View From the Legislature

The Graduates of 2020

  • Kelvin Goertzen, Author
  • Member of the Legislative Assembly, Steinbach

It is typical in every graduation year to wish the graduates well and to give them some advice for the challenges and obstacles that they are sure to face ahead in life. For the Grad Class of 2020, there will hardly be a need to speak much of those challenges, as they are collectively experiencing a significant one in real time.

At the beginning of this school year, no one could have predicted how it would unfold. The suspension of classes around the world has approximately 1.5 billion students out of school. And while this will impact on all ages of students, it must be acknowledged that it falls most heavily on those who are graduating high school and post-secondary institutions.

Each of us who have graduated from high school or a post-secondary university or college, know the special feeling of that final year and spending it with classmates. The global pandemic interrupted this important time for graduating students. But nothing about this year takes away from the special accomplishment they have achieved or the efforts of their friends and family who have supported them along the way. The hard work that graduates have invested in their education is to be celebrated and acknowledged as much this year as ever.

While the way this year has developed is without doubt a disappointment to many graduates, it has been made better by the incredible efforts of school staff and Division administrators who have gone above and beyond the call to find ways to make the graduation year special. These efforts have included making lawn signs for the homes of graduates to ensure they are recognized by the community.

The current gathering restrictions will change the way graduation is celebrated. Although, there again unique and creative efforts being undertaken. Many school divisions across Manitoba, including here in Hanover, are utilizing a drive-in graduation ceremony concept that will allow many more people to come together than would otherwise have been possible. It may not be exactly as envisioned, but it will be meaningful and memorable, and the Grads of 2020 deserve nothing less.

It is traditional to offer our congratulations to the annual class of graduates. This year that is more important than ever. The Grads of 2020 have gone through far more than the typical graduating class. They have achieved academically but they have also proven to be resilient. They are a graduating class that have learned many lessons this year, some planned and some unplanned. And they are more prepared than most to do great things as they take on the world.

On behalf of all the residents of the Steinbach Constituency, congratulations to the remarkable and resilient Class of 2020!