Peter Skene Ogden Secondary School's 2025 grad class is looking forward to the future following their graduation last week.
The grads received their high school diplomas on Friday, June 20 at the South Cariboo Rec Centre in front of their friends and family. On Saturday, June 21, the 104 graduates took part in the annual PSO Dry Grad Parade through 100 Mile House. The students rode in a variety of rides, from vintage cars to farm tractors, much to the delight of Jonathan Grieve, the president of the 2025 PSO Grad Committee.
"The vehicles they used were great. We're really happy with the amount of participation from the different businesses, even through 100 Mile, whether it's 100 Mile Fire Rescue or there's a crane truck," Grieve said. "We're just really happy with the amount of the community that came out and supported as well to celebrate these grads, which is really, really good."
Two of the graduates who took part in the parade were Harrison Findlay and Eva Rosenstock, who have gone to school together since kindergarten. The pair were also the 2025 grad class' valedictorians, which they said was a special honour.
"Having that many people choose you as someone they want to give the end-of-the-year speech and just being able to hopefully inspire people is very meaningful," Rosenstock stated.
Findlay said that "it really shows off all our hard work, and we're glad we can represent our class."
Rosenstock admitted that she was very nervous at first during the parade.
"But after a while, all the nerves just went away, because you could see all your family and friends in the crowd," she added.
Findlay said that they were also a bit nervous on Friday, June 20, during their graduation ceremony when they gave their valedictorian address. He estimated there were hundreds of people in attendance to listen to them, which was a big jump from the last speech he gave to only 30 people.
"But once we started going, it went very smoothly," Findlay stated.
The parade concluded at Centennial Park, where all the cars had settled into a parking lot. The graduates were then commemorated on stage to an audience of their friends and family who cheered them on, followed by a group picture taken of them in the park.
Grieve said that the parade had been planned since September 2024, when the school year began. He said that the weather was one of the biggest challenges in putting on the parade.
"The weather held out really well for us. We're very lucky. Had a couple spritzes of rain, but we had the tents and everything, which was great," Grieve noted.
The festivities did not stop there. During the evening, at the PSO gymnasium, the 2025 Dry Grad got underway with a dance, dinner, prizes, poker and other fun activities, all organized by Grieve and other committee members.
"It's a celebration. This is a nice, humble, fun demonstration of all their accomplishments all year. It's just a really good gathering of all the kids together to celebrate together in a safe environment," Grieve stated. "It's awesome seeing them smile and laugh and enjoy this night."
Grieve has two sons who are graduating from PSO this year, Layton and Lachlan Grieve. Both are working with Jonathan in the local Save-On-Foods, but both will be taking a year-long hiatus.
"They're focusing on making sure that they choose where they actually want to go and build up the financial bank account," Grieve stated.
As for the valedictorians, Rosenstock said that she plans to attend the Bachelor of Arts program at Thompson Rivers University (TRU) for two years, and then transfer to the University of British Columbia (UBC) to go into social work. Findlay says that he plans to do a one-year transfer program at TRU, and then will transfer either to the University of Victoria (UVic) or UBC.
Both said they are excited for what their future holds.
"I'm excited to go into my future career and help kids have a better life and have a family," Rosenstock said, while Findlay added, "I'm excited to move away and experience different things on my own and in a different place."
