The MDHS News Team recently got the pleasure of speaking with our Principal, Ms. Baksys, about her experiences in life, opinions, and advice to students.

Q: What were you like in high school?

A: “If someone had ever said to me in high school that I would be a teacher, or a vice principal, or a principal, I think I would have died of laughter. High school was a tough time because I was a newcomer to Canada. I still had a heavy accent that I was quite self-conscious about. Our family didn’t have a lot of money, that did not bother me. People making fun of my clothes and my accent did. So I was quiet, more withdrawn, and I really believed that there are a lot of things that can be taken away from you. But one thing I can give myself that cannot be taken away is my education. And that’s what helped me get through really tough times.”

Q: What is your favourite department at MD?

A: “I love them all. Every department has its strengths. In high school, my strengths were more on the analytical side, maths and sciences are what I’m stronger at. Languages, English, and art are something that I had to work really hard at. So I admire all the departments for different reasons and I would say just like if someone asked me if you loved your son or your daughter more, they are very different but I love them both. So the departments are all different, and I appreciate all of them for the different things that they bring to the school and students.”

Q: What clubs/ teams were you on in high school?

A: “I was what you might term a sickly child. And my wonderful mom took great care of me and followed the medical advice that was given at that time. That I couldn’t eat anything cold, and I couldn’t be active. So I was not really allowed to participate in sports activities and so by the time we came to Canada. Things changed a little bit, and I came to Canada when I was in grade seven. So in grade seven and eight, I tried out for basketball, I tried out for track and field, and basketball I didn’t have the necessary skills and was really behind. I had the advantage that I was really tall, so while I could stay by the basket and somebody threw the ball to me and I could get it in, that only lasted so long. I just didn’t have that skill set, I was still growing and developing and I was quite un-coordinated at track and field. I did try the long jump, I did the triple jump, and I did shot put. Then in high school, I tried out for the track team and the person in charge of the track team basically said, “you’ll do the hurdles”. And I had never heard of hurdles. So I practiced and I practiced until I hurt myself so many times, and I wasn’t getting very much instruction. There are very few things that I give up on, ‘cause I’m a fairly determined stubborn person, but that was one of them. I was very frustrated. I tried for some of the sports and I found out that because I didn’t have the background, I ended up doing things that I could just do by myself. I got more into hiking, but there wasn’t a hiking club so I tried a little bit of jogging, things like that because I was just not skilled enough at that time to make any of the teams in high school. And I wasn’t really aware of any other clubs or activities so I can’t say that the high school didn’t offer them, but I really wasn’t aware of anything other than sports.