Current and former students of Esquimalt High School will join together to share stories about their high school days for an upcoming centennial project.
Esquimalt High School is 100 years old this year, and Geoff Orme, Esquimalt High librarian, came up with a way to engage alumni and alumni-to-be.
“The project is basically talking with alumni in honour of the centennial,” said Orme, also an Esquimalt High alumnus.
Students will meet with alumni to talk about what made their time at Esquimalt High memorable or special.
The interviews will be recorded on video to be shown at the centennial reunion event on May 15 and 16 at the Archie Browning Centre. They will also be turned into written stories to go along with photos.
“We thought . . . what a great opportunity to try and build the community of Esquimalt High School back through time,” said Orme. “Alumni can help students deepen their understanding of the community, realize the importance of life choices and learn about themselves by reflecting on the experiences of their elders.”
English students at Esquimalt High will be conducting the interviews and putting together the stories. Orme said he hopes to get about two dozen alumni involved.
In-person interviews are scheduled to occur on April 22 and 23, but others may be done via video chat. Alumni may also send in stories written themselves along with photos.
“I really am intrigued by what causes people to be who they are,” said Alisa Ribeiro, student at Esquimalt High. “So I'm really looking forward to hearing people's stories of what they're doing today.”
Another student expressed interest in knowing what impact Esquimalt High had on the lives of its alumni.
“I'm really excited about the fact that I get to interview them and they've been to this school before,” said Sydney Chow. “So I can talk to them about how the school was back when they were here and how different the school was.”
For more information, please contact Geoff Orme at 250-382-9226 ext. 240 or at gorme@sd61.bc.ca.
To share a story from Esquimalt High School, email esquimalthighschoolalumni@gmail.com or go online to esquimalt.sd61.bc.ca/our-school/alumni.