Collegiate Class of 2014 Valedictorian Isaac Wurmann
The Collegiate and UWinnipeg congratulates the Collegiate Class of 2014, including these award winning students aiming to achieve great things in the future.
Isaac Wurmann
As he addressed his classmates at graduation, Collegiate Valedictorian and Governor General‘s Academic Medal winner Isaac Wurmann passed on a lesson his mother instilled in him at a very young age. “We’re not special, we’re privileged,” is how Wurmann summed up his message, an acknowledgment rooted in his passion for social and political justice. “I think it’s important for people to feel accomplished and to feel really excited they’ve graduated,” he says. “But at the same time it’s important to recognize how you got there.”
The knowledge of how privilege and luck operate has served him well: Wurmann has worked hard to ensure he isn’t taking advantage of any opportunity. Wurmann graduates from the Collegiate having accepted a scholarship to Carleton University, worth $21 500 over the four years it will take him to earn his Bachelor of Journalism degree. He gives partial credit for his success to the flexibility the Collegiate provides to students.
Having spent his childhood in Alberta, Wurmann says when he first moved to Winnipeg for tenth grade, he felt unchallenged in class, and receiving a bursary that allowed him to attend the Collegiate for his last two years of high school changed everything. Wurmann says being able to enroll in University level courses such as human geography allowed him to focus on subjects he was interested in and passionate about, transforming his education into a labour of love.
Outside of the class, Wurmann also stayed busy as the editor of the Collegiate’s student newspaper, leading a dedicated core staff of about 15 student volunteers. He’s looking forward to carrying on his career as a student journalist in Ottawa, a city teeming with the political stories he’s most interested in, and to exploring involvement with Carleton University’s chapter of journalism for human rights.
The Collegiate and U Winnipeg congratulates Wurmann on all of his accomplishments, and a bright future ahead.
The Collegiate Dean’s Medal Winner Brooke Richtik
Brooke Richtik
2014 Dean’s Medal award winner Brooke Richtik graduates from the Collegiate having solidified an old passion for sport while discovering a new one for science. Richtik is now bound for the US after receiving an academic and athletic scholarship from Seton Hill University, in Greensberg, Pennsylvania. It’s just the latest opportunity she’s earned with the help of her prowess on the soccer field.
“Soccer has always been my passion,” explains Richtik, who says being able to travel to school to play soccer fulfills a life-long dream. “It has taught me my core values and given me so many life lessons. I would not be the person I am today without it.”
Richtik’s talent on the pitch has already seen her travel across Canada, and overseas to Scotland and England. She considers University-level soccer to be a new challenge “outside her comfort zone,” and says she’s excited to grow as a member of the Seton Hill Griffins soccer team over the next four years.
Richtik’s thirst for a challenge is nothing new. In fact it’s what brought her to study at the Collegiate in the first place, a need to challenge herself academically. She describes her education at the Collegiate as a ‘conversation, not a lecture,’ a learning experience that values input and questions from students. She says she will always cherish the relationships she built with faculty and staff who “went above and beyond,” getting to know students as individuals, and says she leaves with a new passion for learning, especially in science.
While competing in multiple sports in addition to soccer, including the Collegiate’s Wesmen volleyball team, thanks to her high GPA and SAT scores Richtik also managed to earn the highest scholarship available at Seton Hill University for academics. She plans to earn a degree in science, and is looking forward to exploring her options for a major.
The Collegiate and UWinnipeg commends Richtik for her exemplary performance as a well-rounded student athlete, and wishes her luck with her next chapter.
