When Grade 12 student Molly Descantes crosses the stage to receive her double dogwood this month, it marks the culmination of 13 years of hard work.
She leaves behind a couple of tangible legacies at Vic High and a rippling effect that can’t even be quantified.
“In this world we have a lot of people with ideas,” acting principal Danielle Mercer said of Descantes, noting what the teen brings to the table is movement, actionable change. “She’s also brought others on board as well.”
That change will carry through, carry forward in the oldest, yet newest, school in the city.
Descantes is part of a graduating class that is the first to finish a full year at the new high school, steeped in history. Already established, Vic High opened on its Grant Street location in 1914. The new school, opened in 2023, incorporates pieces of the original building in both exterior and interior finishes. Descantes, who is Metis, also points to several works of Indigenous art and design elements. Among those is her own canoe piece – one of five canoes set on concrete outside the school.
They represent the three most prominent local nations, Metis, and the fifth created by Descantes represents the world of nations.
While it’s a source of pride, wellness is the passion project she leaves behind with hopes it continues and grows after she’s gone.
Last year, as students faced shifting schools after a stint attending classes the SJ Willis site across the city, on the heels of a pandemic and facing myriad other concerns in their environments, and the world at large, she saw and heard students feel a lack of mental health support. So Descantes built the Wellness Fair.
“She saw a need there, students wanted more access to wellness,” Mercer said.
The event stretched beyond the physical wellness into physical, spiritual, whatever wellness one might seek more advice on, the principal noted.
“It was also super personal to me,” Descantes said.
She set it up in a fair format, keeping it simple to access so folks could roll through stigma-free and stress-free.
“Maybe you’re there for the swag, but you’re getting something out of it,” Descantes said.
The biggest impact was the response of the middle schoolers who came through, and the impact the response to the fair had on her as a person.
“It was super important to take on that leadership role and come into my own confidence,” Descantes said.
It’s important to have a ripple effect. With more than 1,000 people reached this year, that’ll spread, she said. During the event, 50 people were trained to use naloxone, those 50 can go on to train others.
“So the lasting impact goes beyond more than one kid,” she said. “I want to make sure there’s an impact.”
This year, the second annual, she mentored a couple of students, showing them the ropes to keep the function going after she graduates alongside her peers later this month.
Challenges over their school tenure, such as their time at SJ Willis, “built a stronger sense of community,” Descantes said. What that community, the class of 2025, looks for going forward is support, from and for each other, community and family.
“And inspiration, there’s a drive to do something. I think we have that, we just need a place to spend it,” said Descantes.
For the immediate future, she looks forward to the silliest moments ahead this month, dressing up for prom, and keeping her dare not to take off her shoes during dinner and dancing at the Delta.
“Thirteen years of work is coming to fruition. That’s pretty cool.”
