Jordan Macgillivary is the default valedictorian of his class of one. Photo via Facebook
Jordan Macgillivary is a man of few words. When VICE asked the 18-year-old Nova Scotian, who is the lone grade 12 student at his school, how he feels about being valedictorian of his "class," he replied "It's different. I guess."Macgillivary is a senior at Advocate District School in Advocate Harbour, which only has a total of 60 students from primary to grade 12. In some grades, like Macgillivary's, there is only a single student. But Macgillivary said that hasn't gotten him down. VICE reached out to him to ask if he's gonna party for grad and what his plans are post-secondary.VICE: Has your school always been this small?
Actually yes, it has been. For a long, long time, it's been a very small school.How many students roughly per grade?
It depends, I guess. Some grades like myself only have one student, some have up to nine or 10.Is that pretty recent that you'd have a grad class with just one student in it?
It has happened before, it's not unheard of. It happened three years ago.How long have you been the only student in your grade? And how did that happen?
About two, two and a half years. We started out with three students in my grade and in the middle of my grade 10 year, two of them moved out, so that just left me. They moved to different schools.Were you friends with them?
I was. You get to know everybody in your grade here cause it's pretty small.Were you sad when they left?
I guess you could say I was disappointed that they left and I was alone. But I got over it cause I knew they wanted to try something else and I couldn't really stop them. One moved to a school that's four or five times as big as our school and one moved to a much bigger school, much bigger.Like hundreds of students?
Yes.How did you end up being named valedictorian? What's the process like?
I'm the only grade 12 student, they kind of have to give it to me.So as valedictorian are you going to make a speech? What themes are you going to talk about?
I'm talking about school inclusiveness and don't ever feel like you're alone. There was a student that graduated a few years ago on her own. I talked to her and she said 'don't ever try to isolate yourself, always include yourself with other people in the school.'How have you fought against being isolated seeing as you're the only student in your grade?
I'm very close with all the grade 11 students, which is the grade below me. I try to keep as close with them as possible. Since I'm the only one, I talk to them a lot. I talk to some of the other students. You never want to be alone.
We have a safe grad after graduation night. We leave graduation on a bus and go out and have some fun. We go paintballing and bowling, all that kinda fun stuff. It's gonna be the grade 10s, 11s, and myself.Do you guys do a dance or anything like that, a prom?
Yes, we do we have prom tonight. Nothing special, it's just prom. I don't really know how to describe it. It's open for grades 6 to 12.Are you taking a date?
Yes, a friend of mine from here. She's just a grade below me.How do you guys feel about partying with kids in grade 6?
We're all friends. We include everybody in everything so there's no problem with it.What are you plans for after school?
I'm going to the Maritime College of Forest Technology in Fredericton. I'm planning on going into the forestry industry and becoming a forestry boss or forestry supervisor or something along those lines.What are you most looking forward to about going to college?
I'm looking forward to trying something new, getting out of the same routine and trying something different.This interview has been edited for style and clarity.Follow Manisha on Twitter.
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Actually yes, it has been. For a long, long time, it's been a very small school.How many students roughly per grade?
It depends, I guess. Some grades like myself only have one student, some have up to nine or 10.Is that pretty recent that you'd have a grad class with just one student in it?
It has happened before, it's not unheard of. It happened three years ago.How long have you been the only student in your grade? And how did that happen?
About two, two and a half years. We started out with three students in my grade and in the middle of my grade 10 year, two of them moved out, so that just left me. They moved to different schools.Were you friends with them?
I was. You get to know everybody in your grade here cause it's pretty small.Were you sad when they left?
I guess you could say I was disappointed that they left and I was alone. But I got over it cause I knew they wanted to try something else and I couldn't really stop them. One moved to a school that's four or five times as big as our school and one moved to a much bigger school, much bigger.Like hundreds of students?
Yes.How did you end up being named valedictorian? What's the process like?
I'm the only grade 12 student, they kind of have to give it to me.So as valedictorian are you going to make a speech? What themes are you going to talk about?
I'm talking about school inclusiveness and don't ever feel like you're alone. There was a student that graduated a few years ago on her own. I talked to her and she said 'don't ever try to isolate yourself, always include yourself with other people in the school.'
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I'm very close with all the grade 11 students, which is the grade below me. I try to keep as close with them as possible. Since I'm the only one, I talk to them a lot. I talk to some of the other students. You never want to be alone.
How are you going to celebrate grad?
We have a safe grad after graduation night. We leave graduation on a bus and go out and have some fun. We go paintballing and bowling, all that kinda fun stuff. It's gonna be the grade 10s, 11s, and myself.Do you guys do a dance or anything like that, a prom?
Yes, we do we have prom tonight. Nothing special, it's just prom. I don't really know how to describe it. It's open for grades 6 to 12.Are you taking a date?
Yes, a friend of mine from here. She's just a grade below me.How do you guys feel about partying with kids in grade 6?
We're all friends. We include everybody in everything so there's no problem with it.What are you plans for after school?
I'm going to the Maritime College of Forest Technology in Fredericton. I'm planning on going into the forestry industry and becoming a forestry boss or forestry supervisor or something along those lines.What are you most looking forward to about going to college?
I'm looking forward to trying something new, getting out of the same routine and trying something different.This interview has been edited for style and clarity.Follow Manisha on Twitter.