Rivka Zickler traveled from Canada to Norway and a very different kind of school
Rivka Zickler traveled all the way from Canada to Nordvestlandet in Norway to attend folkehøgskole. This is her graduation speech after a year in Norway.
I came to this school through an unlikely set of coincidences. If you asked me two years ago what I would be doing in 2025, living in Norway would not have been part of my answer. I didn’t know anyone who had been to Nordvestlandet; I didn’t even know Folkhogskole existed until February of last year.
But life happens, and suddenly I was emailing my university-to-be that I would be delaying my matriculation by a year so I could go skiing in a place called Torvikbukt (which I had to google how to spell).
I remember driving down Hogtunvegen for the first time with my dad last August, staring out the window at the miniscule town around me. I was terrified, excited, and frantically doing Norwegian Duolingo.
I remember it like it was yesterday. Yet somehow, 10 months have passed since that car ride. I’ve hiked mountains, skied more than 40 days, jumped in the Arctic ocean and slept in parking lots with a group of people who I can now confidently call my best friends.
I’ve grown physically, mentally, and socially in ways I could have never predicted. Looking back, this year has truly been transformational.
I know I’m not the only one here who feels like a different person today compared to our first day at Nordvestlandet. Last week, on our final whole-school trip of the year, we held an open mic session where each student could stand up and speak about what their year at Nordvestlandet meant for them.
As I listened to my peers recount memories, crack jokes, and sometimes cry, I understood that this year has been transformational for each and every one of us.
We all came here for different reasons, in different states of mind. We have different interests, backgrounds, and cultures. But over this year, we have become family. We have grown together, struggled together, celebrated together.
Whatever expectations we may have had at the beginning of this year have been met and surpassed. Never in our wildest dreams could we have imagined the home we have found at Nordvestlandet.
I know I speak for all of the students in this room, as well as the past and future generations of Nordvestlandet elev, when I say that I am grateful beyond words to the educators who make this place so special.
The teachers at this school are by far the best teachers I have ever had; they are incredibly dedicated, caring, and enthusiastic. They work around the clock to make sure students find lifelong friends and have unforgettable experiences. They are outdoor guides, therapists, translators, impromptu-football coaches, gear experts, parental figures, and friends.
My teacher, Tor Einar, will be one of my biggest life role-models long after I leave Norway. I know that many students here feel the same about their teachers.
This school has changed our lives for the better. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.
Goodbyes are always hard, and this one is especially tough. We all know the reality of this situation; we are about to scatter across the world, and it is hard to imagine when we will reunite.
While that’s incredibly sad, it’s also beautiful, because it shows that we have gotten to experience something truly wonderful and unique in our time here. And if this year has taught me anything, it is that I should believe in coincidences. This door is closing, but you never know who will be inside the next door that opens. I really hope it will be some of you.
So as I leave you all today, I am taking the advice of my very wise grandmother, and not saying goodbye, but rather see you later. Takk for meg.
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