You just never know!

I didn't settle for a career in education ... I CHOSE IT!

I chose to "stamp out the seeds of ignorance", to offer guidance and leadership, to demonstrate empathy and compassion, to pay it forward, to make sure those that need extra love/support/assistance get it when they need it most, to be a parent when the biological ones are struggling with their own stuff.

Oh, and I chose to open the curtains of confusion by facilitating the learning process ... what they actually say I get paid for because anyone in education knows that the other stuff is WAY more important but not monetized. If I'm brutally honest, I've said for years that I chose teaching because it's the only sure-fire way to get paid to coach high school athletes here in Canada. 

The true gemstones in education are all about the stuff in paragraph two, while the classroom action is all paragraph three. My treasure chest is filled to the brim with the relationships, memories, and emotions of 30+ years in education, 80% of which came about through coaching. Great things happened in the classroom, and I established some genuinely gratifying relationships with students within those walls, but I'd be lying if I didn't admit the balance is skewed.

You just never know when a student will be impacted by your influence.

Case in point, I was honoured to be beckoned by a student from years ago, Mackenzie West, to share in her Bear Creek SS graduation ceremonies. If that causes your forehead to wrinkle a bit, that's perfectly understandable since other than refereeing at BC, I had little to do with it. The student in question here was caught in the opening of BC back in 2001, forcing her to be uprooted from Barrie Central after Gr 9+10, imposing she and her classmates with the daunting task of being the leaders and trendsetters for a brand new school. I met Kenz in 1999 when she was in a Gr 9 geography class that required my intervention in my role of SERT for a host of identified students, although she was not one of those. 

As luck would have it for Bear Creek, she was just what the doctor ordered.

So, you might think, why would she seek me out in 2023 with a request to come share a Life's moment with her? During our time together in that class, Kenz and I established a friendship thanks largely to her 1000w smile, mischievous grin, and Energizer battery. There's not much middle ground with Kenz because she wears her heart on her sleeve, and when not trying in vain to refocus her boundless energy, our conversations settled on the common passion of sports, specifically rugby. She was intrigued by the sound of the game, asked a million and one questions, and I could tell that this could be the perfect something to ply her energy to. Never mind that she was gifted with size, strength (coaches can 'see' this), and personality with a gritty edge.

I think that you can guess that Kenz took to rugby like a duck to water, and thanks to the prolific girls' program already in place at BCC, she stepped right into a positive development environment. Everything I surmised in the classroom proved to be perfectly accurate on the pitch, and she fell head over heels for the game, eventually becoming a force for BC's program.

Fast forward to 2023.

Kenz and I were already FB friends so I was moderately aware of the recent events in her life since she was prone to post regular updates that raved about her love life and motherhood. While we connected a few times as she navigated some of Life's pitfalls, I really wasn't aware of what cards Life had dealt her since she left for BC, but I knew enough to know that she had overcome some extremely large hurdles. As I would come to understand, she fell a couple of credits shy of graduation when Life forced what must have been a tough decision to leave high school, but thanks to her strength and determination, she found the will to obtain those final credits so many years later, and qualified to graduate.

Kenz being the larger than life personality she is, she, her family, her friends, and former BC teachers arranged for a personalized convocation that she might check that huge item off her Bucket List. The invitation to share came because she was emphatic that I was a lynch pin in her life's journey.

Of course I said yes. 

What unforrowed before my eyes was a story befit for Hollywood, as I would learn that an injury that was mitigated with opioids led to a multi-year addiction that would eventually lead to rehab. To add more pressure, a youthful love affair was shattered by her husband's untimely death, closely followed by the passing of the rock in her life, her mother. Following the success of getting clean, she fell heavily for her present beau Tommy, and was blessed with motherhood when their union beget a beautiful daughter. 

To say that Kenz was beset with the full gamut of emotions as she listened to teachers she cared deeply about sing her praises about the impact she left on BC and them, about their pride for the strength she demonstrated realigning her life, and the reality that she was now forever a Kodiak grad. At the center of her teary gaze was Todd Smith, affectionately known as T dot, her basketball and rugby coach from her BC days, his love, support, and influence leaving an indelible mark on her soul. Outside of Tommy and her daughter, I'm not at all convinced that she could have a deeper love for anyone else, the connection readily evident to all in attendance. Surrounded by friends and family, she was brighter than a super nova.

I couldn't have been more proud and thankful.

And my teacher batteries are fully recharged!