Kiwi Maroa is this year’s farewell at Braemar School. (Submitted by Edmonton Public Schools)
At the end of the school year, a graduating student has many reasons to celebrate.
Kiwi Maroa, 20, said goodbye this year at Braemar School in southeastern Edmonton. The school, part of Edmonton’s public school system, is for pregnant and parenting teens ages 13 to 20.
The graduation day earlier this month was on her daughter Vitani’s first birthday.
“When I found out I was a farewell, it just blew me away,” Maroa told CBC’s Edmonton Radio Active.
“I did a lot of hard work at school, but I didn’t think I would be goodbye because of how much I went through that time.”
Maroa had an unplanned pregnancy when she was in 11th grade and as a result she faced difficulties and harassment.
“I was treated very differently, not only by students but also by teachers,” she said.
Braemar teacher Erin McKinnon said Maroa is an exceptional person.
“She has set really high goals and has been working really hard for two years,” McKinnon said
Maroa was looking at baby gear when he learned about Braemar School.
The next day she signed up.
She had previously struggled with learning, but said Braemar teachers had taken extra time to help her and the other students.
“My grades ended up in 35 percent and 50 percent,” she said.
Maroa contacted other new mothers at school and asked them for guidance on her own pregnancy and parenthood.
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Kiwi Maroa is the farewell speech of her graduating class at school. And Kiwi will celebrate his daughter’s first birthday on graduation day. She was a top student at Braemar School, a school for pregnant and parenting teenagers.
Maroa became a leader in the school. She organizes a spiritual week, a garden club and a prom for students.
She said she wanted to make sure that the other students did not go through the same experiences she had before finding Breimar.
“Whenever I found out about another student who didn’t have many friends or was new to school, I was the first to introduce myself and divorce them,” she said.
She told them that being new to school was not as scary as they thought.
McKinnon said Maroa was “accessible to everyone, whether staff, other students or even a stranger.” She will drop everything to lend a hand to someone.
“She’s really remarkable for that.”
Natural fit
Maroa said her journey as a young mother was not without complications.
Vitani was diagnosed with rare chromosomal damage when she was three months old.
“One of the hardest things about being a new parent is telling them that your child has something you can’t control or can’t do anything about,” she said. “It was really hard for me, too.”
Maroa said her daughter’s disability did not define her and she wanted to be “the best mother for her and the best cheerleader for her.”
She plans to work with nurses.
McKinnon said that would be natural.
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