Alumni Profile
Griffen Barr ’20 (Duxbury)
The Class of 2020 had, to put it frankly, a challenging grad year. Students moved home, classes shifted online, and their graduation ceremony occurred in pods, with graduates standing five feet apart from each other. Still, Griffen Barr ’20 (Duxbury), current intern, has warm memories of his graduating year.
“It was one of the best years of my life,” Griffen reflects fondly. “It was jam packed. To begin the year, I became captain of my hockey team, which was a big honour.”
Of course, the 2019-20 year brought something unexpected. During the students’ Spring Break, Bonnie Henry, British Columbia’s Public Health Minister, announced the first COVID-19 death in the province. Shawnigan leapt into action, upending school life overnight. Students were told to stay at home, the SOUL (Shawnigan Online Unique Learning) program launched, and House Directors were left scrambling to send students items they left behind in their houses.
Unfortunately for Griffen, Shawnigan shutting down meant he was unable to play his final game at Charlie Purdey Arena.
“It was pretty heartbreaking,” Griffen admits. “The season got cut short by like two days.”
To make matters worse, the graduation Griffen had looked forward to since Grade 9 had to be altered as well. The Whistler trip was cancelled and the Grade 12s were separated by Houses to have small, isolated graduation ceremonies.
Though the celebration was lonely and sparse, Griffen thanks Paul Doig, his former House Director, for making it special.
“He did this big speech in front of everybody and sang to us,” Griffen reminisces. “Then he handed us hats. Every hat represented who we were as a person, so mine was a Boston Red Sox hat … I still have the hat as well.”
While the Whistler graduation was axed, the Class of 2020 was able to reschedule it for a few years later in 2022. Families from around the world were able to come together that year to celebrate both graduating classes. When the official ceremony finally took place, it may have been even more meaningful than the original one would have been.
“It was almost like a reunion and a graduation at the same time. A lot of the class came back and we had a good time,” Griffen says, joking that he wouldn’t get into too many details.
Since his unusual graduation, Griffen has followed his passion for hockey. For the first three years out of high school, he was in Vernon, BC, playing for the junior A Vernon Vipers, where he had the opportunity to skate alongside a few of his former Shawnigan teammates. After completing 152 games over three seasons, Griffen moved on to Utica University, where he won Rookie of the Year in the UCHC. When his shoulder was injured during a game the following season, Griffen was unable to play and decided to fly home to BC. However, his hockey career was far from over.
A few months ago, Shawnigan hockey coaches gave Griffen a call, asking if he would be interested in an assistant coaching position. Jumping at the chance to give back to the Shawnigan community, Griffen packed his bags, and, five years after graduation, returned to the School.
Along with coaching the U17 boys’ ice hockey team, Shawnigan students can see Griffen teaching classes as an intern and in his old boarding house, Duxbury, as a boarding assistant.
“I do enjoy coaching at Shawnigan,” Griffen states. “I learn lots from the other coaches, but from the players too, on how to progress as a person.”
A frame filled with portraits of the Class of 2020 now graces the hallways of Shawnigan, celebrating the graduates who navigated an unprecedented year. Now, with Griffen back on campus as a coach and mentor, he’s a great reminder of the remarkable Class of 2020 and the lasting bonds many alumni have with their former school.
The Advancement & Community Engagement team thanks Griffen for sharing his Shawnigan story.
Interested in telling your story? Reach out to alumni@shawnigan.ca and a team member will be in touch.
We acknowledge with respect the Coast Salish Peoples on whose traditional lands and waterways we live, learn and play. We are grateful for the opportunity to share in this beautiful region, and we aspire to healthy and respectful relationships with those who have lived on and cared for these lands for millennia.
Shawnigan Lake School is an independent co-educational boarding school for ages 13 –18 on Canada’s beautiful Pacific Coast. Our diverse, interdisciplinary and innovative programming helps shape the next generation of global leaders.
