Sandra LaRose knows something about missing out on graduation, and passed on her thoughts for the Class of 2020, who will only be having a virtual grad with videotaped speeches.
Last year, she and her daughter, Kailynn Bursic-Panchuk, were preparing for grad, but Kailynn never made it to that big day. Kailynn died in a distracted driving collision with a train near Weyburn, one day after her 17th birthday.
“When I missed Kailynn’s grad, I felt like I had missed a big step in her life, as that milestone hasn’t been reached,” said LaRose, adding she feels for this year’s class, who are missing out on this major occasion in their lives. She notes she has a niece who is graduating from Miller in Regina, so the situation is still very real to her this year.
One positive result from having to live through the COVID-19 pandemic is the students have had to learn about resilience, empathy and compassion, she said.
“They’ve had to realize at a younger age they can’t put themselves first. They have to stay away from grandparents, aunts and uncles … and they don’t get to walk across the stage to get their diplomas,” said LaRose.
“No matter how it ends, knowing how strong they are and knowing how much resilience they have, they have to adapt to everything, just like all of us have. It changes almost weekly … to lose that opportunity (for grad) is horrible,” said LaRose.
She had a dream that the Class of 2020 grads were lined up along a main road, like Government Road, in a socially-distant way, and people were able to drive by and wave and see all of them.
Thinking back to last year, she noted Kailynn was really excited about grad, as it was a big deal for her. “Kailynn had her dress picked out and had her hair appointment made, and had everything planned to a ‘T’,” said LaRose. “I know I was as excited for grad as Kailynn was. I hope they will get something.”
She pointed out there some valuable life lessons being learned from going through this pandemic experience together, like all students across Canada and around the world are.
“I want the class to know, as much as it sucks not to get the cap and gown, they may not realize it now, but they’ll take something positive from this experience, and they may not even realize it until later in life,” she added. “You don’t realize how resilient you are. I think for these kids, it’s going to be a benefit in their lives in the long run.”
She commented that the students of today’s class are finding out much sooner in life about what not to take for granted, and suggested this is one of the greatest life lessons they can take away from this experience.
The students from the Class of 2020 are not being selfish for wanting something to be in place for grad, said LaRose. “They deserve it, and they deserve a celebration. No matter whether there’s ceremonies or not, they are celebrated and we are all proud of them.”
