Pontiac High School’s 2024 graduating students took a very solid step into adulthood on Saturday evening, crossing the stage to mark their official completion of their high school diplomas.

They began their high school journeys in 2019, not knowing that only months later, the COVID-19 pandemic would flip the high school experience they’d imagined on its head, a plot twist highlighted by class valedictorian Holly Anabelle Smith in her speech to her classmates on Saturday evening.

“We proved our resilience as we faced such an unpredictable obstacle and we have claimed this period of time as ours despite its difficulties,” she said. “ [This] was the time we were given to show our community who we are as individuals, not just through our academic achievements, but through our ability to adapt, to lead, and to support each other in times of uncertainty.”

Smith, who grew up on a farm near Campbell’s Bay, is now studying applied nuclear sciences and radiation safety at Algonquin College in Pembroke. She hopes this will land her a job with Canadian Nuclear Laboratories in Chalk River, one step in her vision of becoming a health physicist.

Saturday’s ceremony saw 46 students celebrated for the many years of hard work and academic dedication that got them to the milestone finish line.

Dozens of awards were given out for academic, athletic, artistic and leadership accomplishments. Ten students were recognized with the principal’s award for distinction for having achieved a grade average of 80 per cent or higher.

“It represents hope and promise for the future, [to see the] amazing potential being released from this community into the country and around the world in different vocations,” Principal Terry Burns told THE EQUITY.

On Saturday evening, Burns reminded the graduating class that integrity was one of the most important tools in their toolbox, and that small town people have big time values that will serve them well in whatever it is they chose to do going forward.