The The room was packed and an expectant hush fell over the auditorium as over 150 graduates entered to start their graduation ceremony. This was the moment that so many parents, teachers, administrators and especially students were waiting for - commencement.
The ceremony was graciously hosted by Vice Principal Ross Edmunds with new Principal, Virginia Pang, offering the opening address. The graduates were also warmly welcomed by Superintendent Curtis Ennes. Thusarshan Vikneswaran a well-loved , highly committed and involved Western graduate, gave a thoughtful and inspiring Valedictory Address.
What was amazing (as always) with these WTCS graduates, was the career paths they have chosen. Almost every field was represented. There were future plumbers, Linguists, Engineers, Computer Scientists, Car Detailers, Graphic Designers, Food Technologists, and students of Business, Japanese and Astro-physics. Western grads are attending some of the best colleges and universities in the country. Many were at the University of Toronto, McGill, Queens, Ryerson, Humber College, George Brown, and Centennial College. This is a budding generation of entrepreneurs, academics and tradesmen, and the ceremony was meant to highlight their achievements as well as their future goals.
Like many of the older high schools in the city, Western Tech has one of the most generous scholarship funds in the City of Toronto. This is partly due to the school’s age - the interest on fifty dollars donated 100 years ago turns into a lot of money in 2012.
The winner of the award for highest academic achievement went to Kaelan Doyle-Myerscough who is currently at McGill University pursuing studies in Astro-physics and Japanese. The newest scholarship was awarded to student Matthew Masa. This was the Peter Cram Memorial Scholarship donated in honour of Peter Cram. Mr. Cram was one of Western’s most beloved and inspiring new teachers who passed away tragically at the beginning of the school year in a bicycle accident. In presenting the award, Mr. Neil Langley, the current Curriculum Leader of English, ELL, and Moderns noted that Mr. Cram’s time at Western encompassed the exact period of this year’s graduating class - in essence, he too was graduating with them.
The ceremony finished with the graduates and parents celebrating their achievements in a much more informal way in the cafeteria where the Food Studies Department headed up by student volunteers with the guidance of teachers Lisa De Rosa, John Kilmartin, and Tony Pegg served delicious cakes and coffee.
For those of you who were unable to attend the event in person, you may look for elements of it on the Net. In fact, the whole ceremony was broadcast live over the Internet by Western’s very own Tech Department.
Once again the staff and students of Western Technical-Commercial School have demonstrated just what an exceptional school it truly is. Bravo graduates, bravo Western!
