Twelve years of hard work, homework and anxious moments waiting for report cards came to a close on Tuesday, June 24, for the 132 graduating students from Ladysmith Secondary School.
After a weekend of prom celebrations, the cap-and-gown ceremony was the final milestone for the Class of 2025.
The school gymnasium was packed to capacity, with graduates seated in the front bleachers as proud family and community members filled the space. The event began with a procession of local bursary and scholarship donors, followed by Ladysmith Secondary staff and students.
The program was opened by staff and students from the Land and Language program drumming and singing the Coast Salish anthem.
Master of ceremonies and Ladysmith Secondary School (LSS) teacher Michael Gray introduced honoured guests including Chief John Elliot of Stz’uminus First Nation, Ladysmith Mayor Deena Beeston, school trustee for the Nanaimo Ladysmith Public Schools Board of Education Tim Harris, LSS principal Shelley Gvojich and assistant superintendent Don Balcombe.
Elliot addressed the graduating class, offering words of encouragement and emphasizing the importance of hard work, kindness and respect. Harris followed, congratulating the graduating class of 2025 and noting that their decisions have the power to create change for many people.
Graduate Caidence Burns sang the Canadian national anthem, accompanied by the school’s junior band.
Following the opening remarks, 117 bursaries and scholarships were presented to members of the graduating class. The bursary program is administered by the Nanaimo Ladysmith Schools Foundation, which distributed more than $484,000 in awards across the district this year. Of that, $136,400 was awarded to Ladysmith students, not including bursaries distributed outside of the formal program.
After the awards, the moment everyone was waiting for arrived as each graduate crossed the stage to receive their diploma.
Jorie Benjamin and Zack Silvey were chosen as valedictorians by their peers. In their speech, they reflected on their shared experiences over the years, including a few shenanigans, and offered words of hope for the future.
The ceremony concluded with an address from Gvojich, who congratulated the class of 2025 and expressed her appreciation for having such a remarkable group of students in her first year as principal.
