A message for the Class of 2025
Roger Varley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Uxbridge Secondary School graduates from the class of 2025 were cautioned by their principal, Melissa Lee, in opening remarks to "work hard to overcome the bumps in the road ahead."
About 250 Grade 12 students trooped across the stage at the Uxbridge arena to receive their diplomas and, for some, the 80 awards being handed out by various Uxbridge organizations and businesses. All told, the value of the awards was over $50,000.
One of the award winners was 18-year-old Mallory Maschke, who took home two. On top of that, Maschke won a $100,000 Loran Scholarship. She was one of 36 exceptional youth chosen to receive the scholarship from among more than 6,000 applicants from across Canada. Maschke, who has achieved a 90-per-cent level throughout her high school career, said the award comes with a $12,000 residence payment and a $12,000 tuition grant for each of the next four years. She said she intends to attend Toronto Metropolitan University.
The valedictory speech was given enthusiastically by Kevin Ionson, who was confident and entertaining. He told his fellow graduates: "We are all moving to a new chapter in our lives. Some of us hoped for those college and university acceptances, some of us are on to new adventures . . . but most of us can say we don’t exactly know what we want to do in life. And that’s OK. Life isn’t about having all the answers, it’s about living in the present and making the most of the opportunities that come our way."
Following the speech, the students followed the tradition of moving their mortarboard tassels from right to left and then throwing the caps in the air. Many of the caps were decorated with sparkles, flowers and messages and one young lady has a little stuffed kitten pinned to the front.
Here is Valedictorian Kevin Ionson’s address to the Class of 2025.
Good morning parents, guardians, siblings, teachers, staff, friends, and most importantly, the graduating class of 2025! Thank you all for coming today! I am truly honoured to be representing the class of 2025! I would like to start this off with a few thank yous to all the people that got us through these last four years.
To our teachers: thank you for your patience, guidance, and support, whether it was extra help after school, an extension, or just checking in - you’ve made a bigger impact than you may ever realize.
To our parents and guardians: thank you for being our support system. For the rides, the packed lunches, and for helping us survive those 11:59 deadlines. Huge thank you to ChatGPT for that one…and an even bigger shoutout to my mom! If you happened to be in any of my classes over the years, chances are you’ve been blessed with some immaculate red apple slices throughout the years. She’s basically been fueling the grade since day one. Thanks Mom!
To the coaches, mentors, custodians, office staff, and every adult who played a role in our time at USS: thank you for creating a place where we could thrive and succeed.
And finally, to our classmates and friends, thank you for being part of this journey. For the laughs, the inside jokes, the group projects, the late-night texts about assignments, and the memories we’ll carry with us long after we leave.
Once upon a time, ages ago, in a far away land, a younger version of me sat down and wrote a letter. I, like many of you, were sitting in a Grade
9 English class. The assignment was simple: write a letter to your future self. Not to your friends, your parents, your crush…just yourself. From Grade 9 Kevin to Grade 12 Kevin. And to be honest, I never thought I would ever get it back but here we are.
Back in Grade 9, I, and probably most of you, were nervous, clueless, hopeful, afraid and excited. We were just kids trying to figure out how to find our classes, make friends and not be late for school. We looked up to the older students like they were giants. They were the role models. As our younger selves would say, they were the big kids. And now, somehow, we’ve become them. Today, we are the big kids. The leaders of USS. The mentors, the teammates, the friends, the role models. We are the graduating class of 2025.
And that’s exactly how the letter I wrote back in Grade 9 begins: “Hey, you’re in Grade 12 now. Actually you’re probably graduating when you read this!” I actually wrote that, I promise I didn’t just add that in. Then I wrote “I hope you have a lot of offers from colleges and universities or maybe you are working and travelling. Hopefully you finally know what you want to do in life.”
Right now I still don’t know, and I don't think many of us do. In my letter, I then said, “I hope you kept doing the trades because right now they are my favourite class,” and today I'm still doing them. Who knew I would build not one, not two but three dog houses! Without even having a dog!
I then wrote, “I wonder if you got a girlfriend yet, or if you’re still hanging out with the same people. Hopefully you tryout for all the teams and clubs and hopefully Mr. Kiriakou takes you for volleyball.” That year he cut me first tryout, but I don't blame him cause I was terrible!
Finally, I wrote, “You better be keeping up with your schoolwork and getting high grades because you know Mom won’t be happy if you get bad marks.” Today I can say she definitely wasn’t happy a good amount of times.
Reading that back now, it hits a little differently.
We all wondered who we’d stay close with and who we’d meet along the way. Some friendships lasted, some faded, and others appeared right when we needed them most. But no matter what, each one helped shape us into the people we are today.
We all thought about trying new things and stepping out of our comfort zones in ways that once felt intimidating. Whether it was trying out for a sports team, performing on stage, joining a club, or speaking up in class. Each of those moments helped us grow. Even when we were unsure or afraid, we took chances and those risks turned into some of our best memories.
And yes, we all have someone in our life reminding us not just to keep our grades up, but to keep growing, to push ourselves, to stay kind, and to become better versions of who we were yesterday.
We are all moving to a new chapter in our lives. Some of us hoped for those college and university acceptances, some of us are on to new adventures, be that in the workforce, travelling or something else, but most of us can say we don’t exactly know what we want to do in life. And that’s OK. Life isn’t about having all the answers, it’s about living in the present and making the most of the opportunities that come our way. As the man, the myth, the legend, Master Oogway once said, “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present.”
Finally, I wrote, “I hope you have no regrets and had a great time in high school.” Looking back now, I think that’s what really matters. Not perfection, not having all the answers, not getting the high grades, not being the best at everything, but knowing we made the most of the time we had. We grew, we changed, we found our people, and we found pieces of ourselves along the way.
So we leave these halls behind as the big kids. I hope we all carry that same message forward: live fully, take chances, say yes, and have no regrets. Because this chapter was only the beginning and the best is yet to come.