I Wish I Knew Then What I Know Now is a yearly talk where Vanier Collegiate High School Grade 12 students were able to talk to grads about what its like after high school.

The grads who spoke all spent their year differently which helped all the Grade 12's get an idea of what next. Some were two years into university, others went to technical colleges, or took a year off, lived in residence, switched courses, and many other situations that they could pass on advice about.

Schools have post-secondary schools come through for presentations throughout the year, but it's hard for them to tell you what teachers are like or what it's like with a roommate for a year, or living with your best friend. That's just one of the reasons why Christa Lapointe, a Teacher and Career Counselor at Vanier, chooses to bring alumni for the presentation.

"Students seem to listen sometimes a little bit better when it comes from their peers and I think it's very useful for both sides, the graduates and the new graduates to learn from each other, and any little tidbit to help them transition is always a good thing," Lapointe explained.

For Lapointe, it's also a way to show nervous students that alumni before them have gone to school with the same skill and knowledge they have and thrived.

During the talk, each alumnus got a chance to explain what they did for the past year, what they learned, and give pieces of advice they want to pass on. For some students, they got more out of it than they thought they would.

"I think I was expecting more advice about university and stuff but I got a lot of advice about just general life and like taking care of yourself too," said Olivia Moyse, a Grade 12 student at Vanier. "Just getting to know people and how their experiences went too."

This was the ninth year Lapointe has held this talk and plans to continue on with it.