Chanelle Jones talks about her passion for horses because she wants to be a horse trainer. Photo by Lyonel Doherty
Seventeen-year-old Jakob Keller likes digging big holes, but he’s making sure he’ll always be able to get out of them.
Not too many high school students have their loader/backhoe operator certificate, but Keller is determined to move a lot of earth towards a bright future.
The pupil from Southern Okanagan Secondary School will be one of 90 graduating in June. And he already has a map to show him where to go.
“I hope to get my heavy equipment operator licence and own my own business,” he said during last week’s Grad Transition Fair in the school library.
The fair gave Grade 12 students an opportunity to showcase their portfolios in terms of their school lives and future plans.
Vice-Principal Tracy Harrington said it is a reflection of who they were before high school, who they have become, and who they hope to be when they leave.
“It is so awesome to see how far they have come over the five years,” the administrator said.
When asked what she wanted to be at age 17, Harrington said she always knew she wanted to teach.
Kyle Baptiste held up a poster plastered with photographs of vehicles and archery.
The student said he has been rebuilding old cars since he was 10.
“I helped replace the engine in my mom’s car,” he said proudly.
Baptiste said he plans to take the automotive service technician course at Okanagan College.
“I just love working with engines,” he said.
Fellow grad Silous Paul’s poster had photographs of hunting rifles, an Xbox One console, and a couple of pickup trucks labeled “Rez bombs.”
Paul said he wants to study business, noting that his mentors are his uncle and Osoyoos Indian Band Chief Clarence Louie.
Keller said his passion for operating heavy equipment comes from growing up around the family business – NEED a Lift Truck Services.
Keller pointed out that he is not a repetitive person, therefore, he would never take a desk job or work on an assembly line.
He noted that he spent half of last summer obtaining his backhoe certificate.
Chanelle Jones, 18, has been riding horses since the age of three, so you know where her passion lies.
“My mom rode horses when she was little.”
Jones said that Ken MacRae at D-Bar-K Ranch in Oliver taught her how to break horses.
Her future goal is to train horses.
Fellow grad Cassidy Ward said she plans to be a fitness instructor and nutritionist.
The 18 year old loves fitness and wants to help people reach their fitness goals when they need that “extra push.”
“I have always been a people person,” she said.
Ward also makes it a point of eating healthy foods, but admits that chocolate is her weakness.
The school is hosting another Grad Transition Fair today (Wednesday) from 3-4 pm and invites the public to talk to the students about their future goals.
Superintendent of Schools Bev Young said the fair really emphasized that students are in charge of their own learning. “I felt privileged to witness these young men and women articulating how they have grown in our system and what they aspire to be.”
Young said what stood out for her was the diversity in experiences, talents and goals that the students reflected. Also their mature social skills.
“I don’t remember being as confident as these students demonstrated – particularly about their learning.”
At 17, Young knew that she wanted to be a teacher. “I wanted to make a difference in the lives of young people and their learning. I still feel that way; it is just that now, my work with students is through administrators, teachers and support staff.”
Young said the grads of today truly see that the world has a lot to offer them and that the choices open to them for careers and post secondary training is huge.
By Lyonel Doherty
