Johnston Heights Secondary student chosen for Vimy Ridge trip gains valuable insight
Johnston Heights student Nora Calif (second from right) at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial. Photo courtesy of Holly Ghandhi and the Vimy Foundation.
A Johnston Heights Secondary student is back home following a week-long pilgrimage to Belgium and France to explore and discover important First World War sites.
Grade 12 International Baccalaureate program student Nora Calif was one of just 22 students selected from 125 applicants nationwide to receive the Vimy Pilgrimage Award.
The annual program is sponsored by the Vimy Foundation, a national organization dedicated to preserving and promoting Canada’s ongoing legacy of leadership through various memorial initiatives. Each year, the organization selects a handful of students for a fully funded trip to Europe to learn more about Canada’s involvement during the First World War. Part of the trip includes attending the Vimy Ridge Day memorial service at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in France.
Nora Calif (second from right) laying flowers at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial on Vimy Ridge Day. Photo courtesy of Holly Ghandhi and the Vimy Foundation.
“It was an amazing experience,” said Calif after arriving back in Canada last week. “I went into it without knowing quite what to expect and feel like I came out of it with a way deeper understanding of the perspectives involved, and a lot of empathy for the people who were impacted by the war.”
She said the experience helped her develop a real-world connection to a significant historical event that can sometimes be difficult to relate to when reading about it in a textbook.
“Vimy Ridge was a nation-building event for Canada,” she said. “It was one of the battles in World War One that truly solidified our national identity and helped pave the way for Canada to stand as its own country apart from the British Empire and I really gained appreciation for that when we saw the memorial and the graves of the soldiers who died fighting there.”
Another highlight of the experience was a fallen soldier presentation, where all students had to select any soldier or nurse who participated in the First World War and died in France or Belgium.
“For my presentation I chose a soldier that had died on Hill 70, and I got to present it in the Loos British Cemetery where he was buried, in front of his grave, which was a very impactful experience,” said Calif.
She also noted that the layout of the Commonwealth cemeteries of the fallen soldiers stood out to her, as there was a common theme of equality.
“It seemed that no matter the rank of the military officers, whether they were a private, a sergeant or a lieutenant, they were all buried the same way, with the same rose, in the same types of graves,” she said. “That was definitely very interesting to me because I always thought perhaps rank had some sort of impact on how they were commemorated.
However, equality in death, she noticed, did not apply to soldiers who weren’t directly part of the Commonwealth. Often the Chinese and Indian soldiers, or anybody who wasn't directly from the Commonwealth, were buried off to the side.
“So it was very interesting to see how this principle of equality and death still didn’t exactly apply to racial minorities, despite them all fighting for the same cause.”
While Calif has her sights set on pursuing a career in sciences when she graduates from high school in June, she said 21st century history will always be a passion – something her recent trip solidified.
“I just want to thank the Vimy Foundation for such an amazing opportunity,” she said. “For anybody who is interested in history, who is in high school right now and around the ages of 14 to 17, I could not recommend this program enough. It was truly transformative.”
To learn more about the Vimy Foundation, visit vimyfoundation.ca.
To learn more about the Vimy Pilgrimage award, click here.
