July 6, 2011
Mackenzie graduates
"final" class
by Terry Myers
The last of the thoroughbreds...
Mackenzie High School gathered to say farewell last week to its final
class of graduating students.
The 85 members of the Class of 2011 will be the last ever to leave the
halls of what is now still Mackenzie High School.
As of next year, students will graduate from the secondary school
program within the new, consolidated Mackenzie Community School.
But if they're going to be the last, at least they're going out with
style, said class valedictorian Vanessa Sears.
“Looking back, I can say without hesitation that this group of students
has made a difference at Mackenzie,” Sears told friends, family and
staff gathered for graduation ceremonies last Thursday in Childs
Auditorium.
“Some of us were the first-ever Link Crew leaders, some of us made a
difference in El Salvador, and all of us have made Mackenzie a better
place.
“Together we've made it through the choreography of My Fair Lady, the
freezing slip and slide of MOGA, we've lost kids on subways in France,
we've gotten hit by cars in Stratford, and we never stopped being
awesome.”
Sears noted that one member of the graduating class, Eui-Hyun Yang,
could not be at graduation because he had been selected as one of 120
youth leaders from across Canada to attend a reception at Rideau Hall
to meet the visiting Royals, William and Kate, the Duke and Duchess of
Cambridge.
“Chosen for his work in community service, Eui-Hyun is representing
Mackenzie well today, and many more of you will continue to uphold the
fantastic reputation we've worked hard to achieve,” she said.
Sears said the graduating students will always carry with them their
memories of high school, including the “overwhelming sense of community
and acceptance that can always be found at Mackenzie.”
“Throughout our four or five years at this school, we've all made
mistakes. All of us have messed up at some point,” she said.
“But the tangible feeling of togetherness and the friends we've made
have enabled us to solve our problems, fix our screw-ups, and become
wiser, happier, and better for the experience.”
Sears said the graduating students may be moving on to “pursue bigger
and better things.”
“But as we leave to fulfill our dreams, we need to hold onto the values
that Mackenzie instilled in us - honesty, perserverance, compassion,
strength.
“We are Mustangs, the last of the thoroughbreds, and the best
graduating class to ever walk through these halls,” she said.
“And when we go out into the world today, we're going to leave our
mark...
“Mustangs are an incredible group of people, and in these final moments
together, look around at your peers, the people who are already making
an impact in the world.
“Look at the future Nobel Prize winners, the future humanitarians,
politicians, doctors, Picassos, engineers - friends.
“Look around at the face of the future. We are it. And we're going to
be amazing. Hell, we already are.”
Mackenzie principal Terry Hughes congratulated the graduating students,
and urged them to look beyond their own interests.
“Today is all about you,” he said.
“Since the day you were born, it has been all about you, with someone
watching over you every step of the way.
“One wonders what tomorrow will bring.”
Will students concern themselves only with their own lives and their
own needs, or will they give of themselves to others?
“Will you be lazy, industrious, generous, stingy? Only you can decide
that,” he said.
“Starting tomorrow, you will be free to make more of your own
decisions. You will decide who you will be.”
But while they may be graduating high school, that doesn't mean
students are finished with learning or teachers.
There are an “infinite number of teachers out there,” many of them who
will not have the students' best interests at heart.
“At Mackenzie, we've done our best to prepare you for the future,”
Hughes said.
“You're on your own now. Your future will be determined by the
decisions you make.
“I hope you make good ones and have a wonderful life.”
Among the many scholarships and awards presented at the graduation
ceremonies, there were two new memorial scholarships this year, in
memory of two recent Mackenzie grads who died in the past year in
tragic car accidents.
Charles Merredew was on hand to present the Rachel Irene Merredew
memorial scholarship to Crystal Hollahan.
The award recognizes a graduating student who demonstrates profound
natural ability and who may choose to put the needs of others above his
or her own.
Also presented was the Chi Hui Seo memorial scholarship, won by Jackie
Beale.
Hughes said Chi Hui represented “the very best of what Mackenzie offers
to the world.”
“She will be forever remembered and missed by so many.”
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