A look in from Wednesday's North West College graduation at the Dekker Centre. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

Milestone occasion

North West College celebrates graduation day

Jun 8, 2023 | 8:00 AM

It was graduation day Wednesday at the Dekker Centre, for North West College’s Battlefords campus’ class of 2023.

More than 100 students (109 total), walked the stage to receive their diplomas, in a ceremony President and CEO of the college, Dr. Eli Ahlquist called, “a culmination of all the hard work the students have put into their academic pursuits.”

“It’s a fantastic testament to our students and the effort they’ve put in, the support they’ve had from their families, and the support we receive from our local industry to be able to push these programs forward and to contribute to the economy in the region,” Ahlquist said.

“This is definitely one of our larger graduations, and coming out of COVID this is a great opportunity to have students returning to continue their education and advance themselves, and it was definitely a full house today which was great to see.”

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Lainey Moosomin, who graduated from the Business Certificate program and will be continuing her education this fall with the Business Management course, spoke to the excitement of the day, and seeing her family play a part in the celebration.

“I’m so grateful for this opportunity, and I had my dad and my brothers singing with Two Nations [who performed for the Grand Entrance],” she said with a smile. “I was so proud walking out there [across the stage].”

Aderonke Adeboye, who graduated from the Continuing Care Assistant program, received a special graduation gift from her family, who made the trip out from a province away to celebrate with her on the day.

“I have my mom, I have my uncles, and I have my brother here, and they all came from Edmonton,” she said flashing a big smile. “I’m so happy because I wasn’t expecting them and they told me they weren’t going to make it, so they surprised me.”

“It was so nice, I love it,” she continued. “[Getting to graduation day] is a journey, it’s so stressful sometimes, but other times it’s so good. I feel great I’m here today.”

In addition to those celebrating their post-secondary graduations, there were also those at Wednesday’s ceremony celebrating finishing up their Grade 12, in many cases after making the commitment to return to the classroom years later.

Among them is Joseph Blackstar, who talked about how much it means to go back to school and graduate.

“It wasn’t easy, I’ve got to tell you that. My mom let me know and had me prepared for this,” Blackstar said, wiping his brow. “I’m 37 years old and I never thought I’d get to finish this, so it’s a dream come true and all it took is hard work, discipline, and sacrifice, and the right family and supportive friends.

“I wouldn’t have gotten to where I am today without all the support of the people around me, and I want to go on to university from here and just reach… the sky is the limit from here.”

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1