As hundreds of young people in - and from - the Tri-Cities get ready for graduation, many of them are getting news from the colleges, universities and employers they have so anxiously been waiting to hear back from.
For this edition, The Tri-City News zeroed in on three artistic students - one from each of our cities - to hear what lies ahead for their promising futures.
SARAH JUNG
A Grade 12 student at Coquitlam's Gleneagle secondary, visual artist Sarah Jung took a while to decide what school she would train at post-grad.
An art enhancement program student of Don Portelance at Place des Arts, Jung said she got accepted to the internationally esteemed School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), which offered her a $44,000 scholarship.
But when the Maryland Institute College of the Arts ponied up $88,000, the 17-year-old teen consulted her family, friends and teachers who agreed the Baltimore institution would be best.
"I picked Maryland over Chicago because, first off, they both offered amazing programs - the writing program was particularly attractive - but what really pulled me in was their warm family welcome," she said. "They added me to their Facebook page and answered every single question I had for them. They also had a history of high employment rates for their graduates. This year, it was 100%."
Jung is unsure what she'll be majoring in; however, illustration may be in the cards.
SYDNEY WONG
In March, Sydney Wong, a Grade 12 student at Port Coquitlam's Riverside secondary, auditioned for Ryerson University, a Toronto school she had been hoping to enter as it's one of the few Canadian universities to offer a BFA in performance dance.
Lucky for her, Wong gained a spot in the four-year program that will see her learn ballet, jazz and modern dance plus related studies in improvisation, composition, theory, history, music, anatomy, singing, acting and choreography.
A student at Danzmode Productions in Burnaby, Wong has already made a name for herself in the dance circuit, capturing awards (including this year's provincial runner-up title for senior stage dance at the Chilliwack Lions' Club music and dance festival), a scholarship to train in New York, and performing in the 2010 Paralympic Games in Vancouver as well as the Times of India film awards in April.
Her goal? "I want to be with a contemporary dance company, something that offers me the freedom to do the styles that I want to do."
DANIEL ALWELL
Already a graduate of Dr. Charles Best secondary in Coquitlam, Daniel Alwell of Port Moody this week wraps up his dance studies at the Arts Umbrella on Granville Island.
And, tomorrow, the Irish native flies east to join one of the most prominent modern dance companies in the world: Les Ballet Jazz de Montreal (BJM).
Alwell had auditioned for BJM in January and made it to the final round; however, "it wasn't until I was offered another job that they decided to offer me the apprenticeship with the company."
He had applied to Ballet BC and was awarded a job with Imperfect Dance in Pisa, Italy, but ultimately went with BJM "because I felt it was the right move for my career right now," he said, adding, "Europe is still where I want to end up but, with BJM, I will have the opportunity to travel to Europe, Israel and the U.S. with one of Canada's leading contemporary companies and gain extremely valuable experience for later in my career."
During his 13-month contract with BJM, Alwell will be working for five or six days a week on touring repertoire. As well, he'll study withchoreographers from around the world on new creations for the company.
"Basically, I will be putting everything I have learnt over the last four years at Arts Umbrella into practice and I am confident that I have all the knowledge and experience I need to accomplish this next step in my life," he said.
