Waterloo region grads reflect on bumpy past 4 years and look ahead to what's next
CBC
Another school year has come to a close and for many of those bidding farewell to high school, the last four years have been a very unique experience.
The pandemic saw students learn online for the first two years of high school, then they switched to in-person but with some restrictions to start when it came to extracurricular activities and social events.
Throughout the month of June, CBC Kitchener-Waterloo's The Morning Edition with Craig Norris has featured local graduates.
Along with high school graduates, CBC K-W also spoke with a young man who was in a refugee camp for nine years in Turkey, moved to Kitchener in July 2022 and who has now completed his high school education and will be going to the University of Guelph this fall.
The students shared their thoughts about the past four years and what they're looking forward to next. Their stories and interviews are below.
Kenzy Soror is a graduate from Cameron Heights Collegiate Institute in Kitchener and has also served for two terms as a student trustee with the Waterloo Region District School Board.
She and fellow trustee Vaishnave Raina came up with a new student trustee election process because she had concerns about the representation of student advocates.
"I was struggling to see people like me in student senate and in the position of student trustee," Soror said.
She said most students she spoke to didn't know the difference between a student senator or a student trustee.
During her time as a trustee, Soror has faced criticism from parents and adults who disagree with the school board.
"Words have power, but I think it's important to recognize that this power comes from how we perceive who is saying those words," she said.
Soror says when she took on the public position and she started to share her opinions, her social media feeds have been filled with words like indoctrination, politicization, brainwashing from people she says are "hiding behind the internet's anonymous veils."
"Most of the time, I just ignore them as an inevitable side effect of not locking my account and not keeping myself in an echo chamber of only the opinions that I agree with."
LISTEN | Kenzy Soror on serving as a WRDSB student trustee for two years, handling criticism and what's next:
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