EDHS Valedictorian to fellow grads: there is “beauty in endings”
- ESSEX FREE PRESS
- Jun 18
- 4 min read
by Sylene Argent, Local Journalism Initiative
A massive round of applause erupted inside the Essex Centre Sports Complex as Essex District High School’s graduating class of 2025 tossed their caps in the air, signifying an end of one chapter and their first step into the next.
Last Wednesday evening, Essex District High School hosted its 140th annual Convocation, giving the senior students a chance to reflect on the past four-years of secondary school studies. It also sent them off into their prospective futures in a way that motivated them to reach for the stars, do their best, and grow as they embark on the next step in their life journey, be it college, university, trade school, or seeking permanent employment.
Graduation marks a special milestone in the lives of many, Addysyn King, the EDHS class of 2025 class Valedictorian, said. It is a day “we enter the world of experiences and possibilities.”
When her classmates selected her to deliver the valedictorian address on graduation night, she was soon asked how the speech writing was coming along, and what her theme was going to be.
“I thought, ‘what do you mean theme?’” she quipped from the podium.
So, that first night, she went home and sat there with a pen and paper in hand. “And yet, no words were written.”
Instead, “tears filled my eyes, because I knew I wanted the speech to be perfect for my fellow classmates.”
Every time she tried to write something, she questioned it, wondering if it captured all the sentiment she hoped to convey. But then, she had a moment of clarity.
“The truth is, the speech was never meant to be perfect. It was supposed to be special, just like the last four-years of high school.”
Those formative years were filled with difficult moments, “but we learned from them,” King reflected.
That included the transition of learning online through the pandemic “to actually doing your work” being a jump “I don’t think anyone was ready for.”
There were good moments, too, including being involved in sports and clubs, prom, the trip to Muskoka Woods; all things that provided students an opportunity to form plenty of fond memories.
King personally played for several EDHS sports teams and other clubs outside the school.
“These memories, good and bad, will last us a lifetime,” she said.
“Adults always say, ‘high school goes by so fast, so make the most of it,’” and I regret ever saying ‘I can’t wait to graduate.’ Because I can wait. I take it back. Because I am scared of whatever is out there,” she revealed.
“I wish I was a kid again making those mud pies and whining about when I had to go back inside; when the worst part of my day was having to go to bed,” she added. The notion of letting go of one’s childhood doesn’t sink in until those last two months of high school, when students begin to reminisce with others they barely talked to before.
Now students are sitting in their caps and gowns, wondering what they will do next.
After those four formative years in high school, with such incredible educators, King wants to follow in their footsteps. She plans to attend the University of Windsor to study human kinetics and eventually become a teacher and coach. She earned an entrance scholarship.
She thanked the teachers and staff at EDHS on behalf of the graduating class for everything they have done for them, including offering support and patience. She also thanked guardians and parents, and families, for expressing disappointment when they deserved it, and for being someone to lean on when they had a tough day.
“You have all raised such passionate, talented, and strong-minded individuals, who will, no doubt, move on to do incredible things.
To her own family, those individuals who never gave up on her even during the hardest of times, Kings said she never could have done this without their support.
She also thanked her school peers, noting that everyone has grown from immature adolescence to educated and resilient young adults over the past four-years.
Kings acknowledged she is a crier at endings, such as at the end of each sport season. But she has learned there is beauty in endings. She urged fellow graduates to remember that beautiful things can come out of sad endings.
“This time, the beauty in this ending was all of you,” she said.
King graduated as an Ontario Scholar, having earned the recognition for putting in over 500 community service hours, and the WECSSAA Volunteer of the Year award, noting she thoroughly enjoys volunteering in the community. She earned the Health and Wellness Specialist High Skills Major.
Fellow EDHS graduate Rachel Wilbee took home an armful of awards that will come in handy as she plans to study biochemistry with a specialization in cancer biology at the Ivey Business School at Western University. Studying science and business will help her decide which path she wants to take as she moves forward in her post-secondary studies.
She earned an $8,000 Scholarship of Excellence from Western University, in addition to the Banwell and Bracken Family Memorial Award for $500, the Jordan and Sarah Goure Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence for $250, the EDHS Athletic Merit Award for $250, the Julie - Simon Heinz Academic Achievement for $500, the Shirley Louise Robinson Bursary for $500, the EGCC Simpson Legacy Bursary for $1000, the Essex Rotary Club Merit Award for $1000, and the Optimist Club of Essex Volunteer Service Merit Award for $1000.
In addition, graduate Trent Rudge will be headed to Canisius University in Buffalo, where he will play Division 1 Baseball and study sports management. He earned an athletic scholarship. Nash Driedger will head to Cayuga Community College, where he will play D2 baseball, having received an entrance scholarship.
A reception was prepared for all of the graduates and their families following the official ceremony, giving students a moment to celebrate and spend a few more moments together as a class.
