Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

GRADUATION CAP, TASSEL, AND BAG

Date

2020

Materials

PLASTIC, POLYESTER, THREAD, CARDBOARD

No. Pieces

3

Length

30.7

Width

27

Description

A) BLUE PLASTIC ZIPLOC BAG. LENGTH: 30.7CM WIDTH: 27CM. “HUDSON TAYLOR” IS WRITTEN IN BLACK MARKER ON THE FRONT. THE MARKER INK SLIGHTLY WORN OFF. VERY GOOD CONDITION. B) BLACK SQUARE GRADUATION MORTARBOARD CAP WITH BLACK BUTTON ON THE TOP AT THE CENTER. LENGTH: 25.5CM WIDTH: 22.5CM. INSIDE THE HEADPIECE IS A CIRCULAR WHITE CARDBOARD LABEL WITH BLACK PRINTED LETTERING. IT SAYS “MY GRADUATION CLASS AUTOGRAPHS” “GASPARD SINCE 1909” “100% POLYESTER”. THERE IS A CIRCULAR METAL DIVET IN THE CENTER OF THE CARDBOARD LABEL. THE CAP HAS ELASTIC INSIDE THE EDGES. THERE ARE SOME FOLDS IN THE HEADPIECE, BUT IN VERY GOOD CONDITION. C) GREEN AND GOLDEN YELLOW TASSEL. LENGTH: 23CM WIDTH: 4CM. GOLD FASTENING AND “2020” CHARM PIECE ATTACHED TO THE TOP. GOLDEN YELLOW THREAD LOOP FOR ATTACHING AROUND BUTTON ON TOP OF THE MORTARBOARD. EXCELLENT CONDITION.

Subjects

PERSONAL SYMBOL

Historical Association

EDUCATION

COMMEMORATIVE

History

ON JUNE 25TH, 2020 COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN KEVIN MACLEAN INTERVIEWED DYLAN TAYLOR IN REGARD TO THE LETHBRIDGE COLLEGIATE INSTITUTE 2020 HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION MEMORABILIA HE DONATED TO THE MUSEUM. THE FOLLOWING DIALOGUE WAS EXTRACTED FROM THEIR MEETING. DYLAN SPOKE ABOUT HIS EXPECTATIONS WHEN THE PANDEMIC FIRST AROSE: “…BY MARCH WE WERE DECENTLY SURE THAT BY JUNE WE WOULD BE BACK AT SCHOOL AGAIN BUT…HERE WE ARE. A LOT OF THE NARRATIVE THAT WAS BEING SPREAD AROUND WAS THAT IF WE STAY HOME ENOUGH AND IF WE QUARANTINE ENOUGH [AND HAVE A] SICKNESS FREE SUMMER THAT FALL WILL CONTINUE AS NORMAL AND EVERYTHING WOULD GO BACK TO NORMAL. BUT AS TIME GOES ON IT [WAS] BECOMING INCREASINGLY APPARENT THAT THIS [WAS] NOT GOING TO GO AWAY VERY EASILY IF AT ALL, AND THAT’S A…VERY...DRAMATIC CONTRAST TO HOW WE WERE FEELING IN MARCH…EVEN AS THE MONTHS PROGRESS, I THINK WE ALL GOT MORE AND MORE HOPEFUL…[AND] AROUND APRIL…THERE WAS A PUSH FOR THERE TO BE A GRADUATION– [WHICH WOULD HAVE BEEN] TOMORROW ACTUALLY…THEY HAD RESCHEDULED GRADUATION PROVISIONALLY FOR JUNE 26TH [2020]… WE ALL GOT OUR HOPES BACK UP AND THEN WITHIN 2 WEEKS’ TIME OR SO THAT WAS GIVEN THE KIBOSH AS WELL…THERE WERE…WAVES OF OPTIMISM…ABOUT OUR RETURN TO NORMAL… ONCE WE GOT INTO MID… [TO] LATE MAY THERE WAS THIS…ASSUREDNESS THAT THIS IS HERE TO STAY. WE’RE NOT COMING BACK TO NORMAL– PROBABLY EVER.” DYLAN ELABORATED ON THE UNIQUE GRADUATION EVENTS: “…IN GRADE NINE YOU ARE ASSIGNED TO ONE [ADVISOR] TEACHER…AND THAT TEACHER IS THERE TO…HELP YOU MOVE THROUGH YOUR…THREE OR FOUR YEARS OF SCHOOLING…THEN, IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE…WE WERE RECEIVING THESE GRAD PACKAGES BASED ON WHICH ADVISOR YOU HAD. YOU WERE TOLD TO COME TO THE SCHOOL AT A CERTAIN TIME…FOUR OR FIVE INDIVIDUALS WHO WERE [IN] GRADE TWELVE IN MY ADVISOR GROUP, WE ALL CAME [TO THE GRADUATION EVENT] AT SAY…2:00 -3:00 ON A GIVEN DAY….SO THEY HAD US…COME UP IN OUR CARS, PARK IN A SPECIFIC SPOT BY THE SIDEWALK, AND WALK INTO THIS COURTYARD IN THE FRONT OF OUR SCHOOL. FIRST, THEY WOULD GIVE US THIS PACKAGE OF ITEMS [THAT WAS DONATED TO THE MUSEUM]…THEY WOULD HAND IT OVER TO US OVER A TABLE. YOU’D GET A LITTLE PICTURE FOR…OUR YEARBOOK… STUDENT COUNCIL, OF WHICH I’M A PART-OF, ORGANIZED A LITTLE STUDENT VIDEO, SO THEY HAD ALMOST EVERY GRADUATING STUDENT RECORD A LITTLE MESSAGE, OR…RECORD ONE LINE OF A LARGER SPEECH THAT WOULD BE DONE LATER; [THEN IT WAS] POSTED ON SOCIAL MEDIA, AND SHARED TO PARENTS…THAT WAS ABOUT IT...THE TEACHERS WERE VERY GOOD SPORTS ABOUT IT. THEY GAVE YOU A BIG CHEER. BUT, OTHER THAN THAT, LITTLE TO NO FANFARE, AND NO DECORATIONS, OR ANYTHING…JUST ABOUT LIKE A SIX MINUTE PROCESS OF GRABBING [THE GRADUATION PACKAGE DONATED TO THE MUSEUM]. “SO, THE FRONT DOORS OF LCI HAVE…A CONCRETE COURTYARD IN FRONT OF THEM, WITH SOME BENCHES AND LITTLE THINGS FOR STUDENTS…[THE] TEACHERS HAD SET UP IN THAT CONCRETE SPACE TO HAND [GRADUATING STUDENTS] THESE ITEMS…NOT INCLUDING THE SIGN.” “…[THERE WAS] NO POSING [FOR PHOTOS] OR ANYTHING…[THE TEACHERS] JUST…USHERED YOU OVER TO A CERTAIN SPOT WHERE YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO STAND, AND PASSED [THE GRADUATION ITEMS] OVER.” “THAT [EVENT]…WAS THE BIGGEST MOMENT THAT PALES IN COMPARISON WITH THE REAL…HANDING-OF-THE-DIPLOMA MOMENT, WHEN YOU ARE IN FRONT OF YOUR PEERS, AND YOUR FAMILY, AND THE PUBLIC…THAT ABSENCE OF PEOPLE TO SEE IT HAPPEN FELT…VERY EMPTY AND INSIGNIFICANT…EVEN LOOKING THROUGH THESE ITEMS AFTERWARDS, THEY DIDN’T FEEL LIKE THEY MEANT ANYTHING, AND THAT WHOLE EXPERIENCE, IN GENERAL, DIDN’T REALLY FEEL LIKE IT MEANT ANYTHING. AS HARD AS THE TEACHERS TRIED, AND AS MUCH EFFORT AS THEY PUT INTO IT…IT REALLY WAS KIND OF A FACSIMILE…A POOR FACSIMILE OF A REAL GRADUATION.” “I HAD HONESTLY NO IDEA WHAT TO EXPECT…COMING UP TO THE SCHOOL; SEEING THE VERY SPARSE SET-UP THEY HAD THERE WAS A LITTLE SHOCKING…DEPENDING ON THE TEACHERS THAT WERE PRESENT, THEY DID SOME KIND OF GROUP PHOTOS, WHICH THEY WERE IMMEDIATELY SCOLDED FOR AFTERWARDS, BECAUSE THEY WEREN’T SUPPOSED TO DO THAT… IT WAS…A BLEAK MOMENT…AS HAPPY AS THEY TRIED TO BE; AS HAPPY AS WE WERE MEANT TO BE, IT DIDN’T QUITE MEASURE UP...” ACCORDING TO A JUNE 22, 2020 LETHBRIDGE HERALD ARTICLE, THE SCHOOL ORGANIZED A PARADE, FOLLOWING ALBERTA HEALTH SERVICES REGULATIONS, TO CELEBRATE THE 225 LCI GRADS OF 2020 AMID THE PANDEMIC. FINE ARTS AND ATHLETIC AWARDS WERE ALSO DELIVERED TO THE HOUSES OF RECIPIENTS. IN CELEBRATION, DYLAN’S GRAD CLASS ALSO RECEIVED A LAWN SIGN: “…THE LCI STAFF WAS KIND ENOUGH TO DELIVER ONE [SIGN] TO EVERY SINGLE GRADUATING STUDENT…THE ADVISOR TEACHER I MENTIONED BEFORE (MINE IS ACTUALLY MY CHOIR TEACHER…) DELIVERED THE SIGN PERSONALLY TO STUDENTS, AND HAD A PICTURE OF THEM PLANTING IT ON THEIR LAWN, [WHICH WAS] VERY NICE. IT WASN’T EXACTLY A SURPRISE…BECAUSE I SAW PICTURES OF STUDENTS RECEIVING THEM PREVIOUSLY— BUT, IN THE E-MAIL SENT TO PARENTS, IT WAS DECLARED AS A SURPRISE FOR STUDENTS…IT WAS NICE TO NOT ONLY SEE OUR TEACHER AGAIN, BUT TO HAVE THIS…EMBLEM…IN FRONT OF MY HOUSE, THAT [SHOWED] WE DID COMPLETE ALL FOUR YEARS, AND IT DID FEEL GOOD.” DYLAN EXPLAINED THE VALUE OF THE ITEMS HE RECEIVED IN THE GRADUATION PACKAGE: [THE] FINE AND SUPPORTING ARTS CERTIFICATE [WAS SIGNIFICANT COMPARED TO SOME OF THE OTHER ITEMS]…IT [HAD] BEEN SIGNED HERE BY…MY CHOIR TEACHER…MY DRAMA TEACHER; AND MY PRINCIPAL… ALL OF THESE THINGS ARE IMPORTANT TO ME. OBVIOUSLY, MY CERTIFICATE OF BILINGUALISM; I SPENT [ABOUT] TEN…YEARS BEING EDUCATED IN FRENCH, AND THAT’S VERY IMPORTANT TO ME OBVIOUSLY. I’VE HAD SO MANY…PERSONAL EXPERIENCES [AND] MEMORIES WITH ALL THE FINE ARTS PROGRAMS AT LCI… SO MUCH OF WHO I AM TODAY CAN BE OWED TO THESE TEACHERS; TO THESE PROGRAMS. SO, AS MUCH AS IT’S A PIECE OF PAPER WITH A LITTLE JPEG OF A STAMP HERE, INSTEAD OF A REAL ONE…THIS DOES MEAN A LOT TO ME—…THIS…DECLARATION THAT I DID PASS THROUGH THESE PROGRAMS; THAT I DID…PUT IN THE EFFORT, AND THE WORK, TO LEAVE MY IMPACT ON THEM, AND TO BE IMPACTED BY THEM. ADDITIONALLY, IN THIS PACKAGE, THE ONE THING I DIDN’T INCLUDE [IN THE DONATION TO THE MUSEUM] WAS A LITTLE LETTER THAT YOU WROTE TO YOURSELF IN THE NINTH GRADE. IT WAS AN ENGLISH ASSIGNMENT…EVERY STUDENT WAS MANDATED TO TYPE OUT A LETTER TO THEIR GRADE TWELVE SELF, THAT WOULD THEN BE INCLUDED IN THIS PACKAGE, AND [THAT WAS IMPORTANT]. IT WAS CERTAINLY AN INSIGHTFUL LOOK INTO HOW MUCH I HAVE CHANGED…OVER THE PAST FOUR YEARS.” DYLAN COMMENTED FURTHER ON THE EXPERIENCE OF GRADUATING HIGH SCHOOL AMIDST THE GLOBAL COVID-19 PANDEMIC: “IT’S A LITTLE BIT OF A LETDOWN IN SOME WAYS…IT’S WONDERFUL TO HAVE THESE PHYSICAL TOKENS OF THE TIME I SPENT IN HIGH SCHOOL BUT IT FEELS LIKE SUCH A GRANDIOSE EXPERIENCE COMING TO SUCH AN ANTICLIMACTIC FINISH IN SOME WAYS. A LOT OF THE MOST IMPORTANT EXPERIENCES IN MY ENTIRE LIFE THAT I’LL REMEMBER FOREVER HAPPENED IN THIS BUILDING, LETHBRIDGE COLLEGIATE INSTITUTE, AND I FEEL A LITTLE CHEATED IN SOME WAYS TO HAVE SUCH A KIND OF LACK LUSTER FINISH – AS MUCH WORK AS THE LCI STAFF HAS PUT INTO RECOGNIZING THEIR GRADUATES AND THE STUDENTS WHO DID…GO ABOVE AND BEYOND, IT’S STILL A KIND OF MEAGRE FINISH I SUPPOSE.” “…MARCH 15TH WAS WHEN SCHOOLS CLOSED FOR GOOD INDEFINITELY AND…AT THAT TIME WE ALL HAD VERY VISCERAL REACTIONS. I REMEMBER COMING HOME FROM WORK AND THEN AS SOON AS I GOT IN MY CAR I WAS TOLD THAT I WASN’T GOING BACK TO SCHOOL WHICH IS A VERY STRANGE THING TO HEAR BECAUSE NONE OF US EXPECTED IT…THAT DATE MARCH 15TH…IT WAS ANNOUNCED BY LCI ADMINISTRATION THAT THEY HAD CANCELLED SOME EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES OR SPORTS GAMES…TO PRESERVE SAFETY. WE WERE ALL UPSET…WE DIDN’T SEE ANYTHING LIKE THIS COMING. THEY HAD ALSO RECENTLY QUASHED A TRIP TO DISNEYLAND THAT THE BAND AND CHOIR HAD PLANNED SO WE WERE ALL…REELING AFTER THAT…SEEING IF WE COULD RECUPERATE ANY KIND OF FUNDS TO REALLOCATE TO SOME OTHER TRIP SO IT WAS ALL…SUDDEN AND FAST IN THAT WEEK…EVERYTHING SEEMED TO BE CANCELLED... SO IT WAS BEWILDERMENT AT FIRST AND THEN EVERYONE WENT INTO A STAGE OF…A VERY DEEP SORROW AND…FEELING SORRY FOR OURSELVES, WHICH WASN’T HELPED BY THE ABOUT 2 WEEK GAP THAT WE HAD IN TERMS OF ACADEMICS. THE SCHOOL TOOK A COUPLE OF WEEKS OFF JUST TO DRAFT SOME KIND OF PLAN AS TO WHAT THEY WERE GOING TO DO FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE YEAR. SO WE HAD A LOT OF TIME TO…GRIEVE AND PROCESS…WHAT A CATACLYSMIC EVENT THIS REALLY WAS. BUT…AFTER THAT WE KIND OF SETTLED INTO THE ONLINE DISSEMINATION PLATFORM…SOME BETTER THAN OTHERS, BOTH STAFF AND STUDENTS ACCLIMATED TO THIS NEW CHANGE…FOR BETTER OR WORSE… BUT THEN AGAIN, NEARING THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR, I THINK WE’RE ALL…FEELING…THIS HEAVINESS A LITTLE BIT. MAYBE NOT AS MUCH AS WHEN THE…CLASSES ENDED IN PERSON – BUT NOW THAT IT’S ALL OVER THERE’S A BIT OF WEIGHT THERE, THERE’S STILL THAT KIND OF [A MOROSE FEELING] THAT I MENTIONED EARLIER THAT’S…CREEPING BACK.” DYLAN ATTRIBUTED THIS SAD SENTIMENT TO BOTH THE PANDEMIC AND THE TRANSITION OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL IN GENERAL: “…AS MUCH AS THAT HEAVINESS IS [FROM] THE LEAVING BEHIND THESE EXPERIENCES WE’VE HAD, IT’S ALSO…A SADNESS THAT WASN’T LIVED OUT TO ITS FULL POTENTIAL. USUALLY AROUND GRADUATION THERE’S…[A] BIG HURRAH EVENT AND A BIG ANNOUNCEMENT OF GOING OUT INTO THE WORLD...BUT IN THIS CASE IT WAS…LIKE A SILENT CREEPING OUT INSTEAD OF A BIG HURRAH. SO…THERE IS THAT REGRET…THAT WE WEREN’T ABLE TO FULLY LIVE OUT THE EXPERIENCE, BUT THERE IS ALSO THE SADNESS OF LEAVING OUR OLD LIFE, OUR CHILDHOOD BEHIND…IT’S MY EIGHTEENTH BIRTHDAY TOMORROW WHICH COINCIDES CLOSELY WITH MY LAST SCHOOL EXPERIENCE SO VERY MUCH THIS IS…THE END OF LIFE AS WE KNEW IT AND OUR CHILDHOOD, IF YOU WILL.” “…IT WAS A PLEASURE TO HAVE THE TIME WE DID HAVE IN SCHOOL. WE HAD ABOUT SEVEN PRETTY SOLID MONTHS OF A GRAD YEAR…AS MUCH AS THERE IS A BIT OF UNFAIRNESS THERE, I ALSO FEEL BAD FOR THESE NEW STUDENTS WHO ARE MOVING INTO AN UNCERTAIN GRAD YEAR; WHERE THEY WON’T HAVE THINGS LIKE SCHOOL PLAYS, THAT WE WERE ABLE TO HAVE, OR BEING PART OF CONCERTS OR SPORTS GAMES. THE WHOLE NINE YARDS. EVERYTHING WILL BE CONDENSED AND WILL HAVE THAT SAME UNDERWHELMING EFFECT THAT I THINK WE EXPERIENCED TO SOME DEGREE. I DON’T EXACTLY ENVY THIS GRAD CLASS OF 2021. CERTAINLY, I WOULD LOVE TO BE BACK AT SCHOOL. I WISH THEM ALL THE BEST, AND I HOPE THEY ARE ABLE TO MAKE THE BEST OF WHATEVER KIND OF UNDERWHELMING EXPERIENCES THEY ARE MOVING INTO.” DYLAN TALKED ABOUT TAKING CLASSES ONLINE DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR: “I WANT TO PREFACE WHAT I AM SAYING HERE BY COMMENDING THE LCI STAFF, BY MAKING THE BEST OF WHAT THEY HAD UNDER VERY SHORT CIRCUMSTANCES. WE USED A SOFTWARE CALLED ‘MICROSOFT TEAMS’…IT WORKED IN SOME CAPACITIES AND IT DID NOT WORK IN SOME CAPACITIES. OBVIOUSLY DOING DISTANCE LEARNING AND DISTANCE WORK IS A LOT DIFFERENT THAN HOLDING PEOPLE ACCOUNTABLE IN PERSON. FOR STUDENTS AND TEACHERS, SOMETIMES IT CAN BE DIFFICULT TO STAY ON TRACK AND TO STAY COMMITTED TO THEIR WORK, ESPECIALLY UNDER THESE KIND OF DISAPPOINTING AND DISHEARTENING CIRCUMSTANCES. THAT COMBINED WITH THIS NEW SYSTEM THAT DOES NOT EXACTLY HOLD STUDENTS ACCOUNTABLE WITH THEIR WORK—OR LACK THEREOF—IN THE SAME WAY THAT IN-PERSON SCHOOLING DOES. I DID HAVE SOME REALLY GOOD EXPERIENCES [IN ONLINE CLASSES], SPECIFICALLY IN DRAMA. [THE TEACHERS] MADE INTERESTING USE OF THE SOFTWARE. WE WERE ABLE TO DIVE INTO THE HISTORY OF DRAMA AND THE THEORY OF DRAMA. WE ALSO WORKED ON SOME PROJECTS WHERE WE WERE EXPERIMENTING WITH THIS VIDEO CALLING SOFTWARE, SIMILAR TO SKYPE OR FACETIME THAT THEY HAD IN THE ‘MICROSOFT TEAMS’. WE WERE ABLE TO DO SOME INTERESTING DRAMA PROJECTS IN THAT CAPACITY. OUR TEACHER…KEPT US VERY BUSY AND ENGAGED. IT WAS A BIT OF A MIXED BAG. I KNOW GOING FORWARD THE SCHOOL IS LOOKING AT A MORE INTENSIVE ACADEMIC STRAIN ON THEIR STUDENTS, IF THEY ARE LOOKING TOWARDS ONLINE LEARNING. WHICH I KNOW THEY ARE LOOKING TOWARDS A MIXED MODEL, WHERE SOME OF YOUR WORK WILL BE ONLINE AND SOME IN PERSON. I KNOW THE ONLINE WORK THAT THEY WILL DISSEMINATE WILL BE MORE ENGAGING AND CHALLENGING. WHEREAS THIS YEAR IT WAS A LITTLE BIT OF A WRITE-OFF, PERHAPS.” “ABOUT ONE DAY OUT OF THE WEEK, TEACHERS WOULD HOLD LIVE, IN-PERSON, CLASSES WITH THEIR STUDENTS. AGAIN, FOR MORE INFORMATION HEAVY CLASSES LIKE SOCIAL STUDIES, SCIENCE, MATH…THEY WOULD HAVE AROUND FIVE CLASSES IN FRONT OF WHITEBOARD WHILE TEACHING THE STUDENTS THROUGH A CAMERA.” “…IN OTHER CASES THEY WOULD SCREEN SHARE A POWER POINT. IT VARIED FROM TEACHER TO TEACHER. BUT, I DID SEE SOME TEACHERS STANDING IN FRONT OF A WHITE BOARD AND WRITING…” “IN THAT ‘MICROSOFT TEAMS’ SOFTWARE THEY HAVE A VIDEO CALLING FUNCTIONALITY. ABOUT EVERY WEEK OR SO, DEPENDING ON THE CLASS, YOU WOULD MEET UP WITH YOUR TEACHER AND THEY WOULD TURN ON THE CAMERA AND USUALLY [YOU WOULD] SEE THEIR FACE.” “…EVERY STUDENT WOULD PILE INTO THE CLASS AND EITHER TURN ON THEIR CAMERA OR NOT. YOU WOULD HAVE A CLASS FULL…WITH NOTHING ON THE CAMERA, AND THE TEACHER…DICTATING OUT INTO AN ENDLESS SEA OF DARKNESS. IT VARIED FROM CLASS TO CLASS. AGAIN, WITH THAT DRAMA CLASS THE TEACHER WAS ABLE TO GET US ENGAGED, INVOLVED, AND TALKING. BUT IN OTHER CASES IT WAS THEM TELLING US WHAT TO DO WITH HOMEWORK AND SIGNING OFF IN ABOUT FIVE MINUTES TIME.” “IT [WAS] THE SAME AMOUNT OF STUDENTS THAT WERE IN CLASSES WHEN WE WERE IN PERSON…DEPENDING ON THE CLASS, MAYBE FIFTEEN TO TWENTY STUDENTS PER AVERAGE CLASS. A LARGER CLASS MIGHT LOOK CLOSER TO THIRTY.” “THE LCI TEAM DID THEIR BEST TO TRY AND PRESERVE A REGULAR SCHEDULE. SO CLASSES…HAPPENED AT THE SAME TIME THAT THEY NORMALLY WOULD HAVE [OTHERWISE]. IT WAS A VERY DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE BEING ABLE TO WAKE UP BLEARY EYED AND TURN ON YOUR PHONE AND YOU'RE IN CLASS.” “…EVEN THE BEST OF STUDENTS GOT A BIT OFF-TRACK IN THAT CAPACITY; MYSELF INCLUDED. IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO STAY MOTIVATED IN THAT KIND OF CONTEXT.” “WHEN YOU DON’T HAVE THE IN-PERSON PRESSURE AND MOTIVATION OF TEACHER, WITH A CARROT OR STICK, TO MOTIVATE YOU TO COMPLETE YOUR WORK TO APPLY YOURSELF— IT IS COMPLETELY DEVOID OF ANY KIND OF AWARD, IN TERMS OF YOU FINISHING YOUR WORK. HANDING IN AN ASSIGNMENT FEELS LIKE A COMPLETELY EMPTY TASK. YOU ARE JUST HITTING A BUTTON AND THEN IT GOES AWAY PRETTY MUCH FOREVER, LITTLE IN THE WAY OF FEEDBACK I FOUND. SOME STUDENTS NEVER WENT TO A SINGLE CLASS AND NEVER HANDED IN A SINGLE ASSIGNMENT. AS PER THE GOVERNMENT’S INSTRUCTIONS, YOUR GRADE [NEVER CHANGED] FROM THE MOMENT YOU LEFT IN-PERSON CLASSES. SO AS OF MARCH 15TH [2020], YOUR GRADE WAS SET IN STONE... ANYTHING YOU [CHOSE] TO SUBMIT [WAS] KIND OF UP TO YOU. IN SOME CASES YOUR GRADE COULD GO UP IF YOU HANDED IN AN ASSIGNMENT, BUT NEVER DOWN BELOW YOUR ORIGINAL MARK. A LOT PEOPLE DECIDED THAT WAS ENOUGH FOR THEM; THAT THEY WERE DONE FOR THE YEAR. OTHER PEOPLE SETTLED INTO IT VERY WELL, KEPT A REGIMENTED SCHEDULE AND COMPLETED ALL OF THEIR WORK. MOST OF US FELL SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE THERE. [AL]MOST EVERYONE COMPLETED EVERY ASSIGNMENT. WHETHER OR NOT THAT WAS ON TIME WAS A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT STORY.” DYLAN SPOKE MORE ON HIS TIME AT LETHBRIDGE COLLEGIATE INSTITUTE HIGH SCHOOL: “…I [HAD] A VERY UNIQUE EXPERIENCE WITH THE DECISION I WAS MAKING ABOUT HIGH SCHOOL…IN THE NINTH GRADE…I WAS PLANNING ON TRANSFERRING OVER TO WINSTON CHURCHILL [HIGH SCHOOL] FOR THEIR IB PROGRAM, WHICH IS ESSENTIALLY LIKE AN ADVANCED PROGRAM OF STUDIES… IT WAS A VERY LANDMARK DECISION FOR ME, BECAUSE I THINK WHAT’S VERY SPECIAL ABOUT LCI IS THEIR EXTRA-CURRICULAR PROGRAMS, AND WHAT THEY’RE ABLE TO OFFER FOR STUDENTS BEYOND ACADEMICS… I’VE HAD A GREAT EXPERIENCE IN THOSE DEPARTMENTS, AS WELL, BUT I THINK WHERE IT REALLY SHINES IS WHERE IT IS ABLE TO NOT ONLY PROVIDE STUDENTS WITH A CREATIVE OUTLET, OR ATHLETIC OUTPUT, OR ANY OTHER KIND OF COMPARABLE EXPERIENCE— THEY ALSO ARE VERY GOOD ABOUT PROVIDING A VERY NURTURING, FAMILIAL SORT OF COMMUNITY. CHOIR AND DRAMA, I THINK, ESPECIALLY ARE GREAT FOR THIS, WHERE YOU HAVE A VERY TIGHT-KNIT…PRETTY LARGE GROUP. THESE [TEACHERS] AT THE SCHOOL, ARE ABLE TO…PULL THESE REALLY LARGE AND DISPARATE GROUPS OF PEOPLE TOGETHER AND REALLY MAKE SOMETHING SPECIAL OUT OF IT, WHERE EVERY STUDENT HAS THIS SORT OF INTRINSIC CONNECTION WITH ONE ANOTHER, WITHOUT BEING…VERY OVERT…FRIENDS…BUT THERE IS STILL THAT CONNECTION THAT YOU HAVE WITH THOSE STUDENTS IN THAT COMMUNITY THAT’S FOSTERED… MOVING INTO HIGH SCHOOL, THAT…BECAME…A REALLY INTEGRAL PART OF WHO I WAS…[ALONG WITH] THE COMMITMENTS THAT NOT ONLY I MADE, BUT EVERY STUDENT MADE TO THESE PROGRAMS, AND THE COMMITMENTS FROM THE STAFF AS WELL…TAKES IT ABOVE-AND-BEYOND AN AVERAGE FINE ARTS EXPERIENCE…BY THE END OF THE YEAR, WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE, THAT COMMUNITY, AND THE QUALITY OF EDUCATION THAT WAS PROVIDED FROM THE FINE ARTS DEPARTMENTS REALLY WAS CONFIRMATION THAT THIS WAS WHERE I WAS MEANT TO BE, FOR SURE.” DYLAN OFFERED HIS OUTLOOK ON THE FUTURE: “…THERE’S A VERY PROFOUND SENSE OF UNCERTAINTY THAT WE’RE MOVING INTO SO, I’M SETTLING ON REALISTIC OPTIMISM FOR NOW…BECAUSE THERE’S ALL THESE WHISPERS ABOUT A SECOND WAVE OR A RESURGENCE [OF COVID-19] AFTER…MORE BUSINESSES [AND] PARKS…ARE OPENED UP. BUT WHO KNOWS?,,, SO I’M GOING TO, AGAIN, REMAIN REALISTICALLY OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THIS SITUATION. I KNOW SOMEDAY I’LL GO TO UNIVERSITY. I KNOW SOMEDAY THE STUDENTS WHO ARE COMING UP INTO THEIR GRADUATION YEAR BEHIND ME WILL HAVE SOME SORT OF COMEUPPANCE…FOR THE THINGS THEY DID LOSE OUT ON. I’M NOT SAYING THAT IT WILL BE EASY OR THAT IT WILL BE NORMAL OR THAT IT WILL FEEL ENTIRELY NATURAL BUT I AM SURE THAT THINGS WILL WORK THEMSELVES OUT IN THE END.” FINALLY, DYLAN COMMENTED ON DONATING HIS GRADUATION ITEMS TO THE MUSEUM AND THE CONCEPT OF MAKING HISTORY: “I THINK MORE AND MORE [HISTORY] IS BECOMING, TO ME, SOMETHING THAT’S NOT SO DISTANT… IN THESE TIMES WE’RE IN RIGHT NOW SEEING HISTORY REPEAT ITSELF…OR EVEN HISTORY [FEELING] VERY IMMEDIATE AND…LIKE IT HAS A VERY PROFOUND INFLUENCE ON WHAT’S HAPPENING RIGHT NOW… IN THESE EVER CHANGING TIMES, EVERYTHING WE DO CAN BE CONSIDERED HISTORY AND CAN LEAVE A VERY SIGNIFICANT MARK THAT WILL EITHER COME BACK TO BITE US OR REWARD US IN FUTURE… [DONATING THE GRADUATION ITEMS] FEELS LIKE…I’M LEAVING SOME SORT OF IMPRINT ON HISTORY, THE CLASS OF 2020 IS LEAVING SOME IMPRINT ON HISTORY THAT WILL BE REMEMBERED FOR A VERY LONG TIME…THAT WAS A LITTLE BIT CONVOLUTED BUT…I THINK…I’M COMING TO REALIZE THAT HISTORY DOESN’T JUST EXIST IN THE PAST. HISTORY IS ALWAYS HAPPENING WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT, THE THINGS YOU DO NOW [WILL MAKE] A BIG DIFFERENCE TOMORROW, AND THE NEXT DAY, FIVE YEARS FROM NOW AND FOREVER.” “…WHENEVER YOU THINK OF A MUSEUM OR YOU THINK OF HISTORY YOU THINK OF THE DISTANT PAST THAT YOU DON’T HAVE MUCH…[OF A] PERSONAL CONNECTION TO, SO IT WAS REALLY REMARKABLE TO CONSIDER THAT THE MOMENT THAT WE’RE IN RIGHT NOW WILL SOON BE CONSIDERED HISTORY AND IS SIGNIFICANT ENOUGH TO BE RECORDED, AND TO HAVE SOME KIND OF PERSONAL CONNECTION TO THAT HISTORY IS…VERY RESONANT…” FOR MORE INFORMATION, OR TO SEE THE FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE SEE THE DONATION’S PERMANENT FILE.

Catalogue Number

P20200024002

Acquisition Date

2020-06

Collection

Museum

Less detail