ATHABASCA – In just 18 years, Kai Day has already mastered a couple of languages – those being the universal languages of math and music, which helped him rise to the top of Edwin Parr Composite School’s graduating class of 2021.
Day had his moment in the spotlight during the school’s abbreviated graduation ceremonies June 25, and as valedictorian, he was the first of more than 100 students to don the cap and gown and receive their diplomas that day.
“I liked high school, I mean, it's been fairly easy for me, but I feel like I still had to work hard at it. My grad class has a lot of high achievers,” Day said in an interview June 23.
Not only that, but Day is part of the second graduating class to have their high school career disrupted by the pandemic. For more than half of his high school career, COVID-19 has seen him and his peers forced to adjust between online and in-person learning, which has been challenging for everyone, and helped him see the value of having teachers in the same room as the students, while learning online has a number of drawbacks, he said.
“I found it to be harder. The teachers are still willing to help you work and achieve high marks; I like the relationship with the teacher, above all else, and then if you aren't brave enough to ask a question, someone else will,” said Day. “You have a group of people supporting you, instead of being all by yourself.”
Those relationships, along with the fact his mom was also an educator, spurred Day to seriously consider becoming a teacher himself, and he has already been accepted into the education program at the University of Alberta and will start there in September. His strong suit is math, in fact, he had a perfect grade in calculus this year and hopes to be able to teach the subject to others.
“I think it’s because I've had such a good experience in school, it's like I have 12 years of experience on the job … I’ve known I wanted to be a teacher for a couple years now, it has always been in the back of my mind, but the closer I've gotten to graduating the more sure I’ve been,” he said.
Day is the middle son of five, and the second in the family to receive recognition as the school’s valedictorian. Dad Will credits his wife Lisa, for setting their sons up for success and instilling a love of education in them. They were always reading, and Kai has been playing piano for 11 years, and can read and write music and can play by ear as well.
“It’s really a treat to have more than one (valedictorian) in the same family and with my wife being an educator, she spent a lot of time with them when they were young, reading with them, and then you have just the brotherly competition and they learn off each other. I’m very proud,” said Will.
Day’s valedictorian address was recorded previous to the ceremony, but one of the things he shared is that the last two years has showed him, and his peers, that life can be unpredictable. As such, he found the now-famous quote from the movie Forrest Gump to be particularly fitting -- “Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re going to get.”
“In a lot of ways, it's your typical grad speech, there's a little bit of humour, but I'm also encouraging them to go through life and to find new opportunities, find success, but most of all, it's thanking the teachers for helping us, especially because of COVID,” Day said. “It's a huge honour. And yeah, I’m very fortunate because I don't feel like I deserve it more than the other people. At the same time, it feels nice to be congratulated.”
