Summer is in full swing, but we continue to reflect on why commemorating high school graduation is so important and how, truly, “it takes a village.” Graduation is more than a piece of paper. It’s the culmination of hard work and determination. It sets the stage for a successful future. Thank you to the Pathways community—students, staff, national and local partners, a multitude of donors—for supporting youth living in low-income communities. Together, we’ve helped more young people have their special graduation moment.
This article was written by Danielle Truen, Post Secondary and Career Development Coordinator at Pathways Spryfield.
At Pathways Spryfield, in Halifax, our goal with graduation is to make it as student-oriented as possible and highlight the student’s accomplishments, resiliency, persistence, and determination that got them to that point.
Because of this, we felt it was very important for the students to be able to have a plus-one with them so they could share and celebrate their achievements with not only their cohort and Pathways but also with their other supporters who helped get them where they are today.
That sense of community and support is what Pathways is all about and it is very important to us in Halifax that we make sure our students always feel a sense of comfort, community, and support in whatever it is we do.
Seeing firsthand the obstacles and barriers that many of our students faced and will continue to do so, we use graduation as an opportunity to highlight everything they have achieved in their time with us and to remind them that wherever they go, they belong there.
During the graduation ceremony, we did a formal presentation of handing out certificates where every student gets a chance to walk up and receive their certificate and get a picture with their Student Parent Support Worker (SPSW). In addition to their certificate, students also received a gift bag that included a personal handwritten card from their SPSW, Pathways alumni swag, a gift card, a Post-Secondary Transition toolkit, and a letter with instructions on how to access their scholarship funds and who they can contact for support.
Additionally, Pathways Spryfield gave out six awards to students for Positive Attitude, Tutoring, Growth, Persistence, Taking a Chance, and Mentoring. Students who received these awards also got their names engraved on a plaque that was mounted to the wall in the Pathways Spryfield office. One thing that I feel is very important to mention is the love and support that this year’s cohort has for one another. With every name that was called, the recipients were met with standing ovations, cheers, hollers, and the utmost love from the room. Seeing that firsthand was truly an incredible experience because it shows how close all of these students are and the genuine joy and compassion they feel for each other’s successes.
That said, none of this would have been possible without the generosity and ongoing support of students, staff, partners, and donors. Because of this increase in guests and our mission to make this evening as special and memorable as possible for students, we knew that costs would look a little different from years prior and were initially unsure of how we were going to make the evening possible.
However, we’re grateful we received support from a few national and local partners, secured an amazing venue, covered meal costs, awarded students, and provided each student with a goodie bag. We at Pathways Spryfield would like to personally thank King’s and Southland Transportation, who went above and beyond to show their support for the students.
For the venue, we held graduation at the University of King’s College. King’s is a beautiful University here in Halifax and because of its smaller campus size and personable feel, we knew it would be a perfect place to hold our graduation. The staff at the University were incredibly accommodating and made the evening a truly special night for the students, and were an overall joy to work with. The students were amazed by how beautiful it was, as well as how a place could encompass that same feeling that being at Pathways does.
When selecting King’s, one of the things we knew was going to be a barrier for many students was transportation. Many students don’t have access to vehicles and taking public transportation was not going to come without challenges. With that in mind, I reached out to a local transportation service called Southland and, very kindly, donated a bus to take students and plus ones to the event. However, the experience with Southland did not end there. The bus driver for the evening ended up reaching out to me the day before inquiring about what the event was – to which I replied with our Pathways Graduation. When the bus pulled up on the evening of the event and students first got on, they were met with an incredible surprise. The driver had decked the bus out with decorations and flowers and was playing music for the students to commemorate the special evening. This was above and beyond anything we could have expected, and it truly made the students’ evening that much more special, and for that, we are so thankful.