Long before she became an American vice-president and presidential candidate, Kamala Harris spent several years in Montreal as a teenager and went to high school in the city.
The results of the U.S. presidential election, which saw Donald Trump win handily, have been the talk of the town at Kamala Harris’s alma mater in Montreal.
When 14-year-old Kadiatou Barrie of Westmount High School woke up Wednesday morning, she was upset to hear that Harris would not accept the top position at the White House. However, the teenager claims that she respects the outcome.
“I felt that Kamala Harris was exactly what America needed,” Barrie remarked. However, I suppose that’s what they want if they wanted Trump.
Harris lived in the Canadian city for several years as a teenager, long before she was elected vice president and then a presidential contender in the United States. She completed her three years at Westmount High School in 1981.
Harris relocated to Montreal so that her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, could work at the Jewish General Hospital’s Lady Davis Institute as a breast cancer researcher. Harris first attended a French-language school before enrolling at Westmount.
A photo of children holding up hand-drawn posters that said, “Congratulations Kamala!” was featured in the English Montreal School Board’s 2020 statement welcoming Harris on his election as vice president-elect. “Class of ’81!”
According to Barrie, she is one of several students at Harris’s former haunts who were hoping for a different result this week.
However, the teenager claims that many people have found inspiration in the seasoned politician’s career.
She has my utmost admiration,” Barrie remarked. And she continues to inspire a lot of young girls to be extraordinary and follow their ambitions.
When Aminata Diallo, a student at Westmount High School, had to go to bed Tuesday night, she and her parents were watching the election results with great interest. She hoped that Harris would return.
The following day, hours before Harris would give her concession address in which she implored Americans to not give up and to “keep fighting” for the promise of a better future, the result was the topic of conversation among students and staff throughout the school.
“Everyone I spoke with expressed disappointment. The 14-year-old Diallo stated, “We were anticipating that one of our school’s graduates would be the president of the United States.”
“I hope she runs in 2028 again.”
Those who shared Harris’s corridors are proud that she came close to becoming president and hope she will one day rule the United States.
Barrie stated, “I believe she ought to run once more within the next four years.”