Inspiring Valedictorian Speech

Taejah Noble, a recent graduate of Elia Middle School delivered a moving speech to the 2014-2015 graduating class.

Congratulations class 2014-2015. Sometimes, the greatest relief you can get from a valedictorian speech, is when it is over. Quoted by your very own Taejah Noble, but I want that you will get at least something from this speech. Good afternoon,distinguished guests, principal Mr Yafeo,vice principle, Mrs Silvera, other staff members, visitors, parents, and of course my fellow graduates. I would like to start off by thanking the valedictorian committee for nominating me; it is such an honor and a privilege to be here. Wow, all of you graduates sitting before me are looking so lovely and well dressed. Visitors and Staff can you please join me in giving a big round of applause for our graduates. May I add, I am partly surprised to see some of you guys with your pants actually at your waist, one of the evident reasons why graduation is a special event.We all have a story, which includes a plot, a problem, and a solution. We all have a self-written book that's always being updated until we die. This book contains chapters and with our graduation tonight, we are closing a chapter. We are closing a chapter, but not the book because it is still the beginning and not the end. Now that we have established this chapter, I'm here to bring you anticipation, motivation, and preparation for the next chapter along with reminiscing and missing this one.Wow, look how much we have grown, we came from three recesses to one and from cubbies to lockers. If you really think about it, time has zoomed by like Usain Bolt . In our three years at Elia, they're like a cycle.We have our summer break and then after summer break we tend to forget what we have learned. That cycle has been repeated for the three years. Remember, in kindergarten reciting our ABC'S was one of our top priorities and we still use it now while utilizing a dictionary. This just shows that everything we learn and experience we bring with us in different ways. The excitement, awkwardness, adapting and fear on the first day of grade 6 we will bring yet again in grade 9, starting from the bottom all over again. We have grown as individuals, although with some of us, our height doesn't really show it. Who can remember the firstday of kindergarten where some of our parents were crying a river and some of us were the opposite, saying 'goodbye' with such ease. That confidence has been used in other areas of our development. That is, adapting to change while using what we already learned.I think one of the two most unforgettable memories at Elia is the first day and the last day. This is because we have our starting point and our finishing point; of course, in between we have our little milestones with several obstacles. How about those times we were learning something in class and questioned to ourselves 'when will this ever help me in life?' with a sigh and for others who were always intrigued. Who could forget the countless times we actually didn't want to come to school, both teachers and students or, for others who have always enjoyed coming to school. Those days where we would consistently watch the clock, thinking we could make the bell ring faster or, when a favorite class of ours was too short to enjoy. Then there is anxiety for some of us taking a test we studied for five minutes ago, or the anxiety of completing that test on time and stumbling upon a tricky question. I don't think there were any classes with Mrs. Ricketts where my name wasn't mistaken for Tajay instead of saying Taejah. When it comes to laughter, I cannot forget the countless outbursts from Mr. Spencer's weird remarks and I know I am not the only one. I absolutely cannot forget Mrs. Silvera's closing line for the morning announcements, which I would always try to attempt. Memories play a big role in our lives and sometimes make us happy when we need uplifting. I want all of you to think of your favorite memory through this year or people who have helped to create that memory. Now, I want you to keep that memory instilled in you and when hard days come along, retrieve that memory.I have a question for my fellow graduates; raise your hand if any of you sometimes felt like you came to school by force and not by choice? Well, for those of you who feel that way, that is common in the working world as well. Of course we have a long way to go before that, but I want you all to take something from this speech and bring it with you no matter where you are in your chapters. As words of motivation, success is great, but being unhappy and successful will not sustain. Robin Williams is an excellent example. I am saying this because we are still in the beginning of our book and are able to prepare for the end. As you excel and have the opportunity to choose the profession that you like, go ahead. Go ahead, so it does not feel like school all over again.I think one of the common mistakes some valedictorians make, is unrealistic anticipation. This means that the picture painted is just too hard to duplicate. I'm not going to bring your hopes up and predict that your future will be as smooth sailing because that is far from reality. As individuals we will all experience an inevitable change that varies for all of us. However, what is important is how we choose to handle it. This comes back to our story and we are all the main characters in our books. Some characters excel with minimal disruptions, others have so many disruptions and still manage to excel, but what is important among these characters? Excelling, something we are all capable of doing, but some of us fail to do. If that is any of you today, I ask that when you continue your story, you will find what helps you excel, and use it to your advantage of excelling until the end. In reality, I'll be blunt with you, life sucks sometimes, we are all going to go through hardships and have bad days, but in any story which main character doesn't? Therefore, do not focus on the inevitability of change, but on the capability of handling it.I would like to take this time to commend my fellow graduates and acknowledge those who have helped usget here. I would like to say thank you to my classmates, who have always helped me when I did not understand the work. How could I ever forget the parents, thank you all for helping your children excel in school as it is a hard job sometimes. I would like to thank all the teachers for helping us with our work and being so dedicated. You have provided us with many opportunities to learn and grew socially and academically special. Thank you for planning the trip to Montreal. Let's hear a shoutout from those who went. Of course, I would like to thank all my friends for creating unforgettable memories. Congratulations to all the students who have won an award today. I commend those of you who have done extracurricular activities such as robotics, sports, leadership, student council, performing arts, eco club, math enrichment, and anything else that I have not listed. Thank you to my other fellow graduates for sitting through my speech, it is greatly appreciated. Thank you to the administration for organizing this. There are many things that all of you have achieved throughout this year, so excellent job.Sometimes many of us considered school as a dungeon. However, there is something so strong about Elia, that even if the doors of this "dungeon" were open, I wouldn't escape, which may be different for others. Itis quite contradicting because I would always be the first one escaping to leave at the end of the day and I’m pretty sure my classmates are witnesses. Besides the foregoing, no matter the hardships and struggles experienced in this unique school, Elia has furnished and equipped my peers and I for an opportunity of a lifetime. It certainly catered to our development in a thorough way. We could never forget Elia, no matter what we thought of this school sometimes. I hope that when we all leave here, we will remember the things that have molded us as students and made us smile. Don't forget to thank the people who have helped you and made you smile, as you never know when you will see them again. Even though we have completed a chapter, this is just the beginning of a new in our chapter lives and we have the capability of handling our story until the end. It is in fact, the beginning and not the end. As I conclude this speech, I want to leave you all with an anonymous quote.. "In life we do things. Some we wish we had never done. Some we wish we could replay a million times in our head. But they all make us who we are, and in the end they shape every detail about us. If we were to reverse any of them we wouldn't be the person we are. So just live, make mistakes, have wonderful memories, but never second guess who you are, where you have been, and most importantly where it is you're going."

Made in Downsview: Piccadilly Fashions creates and manufactures clothing locally

By David Ros

In an era when most of the clothing we wear is made in places like China or Bangladesh, Picadilly Fashions has been bucking that trend by manufacturing the overwhelming majority of their products here in Downsview.

According to Jack Dombrowsky, Picadilly’s founder and owner, the company manufactures 90 per cent of their clothing at their more than 30,000 sq.ft., facility located on Chesswood Ave., employing roughly 90-100 workers.

Dombrowsky said that since the company, which sells mostly women’s clothing doesn’t usually require big volume orders, there is a real advantage to manufacturing locally and in house.

“We produce mostly knit work goods, so we’re doing it locally, sometimes it’s cheaper than to do it in China, like with all the transportation and the duties and everything,” Dombrowsky said. “We don’t need to order a big volume, we only need to order what we can produce and we’re finding out that it’s not a big advantage of doing it overseas, it’s harder to control and it’s much more complicated.”

By manufacturing in small volumes, Picadilly is able to adapt and react to changing trends in women’s fashions, giving them the ability to quickly put new clothing on the market to meet those needs. By manufacturing locally, Dombrowsky said that Picadilly is better able to control the quality of the products that they put to market.

Picadilly Fashions is currently in its 40th year of operations after Dombrowsky founded the company at King and Spadina in 1975 with around 15-20 employees.

Since then, Picadilly has become truly a global brand carving a niche for itself, selling its locally made garments in small boutiques around the world from the United States to Europe to Australia and South Africa. The company also boasts showrooms in New York City and Dusseldorf, Germany.

To find out more about Piccadilly please visit their web site at 

www.picadillyfashions.com

Winifred’s Story: A Twenty-Year Old Family Secret

By Tom Rakocevic

In this month’s My Story column I speak to Winifred Flesar about her family’s struggle with poverty in Guyana, and her mothers endless resilience.Even into adulthood, Winifred used to love watching her mother go about her daily tasks, “When I hugged my mom close, she always smelled so sweet. The trick was the bars of soap she would place in her drawers.”Today, her mother Janny lives on only in the memories of those who remember her.Winifred remembers a particular warm afternoon in Little Diamond, Guyana during the late seventies.At the time, Winifred was in her early twenties and recently married. Her mother lived with the young couple. That afternoon, Janny was going through her drawers and packing a suitcase for a trip to see her brother. Winifred sat smiling on the bed in Janny’s room, watching her mother just as she would in her youth.Suddenly, Janny stiffened.From the bed, Winifred could see that her mom was staring at something she had picked out of the drawer. Janny’s back was to her daughter.“Mom? What’s wrong?”No answer.Winifred got up and moved closer. Her mother was frozen looking at an old, crinkled newspaper clipping. The faces looked familiar to Winifred.“Mom, who are they?” Startled out of her daydream, Janny crushed the paper into her fist and began tearing it apart. Tears began to stream down her face.Winifred was shocked, “What’s wrong, mom!? What was on that paper?”It was a while before her mother responded, “History, Baby. Bad History.”“You might still call me ‘Baby’, but I am big now. I want to know. Please mom, it’s ok. Tell me.”And so, with great difficulty Janny spoke about Winifred’s childhood. The challenges their family faced; the poverty.The clipping was a picture taken in the summer of 1954.Winifred was only a couple of months old and lived with her mother, aunt, and brother in a tiny rented basement apartment with mud floors. The landlord lived in the large house and shop above.Elsie, Winifred’s aunt, worked 7 days a week from morning until night in the shop as well as in the landlord’s house as a cleaner and cook.  She was paid $9 a month and rent was $7.50.Janny worked at the marketplace from morning to night and brought home the food for them to eat.  Both Janny and Elsie’s husbands had left them, and so the two sisters moved together to share expenses and raise their children. Janny and Elsie’s parents were deceased.At the time, Elsie was pregnant with her second child. She continued working as hard as she could, but one day fell very ill and was unable to work the full day.  A few days later, she took a long break during the morning to visit the doctor regarding her pregnancy.After returning, she quickly prepared lunch for the children before resuming work. The landlord came into the apartment. His arms were crossed, and his voice was stern, “I’ve thought about it Elsie, and this can’t go on.  First you were sick and missed work, and now you miss work to go to the doctor.  What’s going to happen when you have the baby?”And so, he threw them all out onto the street.The story came to the attention of a local newspaper and a picture was taken of the family. Thanks to the article, a relative learned of their plight and picked them up since they had nobody else.Winifred listened respectfully and when her mother finished, she hugged her close, “There is nothing to be ashamed of, mom. Lift your face up.”Until that day, Winifred and her mother never really discussed their hardships. Her mother had never expressed the shame she felt about their poverty. Winifred knew that her mother had tried her best for the family, but in the system they lived in, it was hard to climb up from the bottom. There is far more to her story, enough to easily fill a book.She has many reflections of her past. “Life was tough but I still found happiness. My family struggled but we were content with what we had. All good things were a blessing.”Winifred believes life today is needlessly complicated, and many don’t appreciate what they have. She has plenty of advice for today’s youth, “My poverty growing up limited me in many ways, especially my [lack of] education. That was a wall I faced my entire life. I see many youth who take school for granted, and spend too much time on fancy things that lead to nothing.”Today, Winifred speaks glowingly about the opportunity she was given here in Canada. She worked as a seamstress and is now retired, and a proud owner of a condominium apartment in our community. She is truly a proud Canadian.But with all the opportunity Canada has, Winifred fears we are headed in the wrong direction, “My mother and aunt spent almost all of their money on rent. After food, clothes and the rest we were left with nothing.  We were trapped. Today, the average apartment rent is over a thousand dollars. At a minimum wage salary, how can you live?”Winifred was eventually able to track down another copy of that newspaper article. Her mother held onto it for twenty years only to rip it apart in shame in her daughter’s presence. To Winifred, it is a profound reminder of her own history.To us, it may serve as a sobering warning of the future.

Manny’s Story: A Young Man Faces Cancer

By Tom Rakocevic

Emmanuel "Manny" Adwarkah is one of 50,000 students who attend York University here in our community. In 2012, while most students his age were worrying about their futures, Manny was worrying about whether he would even have a future. Manny's story is about a young man who took no chances with his health and stayed strong while battling illness.

On June 6, 2012, Manny sat on the ground at a TTC stop, his head buried in his arms. On that warm and sunny Thursday afternoon, Manny received a terrible diagnosis: he had cancer.Manny had reacted quickly in seeking answers to the cause of a strange new discomfort. Being only 19 years old, he figured it couldn’t be anything serious. He kept his concerns from his family and friends to avoid needless worry and went to the doctor’s alone.The diagnosis came as a shock.He described the news as surreal, “Have you ever noticed a scene in the movies when someone hears tragic news? It gets completely quiet. The camera zooms right into their face and everything around is out of focus. Hearing the doctor tell me I had cancer…the world around me vanished. It was just my thoughts and I. Until I experienced it myself, I always thought those scenes were too dramatic.”Despite the prognosis, Manny was told his chances were very good. Early detection was crucial in fighting cancer, and Manny had reacted quickly.Manny is blessed with a loving and supportive family. It was hard to keep his concerns from them, and it was even harder to tell them he had cancer. Upon hearing the news, his family was encouraging and very optimistic, but Manny could see the hidden fear in their eyes.Surgery was scheduled for July 8^th, a month after diagnosis. Although the time dragged on, Manny was optimistic about his chances to beat the cancer, the alternative was simply not an option for him. In fact, it was simply inconceivable; he would not allow himself to give in to despair.The operation was quick and successful, and Manny was sent home the same day. He was told that there would be follow-up, but by the end of August, almost two months later, the follow-up call never came. Manny decided to take matters into his own hands, and in late August he went to Princess Margaret Hospital to check his condition.The result of that visit revealed that his battle with cancer wasn’t over.A CT scan was taken, and a secondary cancer mass was discovered; one that would require chemotherapy treatment to deal with.That same week, Manny met with his best friend at York University and confided in her. “It was the look on her face; until that moment, everything seemed so unreal. Somehow right there seeing her reaction, I faced the truth of my situation.”He began chemotherapy in early September, and withdrew from his university courses in order to focus on his recovery. Completely exhausted, he spent a lot of time reflecting on his life. He realized that he had been in a big worrisome rush, but without a real destination.“Back then, I was easily stressed about the little things. School deadlines, my part-time job, friendships, the usual stuff. Fighting cancer put everything else into perspective.”Within the first cycle of treatment, Manny already began showing signs of improvement. Even the doctors were surprised by how well it was going. Little by little, Manny began to envision a future where he would appreciate every day, and do the things he wanted in life.On December 7, 2012 Manny learned he had beaten cancer.He was given a second chance at life, and since then has been making the most of it since. Today he is working towards a Business degree at York University, which he hopes to combine with his love of photography. You can see some of Manny's work at blog.mannydark.com or on Instagram: @mannydark.

Black History

By Natasha BurfordEach February, our nation takes a moment to recognize the important contributions of many Black people in our country. However, the history of Black people is much more rich and diverse than just slavery and celebrated heroes and heroines.Recognizing the ancestry of Black people means speaking of the deep, and sometimes overlooked connection to Africa, and how those roots have impacted who we are as a people.Whether we are first or second generation Canadians, we have a tapestry of traditions rising from all over the world: the Caribbean, South or Central America, even Europe that all trace back to the beautiful continent of Africa.Let us tell the stories of the Kings and Queens of that great continent, and not just of the dark times of our history. Let us tell the tales of the brave settlers of Canada, who worked hard to make Canada their home, and made Canada the safe place that we enjoy today.Let us celebrate Black heritage, recognizing that we are inventors, builders, and politicians who contribute to the magnificent country that we celebrate today.We are multicultural...We are Canadian.

Dante’s Story: Coincidence or Miracle?

By Tom RakocevicIn this month’s “My Story” column, I interview Mr. Dante Lerra who has lived in our community since buying a house here in 1966.  Dante Lerra’s story will be familiar to many: the challenge of arriving in a new country, and the small miracles that can happen along the way.  His success is a testament to the courage of many Downsview residents. Life in Italy right after the Second World War wasn’t easy. With few good jobs at hand, many young Italians were leaving their country in search of a better future.Dante was one of them.In 1953, and at the young age of 20, Dante was no stranger to travel having left his home to work in Switzerland and France. Unfortunately, the small jobs he found in other European countries were nothing to build a life around so he returned to work on his brother’s farm in Molise, Italy.Unsatisfied and restless, Dante began to consider a future outside of Europe. That same year and against the wishes of his family, he packed a small suitcase and crossed the ocean to try his luck in far away Brazil.The 19 day boat journey took Dante to a place that felt a million miles away.In the port of Santos, Dante learned that it would take 40 days for his papers to be cleared in order for him to find work. This was terrible news since he had only enough money for a week’s food and rent. Returning home wasn’t an option either because he couldn’t afford the ticket.“I’ll never forget that day.” Dante says in his kitchen here in our community. “I thought I had made the biggest mistake of my life. I had trouble even buying food - nobody could understand me!”As the sun was setting on that first day in Brazil, Dante sat there on his suitcase by the edge of the road. Feeling desperate and completely alone, he was lost in his thoughts and praying for an answer.As he was wiping tears from his eyes, he felt a hand on his shoulder, “Hey, Paisano!   Come va?” Dante turned to see an older Italian man smiling at him.Today, Dante still feels the relief of meeting that man. “He cheered me up and took me out for a drink. He told me about an aluminum factory in another town where I could work without papers.”But it was a risk – what if the friendly stranger was wrong? Journeying deeper in this strange country could leave him even worse off.When Dante finally arrived at the factory, it was more of the same confusion. The secretary couldn’t understand him, but left her desk to find someone who could. “I waited for about half an hour and when she came back I had the shock of my life.” Dante smiled. “She came back with the General Manager, and I knew him! His name was Gabriele and we were friends in France many years ago when I worked there.”So Dante got the job, and started his new life. After four months, Dante found a better job in a road reconstruction company as a mechanic’s helper. Dante enjoyed his new job and gave it his all. After a year, Dante was called in to see the owner of the company. “I was really nervous,” says Dante, “I kept thinking, ‘what did I do?’”“Dante, I like you. You work hard, you never complain. Let me get right to it: I want you to go to school and become a full mechanic.” said the owner.Dante hesitated, “But sir, I don’t think you know my situation. I can’t afford to go to school, even if it’s free. I am here alone and I have no family to support me if I’m not working. I’m sorry, but I have to refuse your generous offer.”The owner looked at Dante for a long time, “Listen, Dante. I will pay you your full salary while you educate yourself. You come in and help out here and there until you finish, but you focus on your studies. When you are finished, you will come back and work for me as a diesel technician. You will travel from town to town where we are building roads and you will make sure the machines are working. So what do you say now?”Dante was speechless.Dante’s hard work and dedication was rewarded. He completed his education and got a huge promotion. As the company’s lead diesel technician he was well paid and lived an exciting life, travelling throughout Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile, Venezuela and always making sure the big machines were running smoothly.Hearing Dante’s story about his time in Brazil, I cannot help but wonder what would have happened if that friendly stranger hadn’t found him by the road that day. A little compassion at the right moment can bring great hope and even change a person’s life.So how did Dante come to Canada? Well, that is another story altogether; one you’llhave to ask Dante yourself if you have the pleasure of meeting him one day.