Bianca Lamontagne
École secondaire Edgar-Hébert

The passage from elementary to high school can at times be somewhat turbulent. For Bianca Lamontagne, this transition was marked by rebellion. Rejecting authority and school, the young girl who was twelve at the time ended up on a path studded with foster homes, drug and alcohol abuse, running away and violence, a turbulent course that propelled her at 200 kilometres/hour directly towards dropping out of school. But one day she decided to slow down and pick up where she had left off, and she now stands out as a model of perseverance.

Today, Bianca Lamontagne is 14 years old and enrolled in an adapted Secondary 2 program at Edgar-Hébert high school and is aglow with self-confidence and ambition. It is a radical transformation from the Bianca of barely one year ago. While her academic path was, at one point, extremely difficult and punctuated with expulsions, skipped classes and intimidation, the young girl now distinguishes herself thanks to her participation in class and the leadership role she assumes with brio among her peers. “She is a ray of sunshine, inspiring others to get involved and work hard whenever the opportunity arises,” school principal Joël Mercier is quick to point out.

Bianca has finally found in her new way of life a more stable environment with which she can identify much more easily without feeling the need to please anyone but herself, and she has thus regained control and taken a huge step towards attaining academic success, something that her family whom she has just returned to live with are very pleased about. “I no longer care what people think, I just get on with my life. The teachers around me help me a lot and I really appreciate it. I also like being able to lend a hand to my classmates. It’s motivating,” asserts the young girl who, when you listen to what she has to say, shows every sign that her experience of life has helped her gain a great deal of maturity.

Moreover, despite her young age, Bianca now knows more than ever about the professional field she is aiming towards. “I want to work as a youth counsellor. I am well placed to understand young people who are going through difficult times and I know I would be able to help them. I am very good at listening and I don’t pass judgement on others. I think these are some of the qualities required for the career I want to follow,” she firmly states.

Though she no longer has any doubt about her ability to succeed, this has not always been the case for Bianca. While she tried to act tough when she ran away from home, this period nevertheless had a very negative impact on her self-esteem. Today, every little achievement and every positive remark helps heal the wounds. “At one point, I was sure I’d never come through all right because I’d gone much too far. Now when people congratulate me for my efforts, it makes me realize that I made the right choices.”

According to her teachers and her tutor Raymond Champagne, Bianca would be in a position, in terms of her studies, to reintegrate the normal high school program next year. However, after discussing it with her, it was agreed that she would stay in the adapted program for the time being so that she can really consolidate what she has learned and rebuild her confidence. “In the adapted program, we work on core subjects but also put a lot of emphasis on establishing trusting relationships with the students and talking with them. We have succeeded in doing this very well with Bianca and the best part is, she is also capable of establishing relationships with her fellow students,” says her tutor.

If perseverance is the main tool for preventing students from dropping out of school, it is also the best one for regaining a balanced lifestyle. For Bianca, perseverance has been and still is her everyday work tool. “You must never give up. Even when you feel you’ll never be able to succeed, you must push forward and try to the very end. In order to do so, I had to make choices and stop hanging around with certain people. Now I feel good about myself and I know that things can only get better. Everyone can succeed if they make enough effort, that’s for sure!”

Bianca Lamontagne
École secondaire Edgar-Hébert