'The Professor' graduates
Steve Morris
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Updated: July 08, 2009 2:49 PM
Hundreds of 17- and 18-year-olds across School District 43 are celebrating their high school graduation with formal ceremonies, fancy-dress proms and dry grads.
Then there is Steve Morris.
He is 52 and on Thursday at his grad would have been munching finger food and cake at a simple ceremony for Continuing Education graduates at Winslow Centre.
But it didn't matter to him if the ceremony was small or simple. His mom and dad were going to be there, along with his friends from Northside Foursquare Church.
For Morris, getting a graduation certificate means more than recognition of his achievements. It's a milestone, proof that you're never too old to learn something about yourself.
"I've learned that I'm a very strong and courageous person," said Morris, who is now taking college courses to become a substance abuse counsellor.
"I like helping out people. I've taken control of my life," he added. "It feels great. I set a goal and I don't stop until I finish."
Since 2006, Morris has been taking courses to finish Grade 12 while living as a resident and a monitor at Resurrection House, a recovery house for people with drug and alcohol addition run by the Hope for Freedom Society.
Morris is the only member of his family to graduate from school and for many years it was a goal that seemed out of reach. At first, Morris thought he didn't need school and school didn't need him.
School seemed irrelevant in the 1970s, when Morris was a teenager in Aldergrove and cleaning out stalls at his family's race horse business. The teachers seemed disinterested and he thought he could earn money on the race horse circuit up and down the west coast.
But like a lot of late bloomers, Morris learned that the piece of paper called a Dogwood certificate was important to many employers.
When a horse kicked him in the stomach six years ago, landing him in hospital for months of recuperation, he realized that doors were closed to him unless he took steps to put his life back together.
He got off the booze, went back to church, re-connected with his family and started chipping away at his course requirements.
Math 11 Principles was tough — he did it twice. Communications 12, History 12, Family Studies 12 and Career and Personal Planning 12 were more enjoyable and he got good marks.
"I'm more person-oriented. Math taught me that business is not for me," says Morris, describing how he came up with the idea of becoming a counsellor.
He also got a kick out of his fellow students, most of them much younger. Some of them called him "Professor."
Morris knows a lot of work still lies ahead and he is doing his best to meet deadlines for the courses he's taking at Vancouver Community College with a wonky computer and personal concerns, including parents who have health issues.
But they make sure he perseveres. "My dad, especially, he'd chase me out of the house if looking after him kept me from school work."
This week, when Morris finally gets his graduation certificate, you can bet he'll be on the receiving end of a lot of smiles and not a few back slaps.
And if he's the only one with grey hair under his graduation cap, well, so be it.
• Recently Steve Morris was awarded the Coquitlam Teachers' Association Cam McKenzie Award of $500 for citizenship, service and leadership. Said Allison Whitmore, Coquitlam Continuing Education co-ordinator: "SD43's Continuing Education department put forward Steve Morris' name because he has been a great model of incredible perseverance and good work habits for other students in his classes and in the learning centres. He inspires teachers, reminding us of the value of the work we do. He has also demonstrated good citizenship by encouraging others from his community to go back to school and move forward in life.
dstrandberg@tricitynews.com
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