MONTREAL -- A Quebec student was surprised by his teachers when they showed up at his door to ask if he’d like to be the valedictorian of Chateauguay Valley Regional High School’s 2020 graduating class.
A video of the exchange depicts a woman speaking to the young man, Brian, on the steps of his front porch.
“It is with greatest respect and admiration – for having watched you for five years – that I’m here to ask if you’d like to be our valedictorian for the class of 2020,” she said.
A bashful Brian giggles and accepts. He’s then guided through a field of signs covered in warm notes in his front yard, detailing reasons why his teachers – who are all present, standing two metres apart – chose him for the role.
“Because you are always there when it counts!” one sign reads.
Two others – mounted on hockey sticks since Brian is an athlete – say “Because you are generous and kind to everybody” and “Because if you didn’t outplay them, you outworked them.”
Gestures such as this one have come to replace traditional means of celebrating graduation amid the COVID-19 pandemic, since high schools were ordered to close mid-March until September at the earliest. Many students have expressed disappointment because a huge chapter of their lives is coming to an end without a formal sendoff.
On Sunday, students from a Chateauguay high school, Howard S. Billings, participated in a walk-by graduation.
Walking across the stage during graduation after five years of hard work means a lot to students, so parents and the school’s administration decided to honour the tradition in whatever way they could despite the pandemic.
More than 100 students took turns walking along the sidewalk in front of their school as teachers, friends and families cheered.
“You work with these kids for five years—they're ours,” said Lynn Claude, the school’s principal. “Their struggles become ours, and their successes are such a joy to watch at this point. It's been emotional to be able to say goodbye. We didn't think we were going to be able to do that.”
