On Saturday, June 7, Edward Milne Community School’s 2025 graduating class walked the stage at UVic to receive their diplomas. Now, all they have to do is finish high school.
With two weeks of class remaining before school’s out, forever, for the Grade 12s, valedictorians Madison Riddell and Lily Schaefer are both reflecting and looking to the future.
“I was really hoping to encapsulate – not quite our journey as a grad class – but how we've grown and how we can still grow,” Riddell said. “[I was] making sure that everybody feels that they are part of the speech."
Riddell was named valedictorian after she claimed the highest GPA in her class.
She plays volleyball, basketball, frisbee and softball, and has organized several school events – from dances to fundraisers. If a busy high school career wasn’t enough, she now plans to attend UBC to study biochemistry.
“I want to go to med school, with the hope of specializing in anesthesiology or radiology or oncology, but it's undecided – something doctor-y, not surgical,” Riddell said.
While Riddell somewhat expected to be valedictorian, it wasn’t something she set out to do. “Obviously, [I thought] it would be really cool to be valedictorian – you know, the sash is awesome.”
But it was never the main goal.
“I got good grades because I wanted to go to a good university, and I wanted to have that step up from other people in university. So it wasn't like I was getting good grades so I could be valedictorian.”
It’s a similar story for Lily Schaefer, who was named Indigenous valedictorian following years working in the community and building relationships with the Elders at EMCS.
“I'm pretty involved in the community, I like being around the Elders, and I like doing workshops and helping out where I can,” Schaefer said.
Now she plans to head to UVic to join the humanities scholars' honours program. After that, her future is undecided.
“I don’t really know what I’m going to do with that, but I’m going to go somewhere and I’m probably gonna spend a lot of money at that university.”
At the graduation ceremony, the pair each had a lot to share.
Riddell, a message of ambition.
“Don’t stop dreaming. Don’t think, ‘I’m an adult now, I have to be serious,’ because even though I want to be a doctor – obviously less exciting than being a princess — it’s still a valid dream,” she said.
“Just because your dream is different from others’, it's not unimportant.”
But Schaefer had something else, and vulnerable, to say.
“I’m dark [skinned] and gay, so the traditional Sooke is difficult sometimes,” she said, explaining that her experience as a student was often one that included discrimination – something she thought important to address to the adults in the room, along with her classmates.
“It’s something I’ve been dealing with because of my peers since middle school. I’ve been dealing with the same issues in regard to race and sexuality.”
After agonizing over getting the words right, Schaefer said she received a lot of positive responses, and she's happy she said it.
Where Schaefer and Riddell’s speeches harmonized was acceptance.
“Let's reflect on the people who have been with us for the last four years, and let's think about who's going further into life with us. And let's thank our parents and be nice to each other,” said Schaefer.
“Which I don't think I should have to say, but, you know, teenagers are mean.”
“I want everybody to connect, because I feel like we got super separated in Grade 8 when COVID happened, and I just feel like our grad class never super glued,” she added. “So that was another point – that I want everybody to be friends.”
The pair explained there were several highlights for the grad class throughout the year.
The senior girls’ volleyball and basketball teams appeared at Island-wide tournaments – the girls’ basketball team’s first-ever appearance. The senior boys’ basketball team competed at provincials, and Grade 12 track and field star Ava Campbell took home a silver medal in javelin at provincials.
Fundraising and recreation events were huge successes as well.
“I helped organize 10,000 Tonight this year, and we raised $18,000 for the food bank, which is more than we’ve raised in I think eight years,” said Riddell.
They also had their first school dance in several years and a grad fashion show put on by the seniors to raise money for prom.
“That was fun,” said Schaefer.
“The grad class participated – and that’s how I’m going to word that.”
Overall, the final year for the EMCS 2025 grad class was one of great achievements. And despite the challenges, they’ve left a lasting legacy for the Class of 2026 to build on.
