last year, the children born during the pandemic started kindergarten, and Dye said that is top of mind while they prepare these children for school too.
“It’s a very different journey for family and for students,” she said.