Video – ‘Celebrating time, effort, perseverance’: School honours graduating class of 2025

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Hundreds of senior students came together to celebrate their graduation ceremony in Fort St. John today. 

North Peace Secondary School’s (NPSS) graduation ceremony took place at the North Peace Arena on June 20th, 2025, with speeches from School District 60 (SD60) superintendent Stephen Petrucci, NPSS principal Todd Koponyas, SD60 board chair Helen Gilbert and principal of Indigenous education for SD60 Pat Jansen and more. 

“We are celebrating the time, the effort and perseverance that our graduates have demonstrated over the past 13 years,” Koponyas said. 

There were 400 graduates this year and $316,00 handed out in scholarships, with over $166,000 of that total coming from local sponsors.

Petrucci said: “When they say it takes a village to raise a child, nothing could be more accurate for School District 60 graduates.

“In addition to their more typical school experiences with school staff, this community and region have had a significant hand in providing a rich, well-rounded education.” 

Other guests included Prince George, Peace River and Northern Rockies MP Bob Zimmer and Peace River North MLA Jordan Kealy. 

“It’s amazing where life can take us,” Kealy said. “I for one did not think that I would be standing on this stage five years ago and that I would be representing this region as an MLA.

“One of the most important things in life is to push for what you want and pursue it.”

Kealy advised graduates to “keep showing up and stand strong,” even when “things are hard,” “you feel unsure” or “when the world tells you you’re not ready or that’s not how it’s done.”

The class valedictorian was Rebecca Friesen and the class historian was Krispin Johnsen, who both gave speeches as well.

Friesen said: “We can look back on our years of school to see how we’ve grown and the many things we’ve accomplished, both together and on our own. 

“We might also recall a failed pop quiz, a project that should have been started earlier, a grade we’d rather not mention or a friendship that fell apart.

“As my kindergarten teacher would say, a mistake is a chance to learn. We can discover how the times we’ve struggled made us stronger and how our experiences helped shape us into the people we are today.”

A student band played Oh Canada, while student Katie May performed Landslide for the crowd.