When they walk across the stage to accept their diplomas, Darius Shagok and Cheyenne Allick will be among the first in their respective families to graduate from high school.
As a bonus, theyB次元官网网址檒l act as valedictorians for Royal Bay secondary and Belmont secondary, respectively, at a ceremony for aboriginal grads on Saturday, an honour that was offered to them by their teachers.
ItB次元官网网址檚 an accompishment thatB次元官网网址檚 not lost on either of them as they discuss the work theyB次元官网网址檝e put in to get to where they are today.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 still not used to this feeling. I actully made itB次元官网网址B次元官网网址檝e messed up a lot in my life and just realizing that I actually did something good here, itB次元官网网址檚 just mind-blowing to me,B次元官网网址� Allick says, smiling.
B次元官网网址淔rom an (aboriginal) standpoint itB次元官网网址檚 hugeB次元官网网址or my siblings too, I like to show them. YouB次元官网网址檙e going to get that stereotype that youB次元官网网址檙e not going to graduateB次元官网网址ut I did it,B次元官网网址� Shagok adds.
Between Royal Bay, Belmont, Edward Milne and the Westshore Centre for Learning, 91 aboriginal students will graduate from high school this year. While graduation rates appear to be on the rise in the Sooke School District B次元官网网址� as recently as 10 years ago under 40 per cent of aboriginal students in SD62 graduated from high school B次元官网网址� itB次元官网网址檚 clear that challenges remain.
Allick recalls battling alcohol problems in Grade 10 and credits the support she received at Belmont with pulling her out of it.
B次元官网网址淭he support at BelmontB次元官网网址t got me on the right path,B次元官网网址� she says. B次元官网网址淓veryone there just helped me make it.B次元官网网址�
Another factor in her maturation was the addition of some new family members after her parents adopted four children from a mother who struggled with substance abuse.
B次元官网网址淚 realized (that) I have people looking up to me now. I have to smarten up.B次元官网网址�
Shagok recalls the stereotypes that some aboriginal students have to face from others.
B次元官网网址淚f a native kid misses a couple of days he gets people jumping to assumptions that heB次元官网网址檚 probably doing bad things or being a B次元官网网址榙irty IndianB次元官网网址� and doing his own thing,B次元官网网址� he says.
Shagok says he didnB次元官网网址檛 have to personally deal with a lot of prejudice and is thankful for the positive environment at Royal Bay.
B次元官网网址淭hey actually promote a lot of the aboriginal culture. We have our own theatre that has its own (aboriginal) name,B次元官网网址� he says, referring to the schoolB次元官网网址檚 Teechamitsa Theatre.
B次元官网网址淏efore every show we like to honour the First Nations on the Island.B次元官网网址�
Megan Wood, an aboriginal education teacher at Royal Bay, believes that poverty and even physical barriers continue to hurt students on the path to graduation.
B次元官网网址淪ay at SciaB次元官网网址檔ew thereB次元官网网址檚 one bus and if they miss that bus that might be their only chance to get in,B次元官网网址� she says.
And sometimes school simply canB次元官网网址檛 be a top priority due to family struggles, Wood continues.
B次元官网网址淪ometimes family needs to come first if somethingB次元官网网址檚 going onB次元官网网址o we try to adapt around them and try to provide the support,B次元官网网址� she says.
Many students, including Shagok for a time, are forced to quit school in order to get a job and help support their families.
Faced with some important decisions in the coming months, Allick and Shagok have a pretty clear picture of where their ambitions lie.
Allick spent a lot of her teenage years fixing cars with her dad, who B次元官网网址渂ought a lot of cars and ended up breaking some of them,B次元官网网址� she jokes. Because of that experience sheB次元官网网址檚 planning to go to Camosun College for a welding course this winter and hopes to enter a heavy duty mechanics course.
Shagok, on the hand, prefers to spend his time in the kitchen. His specialty is lasagna, or B次元官网网址渟paghetti cakeB次元官网网址� as he likes to call it, and one day heB次元官网网址檇 like to open his own restaurant.
But first, theyB次元官网网址檒l simply enjoy the moment.
B次元官网网址淭o experience (graduation) and to do a speech, itB次元官网网址檚 amazing,B次元官网网址� Shagok says.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 excited but really nervous,B次元官网网址� Allick says.
