A tight-knit group of friends can help one another achieve anything – including graduating from high school.
Friends and family gathered to celebrate the five students making up the Cameron Crossing Class of 2019 on May 31 at Crystal Shores Beach House.
“It is an amazing group of young adults, with so much potential,” said Jeff Mason, Cameron Crossing principal. “Words such as pride, success, accomplishment, joy, honour, sadness all came to me as you are leaving us and getting ready to go on to the next stages of your lives.
“We laughed together, celebrated together, cried together and most importantly have grown together.”
Cameron Crossing in Okotoks is a full-time alternative high school for students who want a different setting, such as a small classroom, more one-on-one help or dealing with issues such as anxiety.
Graduate Kienan Homer was breathing easier after finishing school.
“It’s crazy, it feels like a lot off my chest – it feels good,” Homer said.
He came to Cameron Crossing due to not being exactly an ideal student at his previous school.
“I had really bad attendance and I got in a bit of trouble,” Homer said. “I got referred to Cameron Crossing. The staff is amazing, I highly recommend it for a lot of people.”
Homer was able to learn and grow from his mistakes – he was also invited to participate in his previous school’s graduation ceremony.
Good things happen for those who wait — and persevere.
“When I came to Cameron Crossing, I was super-shy, very anxious, I didn’t know who I was or what I stood for,” said graduate Jay Hardie. “The people there really gave me a good idea of who I wanted to be and a leader in the community.”
He had to climb a few obstacles to get his diploma.
“This is my fifth-year, I was absolutely ready to quite school, I didn’t think I would ever graduate,” Hardie said, who turned 20 the day after the ceremony. “The school supported me through all my challenges.”
He went from someone wanting to end his schooling to achieving honour marks.
He did it with the help of his four fellow graduates.
“These people are like my siblings, we’ve gone through so much together,” he said.
Hardie took his core classes at Cameron Crossing, but took drama at Foothills Comp/Alberta High School of Fine Arts.
“It’s my passion,” Hardie said, who was the stage manager for Dewdney Players Wizard of Oz. “I would like to stage manage professionally.”
Cameron Crossing would go literally the extra three or four miles for Hardie. Staff members would drive him to and from the school to the Comp for the drama courses.
Desarai Taylor is going to use the help she received at Cameron Crossing to assist youth in the future.
“I was going through a lot and they kind of just let me in,” Taylor said of Cameron Crossing. “They were always here for me when I needed help.”
She plans to go on to college with her long-term goal of helping young people with drug addictions.
Christian Strutzel was referred to the school by Westmount School to help with his anxiety.
“Cameron Crossing allowed me to move past my anxiety to get more of a reliable routine and help me plan out my day,” Strutzel said. “It gave me more opportunities than I would have ever had at a traditional high school.
“It gave me a healthier relationship with staff and education in general.”
He gave a point-blank “no” when asked if he would have graduated from a traditional high school.
“I went from I wasn't able to leave the house, that I am now going to student matters conferences and being the master of ceremonies here,” he said.
He said he appreciates the efforts Westmount School made to help him get into Cameron Crossing.
Cameron Crossing was there to give Ali Thiessen a Mulligan when she needed it most after struggling at traditional school.
“I felt a lot more comfortable at Cameron Crossing, there was way less people,” she said. “I had a lot of anxiety being around a lot of people.”
She did quit at one point, went to a different school and decided to come back.
“I didn’t think I would ever graduate,” she said.
Thiessen plans to upgrade and then study to become a licensed practical nurse at Bow Valley College.
