It’s June, summer is nearly here, and school is about to be out. But for many Greater Victoria high school students, it’s a month that marks the end of their grade school journey and the beginning of a new chapter.
Despite the busy time of year at Royal Bay Secondary School, four students have taken on extra responsibility as the valedictorians of the 2025 graduating class.
Ethan Hiebert, a future economics student at the University of Saskatchewan, and Luciana Camacho, an international student from Bolivia headed to UVic to study social sciences, will represent the class of 2025 and speak at the graduation ceremony on June 8.
Meanwhile, Nina Boylan of the Ahousaht First Nation and Matthew Warren of the Sc’ianew First Nation were selected as the 2025 Indigenous valedictorians.
When asked to be valedictorian, Warren said the feeling was “exhilarating.” Boylan agreed: “It’s really awesome.”
They delivered their speech at an Indigenous students' graduation ceremony on May 26, and will speak again at the graduation ceremony on June 8.
“It was great. I really think it went a lot better than I thought it could have,” said Warren, as Boylan laughed in agreement.
“It was about how we can’t really give up once we’ve graduated – like, we have to just keep going, keep on persevering, following our dreams and chasing after them.”
After graduation, Warren plans to work in landscaping to save money for business school at UVic or Camosun – at least, until his true passion becomes his profession.
“Hopefully, after that I’ll be a sponsored skater and I can just skate for money,” he said.
While some valedictorians opt to give their speeches separately, Boylan and Warren did theirs together.
“I’m really happy to be doing it. I was obviously scared, but it was definitely easier with Matt,” said Boylan.
“I’m happy with what it’s about – it shows growth in how we were, and I think it encourages people to keep growing.”
While Warren said he expected to be selected as valedictorian, after years of working with many of RBSS Indigenous support teachers and representing his community. But, Boylan did not – as a Grade 11 student, she hadn’t even expected to graduate this year. But she is, and now she hopes to enrol in Camosun’s Educational Assistant program.
“I really want to work with kids. It’s kind of always been a dream of mine to have a career with kids, and I’d like to start there. Eventually, maybe I’ll go back to school – either in social work or teaching – whatever is screaming at me after that experience,” she said.
Meanwhile, Hiebert and Camacho submitted their applications to be valedictorians right at the deadline, caught up in the usual busyness of the school year.
Now, Camacho is looking forward to the big day.
“I’m very excited. I like this class, and I’m grateful to be able to speak for us that day – on how we’re all probably going to be feeling,” she said.
Hiebert said he hopes to spend more time on his speech, admitting, “That part is a bit anxiety-inducing,” although he’s already finding ways to break the tension.
“I’ve thought of a couple jokes in my head,” he said.
As the four valedictorians reflect on their school year, it’s been a time of new connections and experiences.
“My first few years at this school, I skipped a lot. So in my final grade here I was like – ‘I might as well just pick classes that I think I’ll enjoy,’” said Warren.
“I ended up picking a lot of classes like photojournalism and art, which I really enjoyed. So I’m really just glad I was able to take those courses while I had the chance.”
Graduating a year early gave Boylan the chance to connect with people she’d never met before.
“My year here – it’s been better than any other year,” she said.
“I love it. I’m meeting so many more people and growing connections with everyone, and I think this is what a final year of high school should be like.”
Dance academy and the international student community helped make Camacho’s final year special. They were spaces where she was able to meet her best friends.
Hiebert made new connections through debate and Model UN.
“I think in your grad year, you connect with a lot more people, and the class becomes a lot tighter – which is nice,” he said.
Hiebert also has an important message he wants to deliver – inspired by the classic graduation theme of following your dreams.
“For me, it’s like redefining what a dream is,” he said.
“I think for my speech I just want to say that you can live a good life if you just invest in your connections with people and find fun things you enjoy. And that’s about all you need to do. You don’t need to be incredibly successful to be successful.”
Camacho wants to emphasize the importance of appreciating the final days of high school.
“Something like, ‘Take these two weeks we’ll have left after grad and fully take them in and appreciate them,’” she said. She also wants to reflect on the changes that lie ahead.
“Change is OK. Leaving people behind, maybe leaving places behind – it might be hard, but in the end it’s part of growing. It’s OK, and it makes you a better person.”
