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As Her School's Only Grad, Chelsea Kennedy Got Her Own Personal Ceremony

The Saskatchewan teen comes from Hodgeville, population 150.

Your high school graduation is a day you'll likely remember forever.

And for Chelsea Kennedy, it's a day her whole town will too.

That's because Kennedy, 17, was the only person in her grade 12 class this year — and therefore, the only graduate at Hodgeville School.

Kennedy, who lives on her family's farm in Hodgeville, Sask., has attended the school since kindergarten. About 60 students are in attendance there from kindergarten through to grade 12.

As the sole graduate, Kennedy got to make the calls on everything to do with her celebration.

"There was a banquet, that was just the family and some closer friends and the teachers," she tells HuffPost. "There were about 70, 80 people there. I have a big family."

Provided by Chelsea Kennedy

After the banquet, she explains, was the ceremony, which was open to whoever wanted to come, which included more of her friends and members of the community.

"They had a slideshow of me, from a baby growing up until now," she says with a laugh. "We try to make it as normal as possible."

Provided by Chelsea Kennedy

And as CBC reports, she actually based the colour scheme of the venue on what she decided to wear.

Her dress, which she purchased after looking around extensively, came from Prairie Girl's Designs in Big Beaver, two and a half hours from home. It was exactly what she'd been hoping for.

"The shop owner lives on a farm and has a store there, and I saw my dress right away," Kennedy says. "I was deciding between that one and this black kind of darker one. I decided to go with the brighter one because I was going to be the only one up on stage and I wanted to pop!"

Provided by Chelsea Kennedy

Kennedy was accepted into the University of Saskatchewan for agronomy for the fall, so she'll be moving to Saskatoon with some friends shortly.

"I'm pretty excited, it'll be a new environment, a new place to live," Kennedy says. She credits her parents for always being supportive of her schooling.

Provided by Chelsea Kennedy

As for her grad, she is ecstatic at how well it all came together.

"I did not think it would go that well," she admits. "But the speeches were awesome. There were a couple of surprises for me, like my mom and aunties wrote a song and sang it for me.

"I couldn't have asked for anything better really."

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