The Rotary
Club of Orléans held its annual Young People of Character
Awards on June 2 during which 26 young people were honoured
for their achievements in six different categories � Resilience,
Positive Attitude, Courage, Compassion, Persistence, Commitment
to Excellence, Creativity, Entrpreneurship and Social Responsibility.
Colonel
By Secondary School student Nora Wilson was recognized for
exempli-fying the attributes of compassion, leader-ship,
persistence and resilience as the leader of her school's
LGBTQ+ support club despite suffering from chronic pain
and fatigue.
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Twenty-nine young people came together at the Shenkman Arts Centre on June 2 for the Young People of Character Awards, PHOTO SUPPLIED |
Wilson
challenges her fellow students, teachers and adults at large
to be more open and accepting of members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Cairine
Wilson Secondary School student Kate-Lynne Braye was recognized
for her courage in overcoming her fear of performing in
front of people. The Grade 11 student's fear was strong
at times that she would often be brought to tears at the
very thought of performing in drama class. But rather than
take the easy way out by dropping the course from her schedule,
she persisted and eventually learned to manage her fear
to the point where she decided to join the school's improv
team.
Although
shy at first, Braye slowly built up her confidence and became
one of the most creative and impactful members of the team.
She eventually became a team leader and helped them earn
a spot in the city's finals. Today, Braye shares her experience
and tips to teach others how they can overcome their fears
and enjoy student life to the fullest.
Richard
Muhindo is a Grade 10 student at Lester B. Pearson High
School. A native of the Republic of Congo in Central Africa,
Muhindo immigrated to Canada in 2017 after spending seven
years in a refugee facility in Uganda.
Since
coming to Lester B. Pearson, Muhindo has taking advantage
of every opportunity to get involved ina number of club's
including the Alzheimer's Club which visits local seniors
homes to interact with the residents.
He is
also a member of the school's Global Outreach Club and he
acts as an ambassador to newcomer students by helping them
make the transition to their new country and a new school.
St. Matthew
High School student Joseph Thottungal was recognized for
maintaining a 95% average in Grade 10 French Immersion while
accumulating 225 hours of community service, pursuing his
favourite sports of soccer and badminton and acting as a
peer counsellor.
Other
recipients of this year's awards include Mary Helen Widman,
Pascaline Kavira, Samuel Musafiri, Neema Bihamb and Mathania
Vuningoma from Lester B. Pearson; Alexandre Diab, Ahn-Lin
Legac�, C�leste Duguay, Victoria Ufholz and Jasmine Fortin
from �cole secondaire B�atrice-Desloges; Arkkan El-Khatib,
Molly Kennedy and Chuxuan Zhou from Gloucester High School;
Zo� Roy-Stang, Romanos Stamakatos and Catherine Marcotte
from �cole secondaire Garneau; Max Wheelehan, and Scott
Sharma, from Colonel By Secondary School; Shantal Gonzalez
from St. Matthew High School; Kenneth Langille from Rockland
High School; Olivia Gault from Cairine Wilson Secondary
School; Cameron McNeil from St. Peter High School; Leewinchell
Jean from �cole secondaire Gis�le-Lalonde; and Keiran McClelland
from Elmwood.
(This
story was made possible thanks to the generous support of
our local business partners.)