Education/training
Student wins $60,000 scholarshipFor most graduating high school students planning to attend college or university, figuring out how to pay for it can be daunting. |
|
 [ 2007-07-04 ] |
$60,000 scholarship
For Emily Cordeaux, it's the opposite: as a winner of the TD Canada Trust Scholarship for Community Leadership, the 18-year-old no longer has to worry about saving up for post-secondary school expenses.
"BURST INTO TEARS"
"It was pretty unbelievable. I couldn't believe it when I got the package in the mail -- I burst into tears," says the Toronto resident, who graduates from Malvern Collegiate Institute this year.
She has good reason to be overjoyed -- one of the top such programs in the country, the scholarship pays for all of her tuition, $5,000 a year toward her living expenses, and offers summer employment at TD Canada Trust for up to four years, for a total value of $60,000.
Cordeaux was one of just 20 students among several dozen applicants to be awarded this prestigious award, and with good reason: with an extensive volunteering background both within her high school, her local community and beyond, Cordeaux's community leadership track record more than speaks for itself.
Through her involvement with the AIDS Committee of Toronto, a community-based HIV support services organization, Cordeaux developed a sexual health workshop for students called Sex It Up, featuring a series of interactive games, which she has presented at local middle and high schools.
"AIDS and HIV awareness is something I'm really passionate about, because it's something that affects people of all backgrounds," she says. "The main purpose of the workshop is to create a warm and welcoming environment in which youths can talk about sexuality, have a laugh and leave with new knowledge."
Cordeaux's interest in promoting AIDS awareness and good sexual health practices extend far beyond her immediate community. As a member of the Youth Advisory Council of Plan Canada, one of the world's largest international, child-centred development organizations, she's able to learn and raise awareness about the latest global initiatives to promote safer sex. Her involvement with Plan Canada also afforded her the opportunity to attend last year's XVI International AIDS Conference as a youth delegate.
"It was remarkable -- there were so many different sessions to attend, it was hard to pick which ones to attend," she says. "I also met so many youths from other Plan offices around the world. You learn that it doesn't matter where you're from, kids everywhere are all the same, they all laugh at the same silly things."
Last September, Cordeaux's strong concern for the welfare of kids everywhere led her to Geneva, Switzerland, where she represented Canadian youth in a United Nations discussion on children's rights.
Cordeaux has also put her idealism and drive to initiate fundraisers to support charities such as CANFAR and the Canadian Red Cross. She's also currently completing a student placement at the Red Door Shelter for abused women and children.
"At the shelter, you learn how easy it is for someone to end up there -- it could be me or my best friend," she says. "For me, volunteering and raising awareness and money is crucial, and I always hope more people will catch on and join in."
SEXOLOGY
With her ongoing community activism and roles within her high school on student council, as a peer leader and co-ordinator of environmental and formal committees, Cordeaux had more than enough extra credentials to earn her extraordinary scholarship. She plans to attend the University of Quebec at Montreal this fall to study sexology, the study of human sexuality.
She encourages other youths seeking scholarships to consider volunteering to enhance their prospects, but more so, to do something worthwhile for their communities.
"Find something you love and just do it, go for it," she says. "Not only will it benefit others around you, it will make you so much happier as a person."
Would you ever work for a social or charitable enterprise in the third sector?