Students and parents gathered outside of Carpenter High School for the 2021 graduation ceremony (Elliott Knopp/meadowlakeNOW staff)

By Elliott Knopp

Carpenter Graduation

Carpenter High School graduating class celebrates graduation with in-person ceremony

Jun 29, 2021 | 5:43 PM

Friends and family gathered outside of Carpenter High School for one of the most significant events in many young peoples’ lives in the community. For the first time in nearly a year, the school held an in-person grad ceremony to send off this year’s graduating class.

Among those in attendance were Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River MP Gary Vidal and Meadow Lake MLA Jeremy Harrison. While both guests addressed the graduating class and congratulated them on their achievement, Vidal bestowed one graduate with the Governor General’s Academic Medal. The award recognizes the student with the highest grade point average in their class. London Perry was declared this year’s recipient, but was not awarded the actual medal itself. Instead, she received the certificate that goes with the medal until a new Governor-General is appointed.

In an interview with meadowlakeNOW, Vidal spoke to the student’s perseverance demonstrated throughout the year, while acknowledging the efforts put forth by educators to ensure each student crossed the metaphorical finish line.

“It speaks to their resiliency. They had to be determined. You have to give a lot of credit to the school and school division as well. They made every effort, and they worked hard to make sure every kid stayed in class,” Vidal said. “You heard a number of the kids talk about the fact that they were able to see their friends and participate as a group in the class. A lot of people contributed to this end result, which is a positive for this group of kids.”

Harrison reflected that idea on his own address to the graduates. He stated they overcame the challenges of the pandemic, abided by public health guidelines, pushed through their educational obstacles, and then thanked the class for their diligence.

Freedom and Flexibility

How App-Based Work Creates Economic Opportunity

Dec 12, 2025

Riderville

Now for the Hard Part

Dec 10, 2025

Seniors Scene

Christmas is Coming

Dec 09, 2025

“It’s great to be here, and have 100 graduates this year from Carpenter High School. This wonderful group of young kids did a remarkable job getting through a very difficult year. Being able to persevere through that and graduate speaks to their character, and we look forward to what they’re going to do in the future,” Harrison commented.

Erica Rowsell, one of the members of this year’s graduating class, mentioned she now plans to pursue a career in nursing with her. She expressed the significance of this achievement to her, saying “it’s honestly just a big relief with everything, the struggles and just to graduate in general. It’s really just kind of starting a new chapter.”

The graduating class consisting of 100 students was separated into two groups to abide by public health guidelines. Each of the groups featured their own valedictorian with each ceremony running for nearly an hour.

—

elliott.knopp@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @ElliottKnopp