The themes "to serve and protect” and “make a difference” were pushed into the Fellows High School stage spotlight on Sept. 24 as over 180 of the 319 students of the 2005 graduating class at Algonquin’s Pembroke campus gathered for a convocation ceremony and reception.

Class valedictorian Shari MacDougall gave an impassioned speech to her fellow classmates which set the tone for the day. Surrounded by grinning students and their proud friends and families, MacDougall delivered a speech peppered with words of inspiration reflecting her time spent in the police foundations program, which held true for any graduate.

“As a new graduate, you may not think of yourself as a public servant, but that is exactly what you have trained to be and you should be proud of it...We build our communities. We are the future and each one of you has the ability to do something special. Are you up for the challenge? I think you are,” said MacDougall.

College president Robert Gillett gave an address to the departing class. In addition to urging students to try to look for work that will make a difference in theirs and others’ lives, Gillett stressed to the graduates to never lose sight of the goal of searching for the perfect “balance of work, family and fantasy.”

Gillett drew encouragement from a speech by former college dropout, now Apple Computer and Pixar Animation Studios CEO Steve Jobs, saying students must take a look back at past learning and periods of adversity in order to properly assess their future paths. Gillett also asked the group to take risks and embrace fear in their lives as Algonquin graduates.

For both MacDougall and Gillett the message was clear: there is a good reason why people sometimes call these convocation ceremonies “commencement.” Both speakers were adamant in their keynote addresses that graduation should never be seen as just a day marking the end of a school term but rather the beginning of a whole chapter in life that requires certain concepts. They include studied looks back at what one has done, reassessments of what one wants and a commitment to challenge oneself at every upcoming turn, said Gillett.

Other presenters were Algonquin Board of Governors representative Fred Blackstein and Dean of Algonquin college in the Ottawa valley Marguerite Donohue. A shower of applause and standing ovation greeted Donohue, who is finishing up a 12-year stay at Pembroke to move on to a position at the Woodroffe campus. Besides the main set of stage speakers the college’s instructors were honoured by their appreciative former pupils with loud cheers.

Since 1968, Algonquin’s Pembroke grounds have helped many students living in the upper Ottawa valley and beyond obtain an education without having to make the commute into downtown. Graduating classes this year include business, commercial pilot and aviation management, early childhood education, forestry technician, general arts and science, personal support worker, police foundations and practical nursing.