Four years of hard work and sweat have paid off for officer cadets at Royal Military College in Kingston.
Thursday was graduation day for the class of 2019, as proud parents and military brass descended on the city for two days of ceremony steeped in tradition.
The convocation, the 114th in the school’s, history signals the end of a journey for close to 300 receiving their diplomas. Dr. Harry Kowal is the Principal at RMC.
“As you all can certainly attest, the RMC experience is not easy,” said Dr. Harry Kowal, principal of Royal Military College. “But sometimes it is that which is the most difficult to achieve that is the most rewarding.”
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Her Excellency the Right Honourable Julie Payette, Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada, was the key note speaker. She received an honourary degree before she addressed the crowd.
“You will have to do something with all that knowledge, skill and training that you’ve acquired,” Payette told graduates. “You have the responsibility to use your brains and your smarts to do good.”
“You have the responsibility to make a different in society, because you have been privileged and now you are going to pay back.”
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The former astronaut not only congratulated the grads but also told them to aim high, saying they could trust her on the fact that the sky is not the limit — but no matter what they do, to live long and prosper.
Payette will continue her stay at RMC and preside over Friday’s commissioning parade.