2021-05-19

Queens youth achieve gold level status in international achievement program

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Two Liverpool Regional High School students have officially earned their Gold Award through the Queens County Duke of Edinburgh's Award program.

Grade 12 students Ella Stevens and Jordyn Duffney have dedicated hundreds of hours of work to go through the three levels of the international program – bronze, silver and gold. A virtual ceremony hosted by the lieutenant governor, The Honourable Arthur J. LeBlanc, will be held June 10.

The Region of Queens Municipality (RQM) sponsors the program that challenges students in areas such as skills, physical activity, volunteerism and adventures.

"We started this partnership with the region in 2017 and these two were the first ones to sign up," said Troy Smith, one of the administrators for the program. "We couldn't be happier for them and were impressed about how they stuck it out and they adapted really well to the COVID-19 situation as well. They have invested hundreds of volunteer hours into the community."

Working with Smith are Crystal Stewart-Smith and Cassandra Williams.

The Duke of Edinburgh's international award program was introduced in the United Kingdom in 1956 to help motivate young people. The award was launched in Canada in 1964 and an estimated 500,000 Canadian youth have been through the program.

The program is often led by community groups such as cadets or girl guides, and members of these groups participate in it. With the RQM sponsoring the program, it broadens it so anyone can participate.

The award program challenges young people to get involved in their communities through volunteerism, physical activity and working at a skill, such as learning to play a guitar. They then combine these activities into adventures, such as camping or exploration trips, and, at the gold level, a residential project.

Each level has the same components but requires more of a time commitment, starting at three months for Bronze and up to a year at Gold.

According to Smith, the main point of the program is to prepare youth for moving on to the next chapters of their lives. "It's preparing them to be more self-aware of who they are, build their self-confidence and learn to adapt and change and deal with crisis and situations when they arise."

Stevens will be taking medical sciences at Dalhousie University in the fall. She expects that the biggest challenge in going away will be to maintain a balance between school, family and friends.

"This program taught me to be patient and that it is possible to find a good balance," she said, however.

Duffney is enrolled in the Kinesiology program at Acadia University in the fall.

"The program has definitely helped me to become more rounded because of the different skills that we had to use," she said. "It has also helped me to become more creative in coming up with ways to volunteer and help others."

At the final, gold level, participants are challenged to undertake a purposeful experience with people who are not their normal companions, and work with them towards a common goal.

Stevens said her favourite part of the program was the residential project which took her on an expedition to Greenland and Nunavut in 2019.

Another highlight was going on an exploration trip for her adventure. This took her to a cabin in Port Mouton, Queens County, where she studied wildlife and plants with a view from her Mi'kmaw heritage.

She accomplished several personal challenges such as getting better at playing the piano, and she also started her own coastal clean-up challenge that took her to beaches along the South Shore.

"That was a big learning experience for me," she said. "It was really interesting. I didn't know how many things like lobster bands were laying around on the beaches."

For her part, Duffney found the program an incredible journey in which she learned a lot by challenging herself personally.

Among her highlights was completing her Jazz Tech 2 dance exam and composing a piano piece by ear.

"I was in Newfoundland and I heard a guy perform this song that I fell in love with. I talked to the guy who wrote the song and he said he didn't have any sheet music for it," said Duffney. "I was able to take the song and write the sheet music for it all by ear, which was very cool. I had no idea I could do that."

To complete her gold level, Duffney undertook her residential project virtually and attended a global youth summit working on conservation and how to make the world a better place.

At each level, assessors review the participants' work and award those who complete their goals successfully. At the gold level, their work is reviewed by a committee in Halifax, then again by an international committee headquartered in Ottawa.

Although COVID-19 slowed down numerous projects and programs, Smith said the program participants adapted well and found ways to make things work.