Read this Hay River high school valedictorian's speech to the Class of 2020

This story is a part of N.W.T. graduates 2020, a CBC North special that showcases high school grads from across the territory. It airs live Thursday June 18 at 7 p.m., on CBC Radio One, the website and CBC NWT Facebook.

CBC North is publishing selected valedictorian speeches from the N.W.T.'s Class of 2020. Below, Diamond Jenness Secondary School valedictorian Bryce Smith reflects on graduating after the last days of high school have been lost to a pandemic.

Before I begin I would like to take a moment to express gratitude to all those who have helped us along our journey. 

So to the families who have dedicated their lives and supported us throughout our education thus far; all the staff of Diamond Jenness Secondary School who have spent countless amounts of time delivering a tremendous education while at the same time forging relationships which have left a lasting impact; to the frontline workers who have risked their lives during this crisis, and to anyone else who may have supported us throughout this chapter of our lives — on behalf of the graduating class of 2020, thank you.

While in the midst of a global pandemic I believe it's safe to say that our final year of high school has been quite an adventure to say the least. Toward the end of March we learned that we could no longer attend school in a normal fashion — I'm sure we were all thinking the same thing: this is pretty awesome. We can sleep in, take it easy and watch some Netflix.

However, reality quickly set in — after a little bit too much Netflix and a few too many games of car hide and seek, it became clear that day we were told to stay home was the last experience we would have of high school, ever.

On that day, our lives as high school graduates were turned completely upside down. The reality of missing out on so many end of year memories and traditions as graduates has been extremely disappointing for us all. The experience of graduating in the midst of a global pandemic has given us the opportunity to look back on our high school memories, while at the same time teaching us to never take anything for granted.

I have always been told that our years as students would fly by and that it would be gone in an instant. In those moments, I just shrugged it off. However, as I am giving this speech and reminiscing on the experiences we have gone through as a class, I can't help but wonder where the past eighteen years of our lives have gone.

It feels like not too long ago we were all sitting in second grade, listening to a high school student reading to our class. I remember in those moments it was thinking, "Wow, I can't even imagine being in high school." It now feels a bit surreal to say that we are in the same position that ten years ago felt so unimaginable. We are not only in high school, we are finished.

After spending so much of my life around a group of such amazing people and sharing so many memories I can't help but wish it wasn't over so soon. I'm going to miss all the fun times we had, the sometimes way-too-competitive gym classes, the Goatfest performances, the intense sports trips, and — some may say — interesting classroom discussions.

In the same breath, I welcome the future. I look forward to seeing my fellow students grow and impact the world around them. I can't wait till we can all stand together in the years to come, sharing with one another what we have accomplished, and look back at this crazy graduation year.

I would finally like to congratulate everyone on the amazing accomplishment we have all achieved. It is disappointing that we are not able to celebrate together in a normal fashion — however, the happiness and joy still remain vibrant.

I would like to wish you all good luck on whatever path you choose to pursue and hope that we can all celebrate our graduation together in the future. Thank you.