FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Powell River, B.C. Student Wins $25,000 in scholarship money
using ScholarshipsCanada.com
TORONTO, ON - October 20, 2004 - EDge Interactive announced today that Mallory Statham, who graduated from Brooks Secondary School in Powell River, British Columbia, this past spring, won over $25,000 in scholarship money using www.ScholarshipsCanada.com.
 | Mallory Statham
searched online and
collected $25,000 in
scholarship money |
Mallory was highly proactive in her search for scholarships. Her efforts were rewarded with numerous scholarships, including the Millennium National Laureate Scholarship worth $5,000 which is renewable for four years ($20,000 in total), the B.C. School Superintendents' scholarship, the BC/Yukon Newspaper Association scholarship, the McDonalds MVP for Soccer scholarship, and two entrance scholarships from UBC. Mallory also received a cheque for $450 from EDge Interactive for the EDge Directory Scholarship which was generously matched dollar-for-dollar by Student Vote Canada.
In her winning essay for the EDge Directory Scholarship, which rewards students who have made Canada a better place to live, Mallory summarizes the significant role she has played in improving the lives of her peers in the remote forest community of Powell River. Mallory's personal achievements are substantial. Her efforts in helping at-risk youth, fundraising for the Power of Hope camp, raising awareness of drunk driving through the Road Sense Team and numerous other activities have been widely recognized in Powell River and throughout British Columbia.
When asked what community work she found most satisfying, Mallory replied, "I take particular enjoyment in efforts aimed at encouraging youth to make healthy choices and to realize their full potential. It is often the most obscure experience that 'flicks that switch' in us; the one that brings our goals into focus and ignites the passion to reach them. I just try to provide opportunities for youth to find that switch for themselves."
Mallory is now in her first year at the University of British Columbia. She received direct entry into the Sauder School of Business and she plans to do a double major in international business and marketing and an arts minor in Canadian studies.
ScholarshipsCanada.com has been helping students find scholarships, awards and bursaries since 1998. The Web site has over 60,000 scholarships, awards and bursaries listed worth over $80 million. It is complemented by the ScholarshipsCanada.com Entrance Awards Directory, which is now in its 5th edition. The directory has 1,300+ pages and contains over 39,600 entrance awards worth $61 million.
Read Mallory's Winning Essay
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EDge Interactive:
EDge Interactive is a leader in creating and developing focused solutions for the educational community. Based in Toronto, Canada since 1995, EDge has enjoyed strong growth as a provider of information services and software solutions to clients across North America. EDge's products and services include e-Tours™, Interactive ViewBooks™, ezRecruit™, Web site design, consulting, e-mail marketing and recruitment services. EDge manages its own sites including: http://www.SchoolFinder.com, http://www.ScholarshipsCanada.com, and http://www.StudyinCanada.com.
Contact:
Kathleen Heithorn-Althoff
Director of Communications
EDge Interactive
416-494-3343
kheithorn@edgeip.com
http://www.edgeip.com
How I am helping to make Canada a better place to live.
By Mallory Statham
Our remote forestry community is accessible only by air or sea. Here, youth spend most of their life on a 7 km strip of road. How can we possibly contribute to Canada's improvement? It's simple, really. Bloom where you are planted - the need is great!
At fifteen I became aware of our graduation, teen pregnancy, and substance use rates. Impassioned, I began networking an infrastructure within existing organizations to birth or expand youth initiatives. I found that programs designed to mirror the core values and purposes of their sponsoring organizations create a strong mentoring relationship and ensure sustainability. Here is an overview of how our community responded.
The Chamber of Commerce and the Youth Ambassador Program (Self-development through Community Service): As the youngest local participant I was soon appointed to the Leadership Team to mentor new Ambassadors, serve in public ceremonies, and to travel throughout BC promoting tourism. More recently I was appointed to the three-member BC Ambassador Team, which promotes post-secondary education and forges links of friendship at the provincial level.
The Public Health Unit and Youth Advisory Council (YAC): As a student leader, my mandate was to build bridges between groups of teens, being especially mindful of the unique needs of our First Nations youth. Providing a support group, we organized dynamic events designed to battle these health-related issues: the dropout rate, substance use, teen pregnancy, social marginalization, bullying, and low self-esteem.
Canada World Youth (CWY) and YAC: YAC hosted a welcoming banquet for CWY's three-month visit, which spawned a joint 24-Hour Food Bank Famine. We look forward to annual collaborations.
Municipal Leisure Services, the Academy of Music, and YAC: YAC's love of Kareoke and substance-free dances developed into a "Music Idol" partnership. The on-stage camaraderie spilled out over the capacity crowd and this promises to be an annual community highlight.
The Business Community and the Power of Hope Camp: A co-leader and I solicited $10,000 in corporate sponsorship to organize a life-changing camp for 40 youth. In a mutually supportive environment, participants were led to self-assess their goals and to determine the life changes necessary to achieve them. First Nations Elders told ancient stories and escorted kayak and backwoods treks while performance and fine artists guided us in creative exploration. Many unlikely friendships were formed; the effect of which is still felt on our newly amalgamated high school campus.
Credit Union and Financial Leadership for Youth (FLY): As a business student hopeful, helping to develop a commerce-based leadership program has been most rewarding. The FLY Team assists at public events and initiates community improvement projects. Currently we are delivering financial management lessons to high school CAPP classes.
The Road Sense Team, the School District, and CARS BC (Counter Attack Road Safety): While serving with insurance professionals on the Road Sense Team I initiated educational events involving ten businesses, police, fire fighters, and my squad of Youth Ambassadors. I also coaxed the Road Sense Team into grass skirts to host our school's Hawaiian Dance. We served free mocktails from a beach hut along with the Counter Attack message and prizes. Plans were hatched to fund a school-based club for the coming fall and our hopes were high. However, two local youths died in separate car crashes over the summer vacation. I independently recruited students to attend training conferences and by November we had secured teacher sponsorship, achieved school-sanctioned status, and were executing a calendar of events.
Our most ambitious undertaking flew in a Vancouver trauma doctor to deliver a graphic presentation followed by an elaborately staged crash, closing our highway for three hours. I coordinated our school administration, drama department, insurance professionals, the Ministry of Highways, tow trucks, wrecking yards, the media, regional ICBC staff, ambulance, police, and fire departments. The response from several students in newspaper interviews revealed the resulting impact on their driving attitudes. Tragically, even as I write this, my peers are learning the news that a third youth from our small community died in a car crash today - a somber confirmation of the urgency of our plight.
A related longstanding program in which I played a leadership role is on the Dry Grad Committees. We organize a substance-free prom dinner and dance for 1,000 guests and an all-night extravaganza.
The Rotary and the Interact Club: Echoing the activities of our sponsors, the Interact School Club fundraises to provide clean water and farming animals for Third World villages. This year we connected with our school's young moms to lay the foundation of joint fundraising towards supporting their efforts to obtain high school diplomas. I also organized campus hosts for rotary exchange students and brainstormed the Food for Thought basket to which students donate excess lunch items to share with others who may be short on lunch.
Student Council President: Pressures on the forest industry have forced the main employer in our one-horse town to whittle its workforce by two-thirds over the past 20 years. The corresponding drop in enrolment resulted in years of school closures and student relocations. This has a negative impact on educational outcomes, student behavior, and school spirit. As a school closure 'refugee' displaced in my senior year, I was elected to the post of Student Council President of our newly-melded student body. To unite and build a dynamic campus, I encouraged our council to initiate many fun activities that incorporate a charitable aspect.
Highlights: Random Acts of Kindness grass roots movement; National Juvenile Diabetes Sneakers Day; Heritage Canada's 'Racism - Stop It' Day that we transformed into a week of events; Christmas Child Shoebox Project; food bank drives; Battle of the Grades Challenge; Dances and Spirit Days in the theme of monthly holidays.
I believe the desire to volunteer can only spring from a grateful heart, and I have so much to be thankful for. Whether my future roots lie in rural pastures or urban plots, I will always seek to connect with my world through community service.
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