Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, graduation day is a big event in the lives of the individuals and their families. The festivities invoke emotions ranging from anxiety and sadness to happiness and relief. Graduation gives individuals the sense of accomplishment that comes from having reached a goal or realized a dream.
Some of the class of 2002 have faced significant challenges in their efforts to obtain a diploma, Mr. Speaker. Most have met and overcome those challenges because of their hard work, willpower, commitment and self-discipline. Graduates enjoy the support of family and friends and of teachers, school administrators and other community members. This support is invaluable and helps to instil in young people a greater appreciation of the value of community and family.
Mr. Speaker, the students who have graduated this year, whether from high school, college or university, are excellent role models. They have demonstrated the character traits and behaviour needed to set and reach a goal.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and congratulate some of those individuals. Jennifer Vane, of Yellowknife, is one of 200 national winners to receive a Canada Millennium Scholarship of $4,000 per year for up to four years.
The winner of a second Canada Millennium Scholarship, this one awarded locally, is Ashley Woodward. She will use the $4,000 scholarship to study forensic science at the University of Toronto. Ashley is a graduate of St. Patrick High School in Yellowknife.
Mr. Speaker, I would also like to make special mention today of the students who graduated in Inuvik from the Aboriginal Language and Cultural Instructor Program. I understand that Liz Hansen, who coordinated the program, has done a remarkable job in reviving this vital program and building support for it in the communities. These graduates are poised to make a personal contribution to the preservation of the unique identity that characterizes the Northwest Territories. Their work will help to ensure that diversity and linguistic plurality, the threads that link our rich cultural mosaic, will continue to pass from generation to generation.
Mr. Speaker, I am proud of our graduates and their achievements. To me, they demonstrate the incredible potential of the Northwest Territories. Each of them will help us to realize our full potential as a Territory, as they realize their own. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
-- Applause