Wesmor's grad was held at the E.A. Rawlinson Centre. (Nigel Maxwell/paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Grad week

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Jun 25, 2025 | 5:00 PM

As part of his address to his fellow graduates, this year’s valedictorian at Wesmor High School reminded them no matter where you come from, success is possible with hard work.

The graduation ceremony, which included both an Elder’s prayer and an Indigenous version of the national anthem, was held Wednesday morning at the E.A. Rawlinson Centre and featured a class of 46 students. Cameron Cottingham told paNOW being able to stand on stage and represent his class was a big honour.

“It means a lot to me because where I came from and where I grew up, I wouldn’t think I would have passed high school, and a lot of people thought in my grade, they wouldn’t pass either and they all passed with flying colours,” he said.

After taking some time off to work, Cottingham aspires to register at a post-secondary school and one day own his own business. He credits his teachers at Wesmor for providing him with the motivation.

“Like for me I didn’t have my bank account or anything this year, and so they gave me the push to actually say like hey you can actually do it, put your head in the game. They gave me that umph to do it,” he said.

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Cam Cottngham has a lot of respect for the staff at Wesmor. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

Getting to school each day was in itself a challenge for Cottingham as he drove 45 minutes to and from the city every day. With respect to his message to the graduating class, he talked about the importance of hard work.

“It doesn’t matter where you come from who you are, what colour you are, we can all graduate. If you make the effort to do it, any person can get the credit if they put their mind to it and get a big old smile too.”

When asked if there a specific teacher who had an impact on his high school career, Cottingham acknowledged the work of the school’s mentor who he said helped students like himself essentially grow up.

“So I really thank her for that and my other teachers. I can’t name them all, but every teacher at Westmor did their part to help me.”

While smaller than other high schools in Prince Albert, Cottingham said it is even more special because it is so close knit.

“At Westmor, you all know each other and so it’s like a family, you know? That’s what I like about it.”

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Blue Sky: @nigelmaxwell.bsky.social