'Mom, you gotta carry on': 58-year-old Winnipegger inspired to graduate high school by late son
Vivian Ketchum is counting down the days until June 30.
The 58-year-old is set to receive her high school diploma at a graduation ceremony at the University of Winnipeg next month. It is a moment that is decades in the making.
“I’m looking forward to crossing that stage,” she said.
Ketchum enrolled at the Winnipeg Adult Education Centre last fall. An assessment placed her in Grade 11 and less than a year later, she is set to graduate.
While joyful, her graduation will also be bittersweet. Ketchum was inspired to return to school by her son Tyler. He died in 2011 at 24 years old after a devastating brain tumour diagnosis.
Vivian Ketchum's son Tyler died in 2011 after a devastating brain tumour diagnosis. She credits him as her inspiration to go back to school. (Image Source: Vivian Ketchum)
In the days leading up to Tyler’s death, he had a clear message for his mother.
“He said, ‘Mom, I don't want you to grieve too long. I'll be alright. Mom, you gotta carry on.’ And that was what I was doing when I went to apply,” she said.
Getting back into the classroom was intimidating at first, as Ketchum’s history with school was an unpleasant one.
Ketchum, who is of Ojibway heritage, grew up in Kenora, Ont. She experienced racism and found school to be a challenge. She dropped out in the ninth grade to help support her family.
She had Tyler when she was 21, and the family moved to Winnipeg in the late ‘90s to be close to family.
Stable, meaningful employment was hard to find without a high school diploma, she recalled. Ketchum, who was a single mother, found strenuous warehouse jobs in trying conditions and sales work that left her with little money to take home at the end of the day.
Every job was worth it, she said, to support her son.
“I remember taking all those small jobs to make sure he had tutors, that he had clothes, school pictures - everything I did to make sure he graduated,” she said, “I thought, ‘hey, if I can do that for him, I can do that for myself.’”
As it turned out, Ketchum’s return to school was a rewarding and surprising experience. As a kid, she hated math. This time around, she excelled.
“I was getting 90s,” she said.
“I think it was because (of) how I was being taught in math and everything else before. The classes (in adult education) are smaller. There’s more one-on-one. The teachers are patient with you.”
Not even a brutal bout with COVID-19 in January could shake her devotion to her school work.
“I was sitting in the emergency room working on my math assignment,” she said.
“I thought that was going to be the end of my school year, but then with remote learning, I was able to keep up.”
Ketchum said she has already received some job offers, and aspires to work as a librarian in the future.
Moreover, her diploma gives her important confidence to excel in the next chapter of her life and to continue to make her son proud.
“All my life I've heard words, directly or indirectly, that I'm a dumb Indian. Now, I can hold my head up.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire' are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Two killed after collision with truck on Hwy. 417 near Limoges, Ont.
Ontario Provincial Police say two people were killed after a car and a transport truck collided in the westbound lanes of Highway 417 near Limoges, Ont. on Tuesday afternoon.
‘We made them safer and more fun’: Here’s what’s new about e-scooters
Electric scooters (e-scooters) have been gaining popularity in the capital and this season comes with some changes and updates.
Houston braces for flooding to worsen in wake of storms
High waters flooded neighborhoods around Houston on Saturday following heavy rains that have already resulted in crews rescuing hundreds of people from homes, rooftops and roads engulfed in murky water.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Canadian Auger-Aliassime reaches first Masters final in Madrid with another walkover
Montreal's Felix Auger-Aliassime has advanced to his first ATP Masters final, and he hasn't had to play all that much tennis to do it.
Drew Carey is never quitting 'The Price Is Right'
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.
The UN warns Sudan's warring parties that Darfur risks starvation and death if aid isn't allowed in
The United Nations food agency warned Sudan's warring parties Friday that there is a serious risk of widespread starvation and death in Darfur and elsewhere in Sudan if they don't allow humanitarian aid into the vast western region.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.