CVU Celebrations
December 19, 2025
Dear Community,
As we move toward the end of the semester, it’s a time to celebrate student learning, honor growth, and—last night—be inspired by creativity and perseverance. On Thursday evening, we gathered in the CVU Library for Nexhibitions, a celebration of the exploration and learning taking place in the Nexus seminar.
I invited longtime Nexus teacher Troy Paradee to share his reflections on last night’s showcase of student learning:
“Nexhibition is a wonderful opportunity for students to showcase the learning they’ve been pursuing over the past few months. If you look behind the curtain of the posters, motorcycle parts, firefighter certificates, and photos, you’ll see something deeper: the unplanned and unexpected learning and growth that come from these pursuits.
What you don’t always see are the struggles--defining meaningful learning tasks, reaching out to people and places in the community, visiting and interviewing adults in potential future workplaces, realizing ‘I don’t really like this,’ and then experiencing the joy and pride when things suddenly click or come together.
These experiences happen all the time, yet they can’t be captured on a test or in an essay. They allow space for failure, success, decision-making, and reflection, all within a safe community of peers doing the same work. Last night was a powerful reminder of what Nexus is and what it can be. Students were excited about their displays, smiling as they shared their work with adults, and supporting and encouraging one another throughout the evening. And at the end, tired in the best way.”
CVU students: if this sounds interesting to you, come see the Nexus team in Room 120.
The Compass Students making some cool projects with their own hands!
Guest teacher and bowl turner Eddie Krasnow came into the CVU Shop to teach some of the students from the Compass program to turn bowls from birch logs!
(l-r) Eddie Krasnow, Greyson Cole, Haylee Maring, Jace Paquette, Allison Welch, and teacher Olaf Verdonk showing off their bowls!
