THUNDER BAY - The International Baccalaureate Program is not for the faint of heart, but all the hard work, endless assignments and exams, and time management is really paying off for graduates now wrapping up their first semester of university.
“I am proud and just thankful,” said Robyn Sulkko, a first year university student and IB graduate. “It definitely seemed very challenging while we were doing it, but now I know it’s really worth it.”
Sulkko was one of 31 students who officially received their IB diploma during a graduation ceremony on Saturday. Students wrote their last exams in May, but because the final grades are not usually complete until July, the ceremony is held later in the year when more students are home and able to attend.
A first-year political science student at the University of Ottawa, Sulkko said the ceremony is like having a little reunion with her fellow classmates, many of whom she has not seen since high school graduation in June.
“It feels like we’ve accomplished it,” she said. “We finished our exams in May, but it hasn’t been officially recognized and we worked really hard so it’s really exciting to be here and be able to celebrate our accomplishments.”
The IB Program has been held at Sir Winston Churchill High School since 1999 and according to Clarke Loney, the IB Program coordinator, the students once again went above and beyond.
“This is the biggest class we’ve had in a number of years,” he said. “So we are thrilled to be celebrating their incredible success. They knocked the world average out of the park once again, so we are very proud of them for that and we are anxious to get together and hear about their successes in first year university.”
This year’s graduating class earned a grade point average of 5.5, beating out the world average of 4.5 by one whole point.
“I couldn’t be more proud of this class,” Loney said.
And it’s no easy feat earning such high academic standing, with the IB Program challenging students in the classroom, in the community, and at home.
For Sulkko, one of the biggest challenges was time management and finding the right balance between school work and tight deadlines, extracurricular activities, community involvement, and yes, even time to just be a teenager.
But all that hard work has definitely paid off, Sulkko said, making the transition to post-secondary education that much easier.
“I can tell that I am totally at an advantage to my peers,” she said. “We wrote a lot of exams. I wrote more than 10 within three weeks and some people wrote almost 20. After finishing the first semester and going through mid-terms and finals, I am definitely feeling that exam process prepared me and just writing skills.”
With Churchill closing, the current grade 12 class in the IB Program will be the last class to graduate before it moves to its new home at Superior C.V.I. Loney said all the IB teachers and students will be moving with the program.
“If you close your eyes, nothing will be different,” he said. “It will be the same voices, the same teachers, the same peers, none of that will change. That consistency is key to ensuring the program’s success.”
And even if the program may seem daunting, the lessons it provided was well worth all the hard work.
“I would recommend the program,” Sulkko said. “I think it’s hard, but now looking back, now that I am in university and kind of in the big leagues, it was definitely worth it.”
