École secondaire Sieur-de-Coulonge’s graduating class of 2024 returned to the high school on Saturday afternoon to officially cross the stage and celebrate their achievements.
Principal Julie Martin and vice-principal Gabie Paré handed the students their diplomas while also shifting the maroon tassel from right to left to symbolize the completion of their high school studies.
Out of the 44 students celebrated for successfully completing their high school diplomas, six were also named on the honour roll for achieving a minimum average more than 85 per cent during their final year: Antoine Lagarde, Geneviève Laroche, Amélie Monette, Vincent Morin, Laurence Papineau and Coralie Turmel-Bonnet.
Antoine Lagarde received the highest honour and was awarded the Governor General’s Medal for having the highest overall average for the final two years of his studies from his graduating class. He said that it was thanks to his friends that he was successful.
“I was happy to receive the award but really, I was helped by my friends,” Lagarde told THE EQUITY in French, after speaking as the class’s valedictorian at the ceremony. “I put a lot of work into my studies and I’m happy to get to [graduate] with my friends.”
Martin acknowledged the class’s resilience in the face of adversity, from the COVID-19 pandemic to the tragic loss of their classmate Annabelle St-Cyr who passed away suddenly in Jan. 2023 after contracting meningitis.
An award was presented to Laurence Papineau in St-Cyr’s honour, who would have also graduated Saturday.
“When we lose someone, it’s very hard,” Martin said. “But these experiences shaped us and better prepared us to take on obstacles that [graduating students] will face in the next steps of their lives.”
There was also over $20,000 in bursaries handed out to students from local businesses and municipalities.
“To receive these bursaries from the municipalities and local businesses, you can see that we’re really a community that comes together and everyone supports each other,” Lagarde said.
Lagarde also took home various other awards including the Maurice Beauregard award for community leadership, and awards for top grades in physics an,d chemistry.
Lagarde has already begun studies to become a heavy diesel mechanic. He hopes to return to the Pontiac after completing his studies.
“I also want to come back to the Pontiac because I love it here,” Lagarde said. “I want to build my farm here.”
