During the COVID-19 pandemic, students have struggled to navigate through this unfamiliar fog of uncertainty. While talking with Jaxon Smith, the newly announced Valedictorian of the Class of 2022, a new perspective is brought to light. Many may view this slow period as one of toil, but as Jaxon puts it, “it’s kind of impressive, all the stuff … we’ve [done]” . His positive outlook shines through as he reflects on his struggles, his relationships and this past year.
Where are you heading off to in the fall?
Alright, well I am heading off to the U of S in the fall. I got the conditional acceptance, and I've kept my grades up. So I’m excited! I’ll be entering the Education program, to major in history and minor in French (which I’m not excited about but it’ll land me a job. Hopefully.)
What do you see yourself doing in 5 - 10 years?
Well… in ten years? I’d like to see myself hopefully married, you know? I don’t know if I would’ve started a family by then or not but I’d like to be a dad one day. Within the five years I’ll be probably teaching French because it’s a really sought after position, so I’ll land my contract through getting French. Hopefully I’ll only teach French for no more than five years. Then I can move up to history.
What do you think you’re going to miss the most about high school?
Probably the personal connections with the teachers. I know that’s not the first thing that comes to mind but I’ve really grown with a couple of the teachers here and actually been able to joke around, have small talk and be able to actually, comfortably ask them, “hey, how can I improve my wording?” which I fear I may not have that connection in university.
What high school memory sticks out the most to you?
Well, the first thing that comes to mind actually is when my buddy and I, Jarrett Wynnychuk took a really strange photo of him sitting in the window sill during math class. I put it on my Instagram and captioned it “Motivational Monday” and it turned into this really weird, like, bi-weekly “motivational Monday” page on my Instagram that a small group of people in my grade really, really got into. It was very strange.
Describe your senior year in three words.
Unique. Nervous. Excitement. It was a very strange and unique year but I was still kind of excited to know what was coming up next, you know. I knew that like “okay, this is only going to be a year of basically just really boring schoolwork”. Hopefully next year and all the years after that I can get a bit of my life back, you know? Go back and do some more stuff.
What extracurricular activity are you the most passionate about?
Well, I would actually have to say the musical theatre in Grade 11. I don’t know what it was, but I got really into it. I’ve never done anything like it before. I got super into it; I was practicing all the time and it was just like something I’d never done before so everything was new and exciting. It never really got old, versus running which still excites me but I’ve been doing it for some time now, so it’s - I know what to expect, but with [musical theatre] I had no idea.
Do you think this is something that you see yourself continuing in the future?
Potentially? I think if I were to continue any, it would probably be the track team, just so I can stay active. I don’t really wanna drill myself in and have a set plan because basically when I go to university, my plan is to get the degree and then expand my social life. That kind of comes second, almost. I know you’re supposed to have fun out there, but I’m going out there to get a degree and to set up my life and my future. Then I can have fun once I’ve stabilized my education. It’s not exciting, but it fills me with comfort knowing that I know - somewhat - what to expect.
What was the most challenging in your years of high school?
Schoolwise, I’ll say that quickly, because well, it’s quick. Grade 11 I found really hard compared to Grade 12. I don’t know what it is but that year really beat me up compared to this year which was, you know, it’s difficult but it’s something I can easily manage. But I find that most of the difficulty this year is actually because of the mental strain of COVID. I spent most of my time in my basement, not really doing anything. Some of the things I started to enjoy kind of became stale and there was nothing to look forward to, so there was no motivation to get up and do anything. I’m sure everyone’s kinda feeling the same. It really starts to grind down on a person when you have to wake up just to stare at notes on a screen and then do that for six hours everyday. It’s just - gets to be a bit much.
Who would you say is your biggest inspiration?
I’m going to have to say - I have a good friend named Ryan Schwab. Him and I have stayed pretty close and we’re actually moving up to Saskatoon together this year - to live together. But uh, he’s definitely - well he’s two years older so, he’s done two years of college. He’s finished high school and has had the adult life for two years, versus as of right now, I’ve only had it for a month. The way he is as a person - I take a lot of him and try to put it in myself, you know? I see all his positive traits and I want to be more like Ryan. When I do that, positive things usually come about. Either I make amends with someone or I become friends with someone else, or I just build stronger relationships with people.
What was your favourite class?
I’m gonna have to say, it’s a hard mix between History 10 and History 20. Both Mr. Link and Mr. Christie are excellent teachers in their own rights. I was engaged in every single class and I still remember some of the lessons right now! I’m like “you know, if I teach history I kinda wanna do something similar”. There were a couple times after class where I would stay and talk with Mr. Link or Mr. Christie, just about the most obscure history stuff. It was actually really cool to talk to someone else who knew what I was talking about.
Do you have any advice for next year’s senior class?
Don’t be lazy I guess. It’s gonna get hard. I mean, the reason why I think that this year was easier - academically - was because a lot of the content was cut out and teachers were taking it easy on us. Well at Grade 12, I found that I had to kick myself to start doing something more. Like scholarships weren’t going to fill themselves out, I had to do that. I procrastinated until like the month of. Also, filling out jobs - I don’t know how much of your grade has jobs currently, but it’s really nice to get a job even if you’re only working for one year. That’s extra money you get to do! I also found that in Grade 12, a lot more teachers won’t help you. They’ll really just say, “Alright, if you don’t do it, you don’t do it.” which is really nice honestly. Because when you go to university, eventually, they really don’t care about you. They don't even have a name to you. They don’t have a face to you. You’re just an object really. So, everything relies on you.
Did you ever see yourself becoming valedictorian? Or is this something that was just last minute?
Well this was in Grade 10. I think I saw the Valedictorian. Like, I heard the nominations and thought “that would be really cool.” I didn’t expect it. I wasn’t planning to go for it, but in my mind, I’m like, “It’d be really cool to be that person.” Then Grade 11 came around and I didn’t really think anything of it. Then in Grade 12 it just kind of sprung up on me like “hey! Nominations are going out.” I had a couple people come up to me and they’re like “hey, do you mind if I nominate you?” and I’m like, “Well, of course!”. I’m not going to say no, right? I wasn’t expecting anything, and it turns out I was nominated! I’m like “woah, this is crazy!” like I didn’t expect to be nominated, this is really cool.
Do you have anything else you would like to add? Any final words?
The biggest thing that I can take away from this year is just kind of like, yeah it’s a global pandemic and that sort of shock has died down but it’s kind of a new norm, I hate to say. It’s no longer like when we pulled up last March to the parking lot and we were just speechless. We got our papers, went to our lockers and that was it. We didn’t go back. This is a once in a century event. You look at the timeline, at the last global pandemic, the significant one was in, I believe 1918 with the Spanish Flu. And then like, the ones before that it’s weird, they always kinda happen between the 10s and the 30s? Really weird how it happens but it’s like roughly once a century. Last year they graduated during COVID but we had to put up with it for a full year! We are the class of COVID this year! I think it’s all kind of impressive, all the stuff that we’ve - I don’t want to say had to “endure” and be like overdramatic, but like, it is a very unique experience knowing no one else has had this senior year except for all the people born in 2003-ish.
Comments