PROGRAMS > YOUTH OF DISTINCTION AWARDS > 2009 Winners

2009 Award Recipients

VOLUNTEERISM AWARD: Kytara Porter is a grade ten student whose love of volunteering was instilled in her by her family. Kytara began volunteering at the Calgary Drop-In Centre with her family after seeing a notice up in her church. Her dedication to the Drop-In Centre is clear as she volunteers there on a weekly basis, as well as additional shifts on weekends once a month. At the Drop-In Centre, she spends her time preparing meals, waiting on tables, spending time with the patrons, and cleaning up after meals. She also goes above and beyond by baking cookies for the Drop-In Centre and volunteering at the Drop-In Centre’s Clothing Donation Centre. Through her experiences at the Drop-In Centre, Kytara has learned a lot about the issue of homelessness in Calgary, and has become more empathetic towards those she encounters. Her passion and dedication towards those in need is inspiring.

ACTIVIST AWARD: Trevor Davis is a grade ten student from Western Canada High School who has already achieved so much at such a young age. Four years ago, Trevor became part of a group of youth who contributed to the Tsunami victims’ relief effort in Southeast Asia. Soon, Trevor became the leader of this group, transforming it into an entirely youth-driven organization. So far, Trevor has led this group to raise $20,000 for several international causes, thus inspiring the Canadian International Development Agency to donate another $120,000 to those causes on behalf of Trevor’s group. Recently, Trevor motivated his group to raise another $25,000 for the Nicola Goddard Memorial Foundation, an organization which builds solar lights on hilltop first-aid stations in Papa New Guinea. Because of this significant contribution, Trevor and his group are set to become the foundation’s largest financial donor. In addition, Trevor has been chosen to be an ambassador for the Seminar on United Nations and International Affairs, and was a speaker at the Model UN Conference. Trevor’s international pursuits are truly admirable and commendable for someone as young as fifteen.

PERSEVERANCE AWARD: Lancy Shouting is a grade eleven student who grew up on the aboriginal reservation, raised by an alcoholic mother, without a father. When Lancy was ten, her mother finally sobered up, only to pass away a year later from breast cancer. Lancy began living with her older sister and her sister’s baby. Lancy took care of the child as her sister began partying.  Unfortunately, once her sister passed this stage, it was Lancy who became caught up in drugs, alcohol, and gang life. After spending some time in a youth detention facility, Lancy realized she needed to move past this rough patch and followed her sister out of Calgary. She then enrolled herself in the “Youth Opportunities Program”, in addition to a detox program. Recently, the “Youth Animation Project” gave Lancy a chance to use her artistic ability to produce a short animated film about gang life and its dangers for the Calgary Police Service. With its powerful message and story, Lancy’s film is going to be used by the Calgary Police Service’s Youth Gangs Initiative as a Public Service Announcement. Lancy has come so far in her life and continues to persevere.

PEER SUPPORT AWARD: Kairui “Glen” Wang is a grade twelve student at Western Canada High School and a dedicated volunteer at the Calgary Distress Centre. Glen is a Teen Line volunteer, meaning that he is in charge of the youth telephone lines from five to ten, lending support to callers. Glen’s commitment to his position is highlighted by the numerous training courses he has taken, such as domestic violence, addictions, and suicide. These workshops have aided Glen in being able to truly support callers in need. Moreover, Glen has gone over the required twenty-four shifts in eight months for Teen Line volunteers, instead fulfilling thirty-seven shifts in 8 months, meaning over 250 hours in the past year. Glen’s compassion is evident to the callers he speaks to, who often praise him. This consideration also extends to his fellow volunteers, as he is on a volunteer committee that aims to help new Teen Line volunteers feel welcome. Glen’s enthusiasm for helping others is contagious and the support he gives to those in need, invaluable.

LEADERSHIP AWARD: Nishant Samantray is a grade twelve student at Sir Winston Churchill High School who was motivated to make a difference after witnessing slums and disparity during his family travels to the Middle East and Europe. Nishant moved to Calgary in 2007, but his leadership skills originated in Oman, where he created the charity concert “Band Bash” to raise money for the National Cancer Awareness Society in 2005. Furthermore, this event continued on ever after Nishant moved, proving just how impactful his leadership skills are. Since then, Nishant has created “Project Friday”, a program that gives children the chance to research and present on topical issues outside of school. This past year, Nishant was given the title of volunteer supervisor at the after-school day care he volunteers at. During this time, Nishant encountered several unenthusiastic volunteers and took the chance to implement a “volunteer of the month” reward program to motivate them. All of these projects exemplify Nishant’s leadership skills and creativity.

ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP AWARD: Amy Spark and Brittany Thaxter—better known as the Compost Divas—are two grade twelve students at Lord Beaverbrook High School. After realizing the importance of recycling and composting, Amy and Brittany enrolled themselves in a Master Composting course provided by Clean Calgary. The Compost Divas then created a composting program for their own school, which is now in its second semester.  In their spare time, Amy and Brittany also took their program to three more schools, motivating and teaching other students about environmental sustainability. To continue educating people on the values of composting, Amy and Brittany will be providing workshops on Change Day and Lord Beaverbrook, Destination Conservation, and the Mayor’s Environmental Expo. In order to continue their legacy, these two girls are also in the process of mentoring grades ten and eleven students to take over the program after they graduate this year, creating a sustainable program that will continue long after they have left.

ENVIRONMENTAL INDIVIDUAL AWARD: Eden Full is a grade twelve student at John G. Diefenbaker High School with a penchant for all things green. Eden’s interest in the earth combines her love of both the environment and science, in order to make the world more sustainable. Eden is the cofounder of Diefenbaker’s environmental club, where she provides leadership for projects aiming to advance water conservation. However, Eden’s true interest revolves around using solar energy as a renewable resource. In fact, Eden created the Photovoltaic Initiative, which aims to develop solar panels for her school’s rooftop. As well, over the last four years, Eden has devoted countless hours completing project after project to find an environmentally friendly way to capture solar energy using photovoltaic cells. Eden’s amazing work helping the environment goes far beyond the traditional methods of “going green”, and is an indication of innovations to come.

Thank you and congratulations to all of our nominees this year – you’re awesome!