Students at Garden Valley Collegiate (GVC) are moving up in the world. In total, 173 graduates will take their final steps from adolecence into adulthood Tuesday with the ceremony at the Winkler Mennonite Church at 1:00 p.m.

"We constantly have a larger group of students coming through, and it's exciting to be able to know that they started in kindergarten, with seeds planted long ago by teachers that were within our division and to be able to have this harvest," Carrie Friesen, the Vice Principal for GVC, says.

Friesen explained the valedictorian was chosen by the students putting their own name forward, writing and performing their speech in front of a board of teachers who chose the best speech.

"I'm kind of scared, or sad, to see it [highschool] over, 'cause it's the end of my childhood," say Jennifer Smith, this year's valedictorian. "Overall I'm very happy."

Terry Friesen, a science teacher and head of the Science Department at GVC, will be the guest speaker followed by Smith.

Smith said that she is "relieved and happy" for school to be finished.

Check out the Pembina Valley Online grad page here