An Okotoks mother was thrilled to see her son crossing a makeshift stage for his high school graduation last week.
And she is thanking Cameron Crossing School in Okotoks for making it all possible.
“The support Josh has received from Cameron Crossing has been phenomenal,” said Deb Darbyshire, at her son Josh’s graduation ceremony on June 11 at the Okotoks school. “We knew that this day would come. It’s a year later but everything was done at Josh’s pace which is okay."
She said Josh, who has Asperger’s syndrome, would not likely have graduated without the assistance of the Cameron Crossing team.
The school celebrated the Class of 2021, which consisted of four graduands: Josh Darbyshire, Destini Taylor, Kitty Chappell and Brooklyn Kneiss.
“Words such as pride, success, accomplishment, joy, honour, sadness, a sense of loss and empty-heartedness come to me as you are leaving us to move on to the next stages of your life,” Cameron Crossing principal Jeff Mason told the graduands. “We have laughed together, celebrated together, cried together and, most important, grown together.”
Cameron Crossing is an alternative school for students who may face concerns of anxiety, depression or low self-esteem. Often the students have struggled in the traditional school system.
It was a day one of the grads wasn’t sure would ever come.
“Honestly, I wasn’t sure that I would so it is a great relief,” Chappell said of graduating. "I feel super proud of myself for once, which is nice.
“Cameron Crossing provided me with such a support team. They have been my home for three years – it means more to me than I can put into words.”
Taylor said school was a struggle for her before coming to Cameron three years ago.
“Cameron Crossing, the teachers were very welcoming and caring,” said. “They helped me a lot, just there for me and made me feel like I belonged.”
She plans to improve her marks next year.
“I plan to upgrade next year and I am coming back – thank God,” she said.
Josh Darbyshire said graduation is a completion of a long journey.
“Everything I have been through, the struggles, the ups-and-downs, have come with such an amazing outcome it is almost unfathomable,” Josh said. “With COVID causing so much trouble, to be able to gather and celebrate is so amazing.”
He said with his having autism and ADHD, he wasn’t sure he would ever graduate, as he had trouble functioning in school.
“I had difficulty learning,” he said. “To be able to come to Cameron Crossing and to graduate… If you had said this would happen to me two years ago I would say it would be impossible.
“Now I see the impossibility become real. It took such a long time to search for the help I needed. Coming to Cameron, giving me the support and the opportunity to graduate is a debt I could never repay.”
The graduands have paid in full.
“These kids have worked so hard and now they are moving on,” Mason said in an interview. “A bit of an empty heart but joy for what they brought to us over the years.”
