![[The SBHS Girls Waterpolo 2025-’26 team photo, Image Credit: Legends Photography]](https://sbhsforgenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-19-at-3.23.45-PM-1200x878.png)
On Thursday, May 21, seniors of the SBHS Visual Arts and Design Academy (VADA) were honored in an intimate graduation ceremony held in front of the recently renovated VADA studio.
The evening began at 6 p.m. with half an hour of milling about, small talk between family and friends, and appetizers for graduates and their supporters alike to enjoy before the ceremony. The wide doors of the VADA studio remained open throughout the duration of the event, letting evening sunshine spill into the spacious room. The natural light lit up student artwork scattered around the room, propped up on easels, hung on the walls, and lying flat on shelves and tables for all to admire. A wide spread of deli meats, cheese, fruits, and cookies covered one of the large tables while a cooler of mini soda cans and water bottles sat outside to ensure guests were refreshed.
At 6:30 p.m., VADA Advanced Placement (AP) and Honors Studio Art teacher Daniel Barnett ushered everybody outside, where three rows of white folding chairs were lined up beneath large green tents to shield people from the sun. The graduates sat facing the audience, next to VADA teachers Barnett, Alma Guss, Brandon Teris, and Tania Viscarra. Nicole Barr was unable to attend.
Seniors Bennett Giesbrecht and Ken Quinn kicked off the ceremony with touching speeches about their experiences in VADA, the role art has personally played for each of them, and how the program itself has shaped their lives, which brought tears to the eyes of many.
“The energy from the students ahead of me made me feel so welcome… and that same feeling has stayed with me since,” said Giesbrecht when reflecting on her first moments learning about VADA in 8th grade.
Afterwards, each senior was called up one by one to receive a certificate of completion and pose for a photo, followed by nine individual awards that went to nine different students who represented the values of each one, including the Leadership Award, VADA Academic Achievement Award, and the Kasia Stefanek Emerging Young Artist Award.
To top off the evening, a chocolate sheet cake was brought out and shared by many, while the graduates received excited hugs and heartfelt congratulations from loved ones.
VADA students Ken Quinn, A’xela Ritchie, and Kanna Kawano were honored as Distinguished Dons, and VADA Top Don was awarded to Presley Krintzman.
