A record 65 graduates donned cap and gown this year, receiving well-deserved diplomas from École/Collège Régional Gabrielle-Roy (Gab-Roy).

A dinner and dance reception was held at the Victoria Inn on June 20. The St. Boniface Cathedral was filled to capacity on June 24 for the convocation.

“This year the cathedral was full,” says Gab-Roy principal Patrice Harvey. “If I had to estimate, there was close to 500 or 600 people there. It was amazing.”

Harvey says enrolment has been on a steady incline over the past few years and next year the grad number could reach 75. The graduates come from Lorette, Île-des-Chênes, St. Adolphe, Ste. Agathe, Niverville, Landmark, and Grande Pointe, all communities realizing varying levels of population growth.

Harvey says this year’s grads were a truly exceptional group of students.

“They are respectful, engaged in their studies, engaged in leadership in the school, and engaged in their community,” says Harvey.

A total of 26 Gab-Roy grads are enrolled at the Université de Saint-Boniface this coming fall. It’s an indication to Harvey that these students are proud of their Francophone heritage.

For Gab-Roy admin, it’s also a source of pride when students continuing their postsecondary education in French outnumber that of Winnipeg’s largest French school, Collège Louis-Riel.

“One of our goals is to develop the French identity for our students,” Harvey says. “When we see the students continuing in French, we’re proud because that’s good for our French community… Maybe they will then work in French, and when they will have kids, they will speak French.”

Harvey was one of two speakers at this year’s grad ceremony. The other was Jennifer Wiebe, the school’s director of programming.

Harvey’s message to his graduating students was one of encouragement for them to celebrate their achievements regardless of the effort it takes to see them through.

“They all have the same diploma, a piece of paper that says they [completed] high school,” says Harvey. “But behind each diploma they have a unique story.”

As a father and principal, Harvey is aware of the struggle some students face just to get to graduation day, while others seem to breeze through. It’s that struggle, he says, that develops perseverance and fortitude, and these skills will go far in helping them achieve success in other endeavours in life.

Chosen by their peers to be this year’s valedictorians were Mattieu de Rocquigny and Nathan Anderson.

“So here we are, ready for the future they say,” de Rocquigny said to his fellow grads. “It’s always funny to hear that from parents, grandparents, or really anyone over the age of twenty. But let’s be real: some of us still struggle to use a printer, or need to Google how long to boil water for pasta. And yet, despite our small gaps in life skills, we’ve tackled exams, pulled off last-minute oral presentations, and survived 9:00 a.m. classes. That’s real resilience. Maybe we don’t know exactly what the future holds, but one thing’s for sure: we’ve got great instincts. We know how to adapt, how to improvise, and most importantly how to laugh. And if that’s not a form of intelligence, then maybe we need to redefine it.”

He reminded his classmates to go into their future taking one step at a time with perseverance, open-mindedness, the courage to ask questions, and the strength to get back up when things get hard.

“This year, we experienced what it felt like to be the oldest students in the school… though we did find ourselves on the losing side of history with our crushing defeat in the grade war,” Anderson said. “Truth be told, even though we wanted to win, I wouldn’t say the grade war was a total loss. The event brought us closer together, and for perhaps the first time in our high school journey we were united as a class—as friends… That loss wasn’t our first in life, and it certainly won’t be our last. If there’s one thing I’ve learned at Collège Gabrielle-Roy, it’s that a defeat surrounded by those you love is never really a loss.”

While the school takes pride in every one of its students, Harvey is quick to point out that each one is backed by an army of supportive parents and guardians. That was demonstrated throughout the year, but especially toward the end through the thoughtful organization of this year’s grad reception.

Gab-Roy Award Winners

Approximately 29 students were honoured with 37 scholarships from a variety of donors this year.

Harvey had the honour of presenting the esteemed Governor General’s bronze medal to Emma Natividad.

Taking the $1,500 Encouragement Scholarship was Cadence McCabe.

Awards of $1,000 included the University of Manitoba Chown Centennial Scholarship and the AÉFM-Claude Vigier Scholarship, taken by Juliette Danais-Small and Roxanne Marcoux respectively.

The Luc Gosselin Memorial Scholarship honoured two students with $1,000 each, Jesslyn Neumann and Alek Ouimet.

Receiving the DSFM scholarship for $800 was Samuel Burelle. Cadence McCabe was awarded the $750 Clearview Consumer Co-op Scholarship.

A total of 12 $500 awards were provided by Knights of Columbus (Lorette-Jubinville Council), Lorette Thrifty Treasures, Notre Dame de Lorette Catholic Women’s League, the Municipality of Taché, the Jeannot-Robert fund, MLA Ron Schuler, the Steinbach and Assiniboine Credit Unions, Villa Youville, Bold Commerce, Dufresne Pharmacy, and Centennial Gravel.

Stellan Chammartin was the recipient of three and Alek Ouimet two. Other award winners included Sebastian Verrier, David Lemoine, Riley Chammartin, Emma Natividad, Martin de Moissac, and Jesslyn Neumann.

Another 16 awards were presented for amounts under $500. The students receiving these awards were Riley Bossuyt, David Lemoine, Coral Lee Fieber, Sébastien Sarrasin, Benoit Grondin, Mélanie Palud, Janelle Trudeau, Aiden Berard, and Roxanne Marcoux.

 Alek Ouimet and Mattieu de Rocquigny each took two of these awards and Nathan Anderson three.

Honours for Athlete of the Year went to Raihana Laarissa and Daniel Lother.