The graduating class of a northern Manitoba high school got their diplomas and threw their caps into the air in front of a home crowd on Saturday, nearly a month after their community returned following an evacuation due to wildfires.
Only a few weeks ago, a celebration wasn’t guaranteed for the 54 Grade 12 students of Flin Flon’s Hapnot Collegiate Institute.
On May 28, they were among the city’s 5,000 residents who were forced to leave when nearby wildfires triggered a mandatory evacuation order.
Until late June, the students were scattered, mostly across the Prairies, staying with family and friends.
“It was kind of heartbreaking,” graduate Robin Hooper said of the uncertainty.
“But then, when we came back, everything was all right, and we got our stuff planned. It was amazing.”
The ceremony recognized student accomplishments, including with more than 50 awards and bursaries, and also the dedication of firefighters who protected homes and people who lost their homes.
“We weren’t sure we were going to get it, so it is really exciting,” graduate Emma White said about the ceremony.
“It means just a lot to have something normal again after we all left,” said graduate and triplet Aiden Antoniw, who walked across the stage with his brothers, Rylan and Zachary.
High school teacher Rachel Wright, who helped organize the event with work starting in September, was determined to give graduates a celebration, even though it was almost a month later than usual, she said.
“This is the same group that missed their Grade 8 ceremonies because of the [COVID-19] pandemic,” Wright said.
“It’s nice that they don’t have another thing out of their control ruin one of their monumentous occasions. This group has gone through a lot and persevered through it. Giving them something that they deserve and should have is really big.”
WATCH | Flin Flon graduates celebrate in July after wildfire disrupted earlier plans:
Flin Flon high school grads raise caps at home after wildfire evacuation
Outside the Whitney Forum venue, banners bearing the faces of graduates lined the roads.
Among Hapnot Collegiate’s decades-old traditions is a car parade during grad week — where students douse and get doused with hoses and water guns throughout the city — along with a march down Main Street on grad night.
“They’re excited, and they should be,” principal Jordan Dumenko said.
Arm in arm, the grads walked in their formal wear under an orange sun and thick smoke.
The event meant a lot to community members, too, who continue to mourn the devastation caused by wildfires that ripped through nearby communities, including Denare Beach.
Lifelong Flin Flon resident Lana Nagy said it was the first formal get-together with everyone in the city since their return.
“Very thankful to have this day and the kids get everything that they should,” said Nagy, who attended the ceremony to watch her granddaughter graduate.
Longtime friends Isabelle Kerfont and Scarlett Gunn were grateful to make memories after “the month that we lost,” as was Gunn’s mother, who made her grad dress while they were evacuated in Winnipeg.
“My mom did not stop working on my grad dress,” said Gunn, who hopes to attend film school after a gap year.
“She would just continue adding all the little things. We even had to scour so many Walmarts and craft stores just to get one bottle of glitter paint.”
Susan Gunn Saray grabbed materials for her daughter’s grad dress as they were fleeing Flin Flon.
Assembling and beading the piece was therapeutic amid the chaos and uncertainty of the evacuation, said Gunn Saray, who based the creation on her daughter’s sketch using fabric and lace a family friend and a relative sourced for them.
“I’m glad I grabbed it. It was kind of a weird last-minute thing. I was on the way out the door,” she said.
Gunn Saray said she hoped her daughter would get to experience a graduation like she did from the same high school.
“It’s amazing, because there was a tough moment there when we were on evacuation … when we got the email that the school year was cancelled,” Gunn Saray said.
“That was my good ugly cry in Winnipeg,” she said.
“I just kept my fingers crossed … the kids could have this.”
As best friends Emma White and Braedon Tetlock get ready to leave Flin Flon for universities in Calgary and Kelowna, they’re savouring their final moments with family and friends.
“It’s really special that we actually get to do everything that we would for a normal grad,” said Tetlock, who was honoured with awards recognizing him as the graduate with the highest average.
“It feels great to be together again and all know that we’re here together. Our community’s safe. All of our families are safe,” White said.
