The Tri-City News asked SD43 valedictorians in Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody to reflect on their high school years and tell us what their future brings.
We'll publish their answers daily this week, at 8:05 a.m.
Bana Anabtawi
Gleneagle Secondary (Coquitlam)
What are your plans after graduation?
- I am ecstatic to be attending the University of British Columbia in the fall to study Political Science and International Relations.
What are you most proud of during your high school years?
- Definitely my growth as a person. Each of the last four years for me have been radically different from the last, and I think the greatest gift I have ever given myself is learning to trust the process. I am so proud of becoming somebody I enjoy being and learning to admit to myself that I am proud of me. I hope everybody gets to experience that at some point in their journey, whether it is at the milestone of high school graduation or one of the many more to come — recognizing that self-growth is the biggest success of all is saying that every milestone is not just an end but a beginning. As tangible as concrete achievements can be, what is more powerful is what those achievements reflect — the choices you made in the journey of growing up.
What would you change about your high school years?
- I wouldn’t change a thing, good bad or ugly, about my high school years, because I needed all of the sour parts to grow, too, but if I had the chance to speak to the 9th-grader version of me, I would probably not be able to stop myself from giving her a bit of advice, namely about course selection, diversifying friend groups and just opening more doors for myself sooner. Unfortunately, I can’t go back in time to stop myself from taking Pre-Calculus 12 “for the challenge” and hating it or refusing to join any clubs in the earlier part of high school, but if anything, those mistakes made me appreciate the value of the good times I have now even more.
What does being a valedictorian mean to you?
- Being a valedictorian allows me to honour my experiences and the experiences of my peers during a ceremony that means a lot to a lot of us. It’s a big responsibility but also one that I am incredibly honoured to have on my plate. I am always thinking about ways to include everybody’s voice, because at the end of the day my job is just to represent everybody who I have the privilege of graduating alongside. I may be the one speaking, but it is my hope that it is everybody else’s voice that shines through.
What advice do you have for the next graduation class?
- My motto is “Wherever you are is where you are meant to be." The last year of high school will test you, but by the end of it, I hope you can look back and say that you have become somebody you are proud of. You may not end up where you expect, whether it be that you are attending a different post-secondary institution or you are leaving school with a different group of friends, but ultimately it is all just a part of your journey and you will thank yourself from trying to find the lessons in all the experiences that you have. Don’t beat yourself up about anything, it doesn’t get you anywhere — you’re doing great!
